Horses and lions and tutors, oh my!

Brent was able to get the money problems rectified Friday afternoon, thank goodness! So with pesos to burn we began our fantastic weekend. Friday afternoon I went to the stable for my first lesson. I was a bit early, so I sat and watched the lesson before mine and got to meet the wife of one of the students in the ring. She and her husband are in Argentina for a year and plan to see and do everything- including learning how to ride. We have plans to meet for dinner this week.
My lesson was soooo much fun! Maximo is a good instructor and speaks english great, but I told him I needed to learn horse words in spanish and he said he would help. I got to ride a nice horse and got to jump. The only drawback was how incredibly sore I was the next day.
On Saturday Brent and I took a train to a city named Tigre. It is located about an hour outside of BA on a river delta. I really don't know why anyone would ever want to leave this country; every place I have been, I have loved! The train station let us out at a river that is lined with trees, grass and a walking path. You can catch a boat tour of the area, or if you know where you are going, they have water buses. Brent and I grabbed something to eat by the water and then took the 1 hour tour. The area is beautiful and I took lots of pictures because it is really hard to describe. All in all, we had a full day outside the city with train transportation, food, drinks, and a tour for a grand total of 70 pesos! (A little more than 20 bucks!) We will be going back!
On Sunday, Brent and I went our separate ways. Brent went to play golf and Jo and I went to the Luhan Zoo. We took a bus to get there, and after about and hour and much confusion, the bus dropped us off on an exit ramp off the highway in the middle of nowhere. As we stood there looking around I noticed a chain link fence and some rather large birds behind it. We were there! The Luhan Zoo!
This was the strangest zoo I have ever seen. For $10 each we got to ride an elephant, hold a baby bear, get inside the cage and pet lions and tigers, sit next to a thousand pound bull seal, and have a full grown monkey jump on your head! Seriously, this place would not last an hour in the good ol'USA before somebody sued!
The zoo itself is like going to somebody's farm. Everything is dirt paths and chain link. If you wanted, you could camp overnight and grill out. They even had a swimming pool. I told Jo that it wouldn't suprise me if they unloaded a dozen otters into the pool while you were swimming. It was just that kind of place. Amazing.
Today we had our first real spanish lesson with Carlos. He is very good and laid back. He has a good way of explaining things and Brent and I both feel we will get a lot out of the lessons.
Today I will be trying to find a cheap rental car to drive down to the beach for Xmas. Wish me luck!