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Eduardo
Díscoli is riding from Buenos Aires
to North Africa!
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Eduardo Díscoli is paying homage to the Latin-American horse by riding back to its origins in North Africa - via New York! |
Eduardo Díscoli is an Argentinean from Buenos Aires who is in the process of making a horseback journey from Buenos Aires to New York. In doing this, he is attempting to recreate what Aimé Tschiffely did in 1925.
After that, he will
travel to Spain and journey towards North Africa.
The idea behind this
adventure is to pay homage to the Latin-American horse by taking it back to its
origins.
First, he headed for
Cuzco, and on 22 February arrived at Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca,
Peru. At Desaguaderos, the horses
had to pass veterinary inspections before leaving Argentina for Bolivia.
He has already covered about 3,700 km (2,300 miles), crossing the Pampas,
the Yungas (hot valleys in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru), forests, and altitudes of
4,600 metres (nearly 14,000 feet). Eduardo
travelled across Peru via Cuzco, Abancay, Ayacucho, Lima, Huasura, Trujillo,
Calar, and Zarumilla before continuing in Ecuador.
This journey has the official blessing of the Minister of Argentina, and official and traditional organizations, both general and specific. It has been in Bolivia that he received the greatest recognition, especially in Potosi and La Paz.
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Alberto Díscoli,
Eduardo’s brother, is giving the necessary logistical support to ensure the
success of this journey. |
14th March 2002. On 14th or 15th March Eduardo Díscoli will arrive at Cuzco. He will then set out for Machu Pichu with his three Argentinian Criollo horses, and also some Peruvian Pasos. The horsemen will wear the colours of their country : Argentina and Peru.
4th
April 2002. Alberto was able to
get through to his brother on the telephone.
After leaving Cuzco and Machu Pichu, Eduardo set out for Lima and is
currently at Abancay. He has had an
accident which could have been serious and meant an end to his journey.
20 April 2002. More news from Eduardo!
"I am at (in Peru), the cradle of American Freedom! I arrived last night at about 9 p.m., and since there was nobody around in authority, it was by pure chance that Francisco Melendes Fernandez received me. I should have got there around 5 p.m., but I took a wrong turning. I expect to stay here for five days, enough time for the horses' wounds to heal - wounds from the stones on the very difficult and dangerous mule-trails. And yet I was lucky enough to meet some muleteers and ride with them for fifty miles. They were travelling with 56 horses and 3 mules. The experience of living with them in the mountains is one I will never forget - completely unique. One was mute, one was lame, and one only had one arm. In spite of their sinister appearance, they immediately offered me hospitality, as have all the Peruvians, and invited me to follow them.'
6 September 2002 - Eduardo has
reached Ecuador!
From
Machala, a town in the south of Ecuador, The Long Riders' Guild received the
following information from Eduardo Díscoli.
"I
am in Ecuador, and they are calling me the itinerant ambassador. The horses are well, in spite of a few sores on their backs
caused by the heat. These have to
be aerated every hour on the journey and, if possible, bathed.
These horses are four lions! Little
by little I am learning to note down only the most important anecdotes and
experiences, for I have found that it is very exhausting to write after a
day’s journey. I am staying at Santa Rose until 29th, the village’s feast
day. They are going to give me
their flag, as witness to my passing through, but no money – nothing.
It’s their choice...
Here
the countryside is more welcoming, greener, and we are finding fruit trees,
fish, vegetables, and most of all rice. The
people are nice and kind, even if they are all armed to the teeth because of
attacks and livestock theft which they suffer. Last night, we heard someone
apparently trying to force the big door which is reinforced with metal plates.
I carried a machete all day, and when people met me in the street they
stepped out of my way. I have just arrived in Ecuador and I already have the
reputation of being a baddie.....
The
most dangerous thing is coming into a small village on Sundays, as the people on
the road have long faces – they have been drinking since the morning and spend
the afternoons on the road, motionless. I
cannot understand what they say and they become aggressive.
Their faces are often bear traces of whip marks, or kicks from the
horses. For most of the day they
wear sandals – my Peruvian horse trod on the foot of one of them, and the mark
of his shoe is highly visible. “Ow, ow! Mummy!”
he had cried.
Chaja,
fed up with so much annoying petting, bit the hand of the Mayor of Huancayo in
Pero, and in Chiclayo he bit the presenter of a television station so hard that
he had to go to the doctor – his stomach went as red as Bordeaux wine.
The “little bourgeois” keeps finding new victims among the canine
family. When dogs go to meet him he
looks at them and bang! bang! As I write this, some dogs are barking and others have
bruised ribs. He is really frisky
in the mornings and, if I get too close to him, he kicks me. At this very moment, the horses are eating their grain –
they are strong and full!
22nd November 2004
After a worrying silence of more than two years, The Long Riders' Guild has recently received news that Eduardo has arrived at the border between Mexico and the United States! Please click here to read an article about him in the San Antonio Express News.
Long Riders Raul and Margarita Vasconcellos drove eighteen hundred miles to Laredo to offer advice and assistance. They sent these photographs to The Long Riders' Guild.
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Click on any picture to enlarge.
May 2005
Eduardo was interviewed on America's NPR radio programme: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4603576
And here is front page story on the
huge equestrian website, Horse City :
http://horsecity.com/stories/051705/lif_eduardo_MF.shtml
The Guild next received an email from Brenda Fayard in Augusta, Georgia:
I had the pleasure to meet
Eduardo in April 2005. Stopping by the local feed store I was told about the
horse rider someone had just bought feed for and he was staying up at Joe's
place. We drove to Joe's tractor repair shop and shouted out "howdy, heard you
have a horse rider here." Then out of the house walks a shuffling, cowboy bow
legged, wind blowing what hair was not tied in a pony-tailed man. He walked
around the back of the house and started tending to the 4 horses, 2 tied to a
tree and 2 feeding on grass.
We invited him to our 1st Annual Fund Raiser Poker Ride in Pike County for a
covered horse arena. What a wonderful sight for all the riders to see, Eduardo
Discoli Long Rider from Argentina and his horses riding for 3 years and 8 months
that was only half of his trek. He stayed with our ride host Brenda & John Sell
for the next 3 weeks while the Consul General of Argentina Pompeyo Carlos Layus
took Eduardo into Atlanta to visit with a Polo club at the Chukker Farm. Then we
saw him off on his trek towards Akins, South Carolina. Here are some of the
photos I took of him."
Thank you very much indeed, Brenda!
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June 2005
Another email has come in to The Guild about Eduardo.
"Eduardo has been in Aiken, SC,
enjoying talking with many of his native countrymen and women in the world of
polo. The McGees have donated their farm, McGees' Mile, for him to keep
his horses while staying in Aiken. Good Luck, Eduardo, we are thankful to
be a part of your historical journey!
Holly Biddle, Aiken County Pony Club, District Commissioner."
September 2005
Long Rider Eduardo is in the news again - in Pennsylvania and New Jersey!
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/16669
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS03/509020414/1007
Congratulations, Eduardo.
February 2006
We have just received news that Eduardo is about to get into Belgium! We do not know how he crossed the Atlantic to The Netherlands, but we understand that the Argentine Embassy in Belgium is helping him to find lodging for himself and his horses.
January 2007
We believe Eduardo is in Spain, approaching Barcelona.
The Guild received a message from Dick Francis in Italy to let us know that Eduardo was in Vetralla, about forty miles north of Rome. Apparently he was heading for Rome via Lake Vico.
Eduardo's website is: www.deacaballoalmundo.com.ar
French-speakers can also follow Eduardo's adventure on www.worldtrailrides.com and www.justacriollo.com.