Argentina

With each postcard I get from South America, my love for this part of the world increases, this time thanks go to Julio of Argentina for teaching me what gauchos are. Gaucho is a term used to describe the residents of the South American pampas, found principally in parts of Argentina. It's something similar to North American cowboy. Just like cowboys, gauchos are great and proud horse riders and play an important role in the culture of almost entire South America. The postcard shows some photos of jineteada gaucha (doma gaucha), a traditional sport in the gaucho culture of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern parts of Chile. The objective is for the rider to stay on an untamed horse for a specified time, 6 to 15 seconds, depending on the category. From what I can see on the photos, it seems like the horses are making quite some problems for the riders. 

The stamps are just wonderful! The llama staring at us is so adorable :) Two long stamps on the top represent Argentinian national parks - Copo National Park and Los Cardones National Park. Of course, I have to mention the lighthouse stamp as well - it's depicting 10-meters-high Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse built in 1920, located five Nautical miles east of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego.  It is known to the Argentines as the Lighthouse at the End of the World (Faro del fin del mundo). And the mark is surprisingly neat, probably one of the best-looking ones I've received recently.