Cabo Polonio horse ride

		MORE OUTINGS IN Cabo Polonio

Florencia Pollack

The Natural Direction

At first, the cape was a place where the sea lions were slaughtered. Those who worked there had to cross the dune desert to reach other settlements. They used to do this on horseback.

As time passed, what used to be a need –riding through the dunes- turned into a very pleasant tour, provided that we like riding, obviously.

On Horseback

At the 265th kilometer marker on Route 10, in the stretch joining La Paloma and Aguas Dulces, several companies offer transportation services to Polonio. It is not allowed to cross the dunes that stretch out to the beach on your own. This place may only be crossed on authorized vehicles or on horseback.

The horse ride takes one hour and a half and the guide is a local gaucho.

The Woodland...

We left very early in the morning –the best time to ride in the summer- on horses specially chosen by our guide for each of us according to our experience and knowledge, which guarantees a quiet and pleasant tour.

The first stretch of the way goes through a woodland teeming with eucalyptus, the typical tree in this country. They fill the morning with their distinctive aroma. The guide tells us that the eucalyptus is one of the few trees growing strong in the sandy soil that used to be the bed of the Atlantic Ocean thousands of years ago.

... and the Dunes

The landscape changes completely as we reach the boundaries of the woodland and are welcomed by the huge dunes that surround the cape. The horses make a great effort as they go up the first dune. It is tall and steep and it conceals the show that opens up as we reach the top: a desert by the sea, dune after dune, up to the horizon.

Only when we find ourselves on those sand hills we now see in the distance will we discover the historical lighthouse and the town that lies on the shore.