Horsing around on a global trip
Web Posted: 11/06/2004 12:00 AM CST
LAREDO —— Just as impressive as riding horseback from Buenos Aires for three years are all the homes and pocketbooks that opened up for Eduardo Díscoli, a long-haired Argentine gaucho whose quest makes him a modern-day Huckleberry Finn.
He's not floating down the Mississippi on a log raft with a runaway slave, but Díscoli, 53, a sunflower farmer who loves to play polo, is living an adventure by trotting the globe, and his fantasy has been mostly free of charge.
"It was a dream of mine since I was young," he said. "My father said, 'No, no, no, that's impossible.' After 30 years, I go, go, go around the world on horses."
All through Latin America — and now in Laredo — people who love horses and the thrill of a trail ride have latched on to Díscoli, putting him up and keeping him going.
He's logged about 10,000 miles, and with the flag of Argentina about his shoulders he soon will ride through the United States, heading for Canada, Europe, North Africa and then more South America.
Clearly, sponsorship is as important as stirrups to Díscoli, who says things like "victory or death," "to return is failure," and "my treasure is my (collection of) flags."
"When more people know you, the ride is a lot more comfortable," he said.
His benefactors have been many: the owner of choice hotels in Peru, the owner of thousands of acres of farmland in Colombia and a cattle association in Panama. They all helped him out. And when financial times were uneasy, like in Bolivia, Honduras and El Salvador, he said his sure bets for accommodations and safety were police stations and prayer.
"I've slept in five stars (hotels) and other times I've slept under the stars," Díscoli said on the way back from lunch with a Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, doctor and horse collector who's backing him.
He's been here for about two months, partly because two of his horses tested positive for a blood parasite and weren't allowed entry in the United States, and partly to gather resources and contacts.
For two weeks, he's been sleeping in a posh recreational vehicle on a ranch north of Laredo and has become part of a family, his three remaining horses munching on grass in the yard.
"It's a pleasure to have him here," said his hostess, Lisa Perez. "You never know, it might be in the history books and my kids can say he came by here."
"He doesn't ask for anything," she added.
He doesn't need to. Between 1 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Thursday, new friends here gave him a cell phone with a two-year paid contract, a Texas flag, a map, a U.S. driver safety manual in Spanish, lunch, horse feed, at least a dozen beers, and a recording of a corrido about his trip, sung by Grupo Estocada Norteño.
The local band was so impressed by Díscoli, who also sings and plays guitar, that it produced the ballad, "Eduardo El Argentino," which includes verses about one of his horses dying in Colombia and his meeting beautiful people along the route he began in July 2001.
"He needs a song to remember what he is doing," said Francisco Valdez, 51, who wrote the lyrics in about 30 minutes.
Divorced with a 16-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter, Díscoli set out with three horses and a hero's send-off.
It was hard to leave, and he wavered the first two months, but couldn't stop because of all the people living vicariously through him, he said.
The Argentine government has kept track of him through its diplomats, but there were dangers. He was caught in a swamp near Lake Titticaca in the Andes, dodged a snake falling from jungle trees, slid down a ravine in Peru with his horses and wore a Red Cross shirt to get across violence-plagued Colombia unhurt.
A boat took him to Panama and he made his way north through Central America, averaging about 20 media interviews per country. He said Mexico City was "complicated" but mounted police gave him a personal escort.
When Díscoli arrived in Nuevo Laredo, he had five horses. U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian James Schlinke said he had to deny entry to two, but enjoyed chatting with the rider and sharing in the excitement.
"Everybody wants to do something different, but most people have to work and pay the bills and stay at home," Schlinke said.
Díscoli is unsure what he's going to do with the two horses; he's looking for a sponsor to ship them back. But for now, he's ready to gather more flags, which he prizes. He has 111 of them as well as several trinkets and plaques, including one from the city of Laredo that reads: "For your efforts as an ambassador of good will and for being a modern day icon representing a culturally rich gaucho. ..."
His goal is to finish the trip in four years. If his stay here is any indication, the North American leg should be full of surprises and gifts.
After Laredo resident Rosy Gregory explained the workings of the cell phone she bought him, and the names of contacts between here and San Antonio that she programmed into it, and how to dial 911, Díscoli replied, "Yes, mother."
Asked if he needed anything else, he joked: "How about a girlfriend?"