We had two more nights at the estancia before we left for Brazil (we had to leave at some stage …). The horses we took on the trek were still on their way back and we drove to see where the gaucho had got to. We found him just past where we set up camp on the first night. He was riding Gatiarda (we weren’t sure why as he had two horses of his own) and he tried to tell Juan that she was a biter! Euan can confirm that while Gatiarda may be an airhead, a biter she definitely is not! Anyhow, we stopped off at a gaucho bar for a beer and waited for him to arrive with the horses for the night.
Outside the bar, a calf was tied up in the back of a ute
and another gaucho had stopped in for a drink. His mare had foaled and when he left the foal just trotted along behind its Mum.
The owner’s grandson brought out his computer to show us. Every schoolchild in Uruguay is issued one of these laptops that is bar coded and linked to their name (to avoid stealing). We were quite amazed as while many homes in Uruguay are without power, all children have these laptops, the batteries of which can be charged by a windup handle. Uruguay has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America, with something like 97%..
Friday was our last day on the estancia and luckily it was a lovely day and there was loads planned so we were able to provide some help. We’d not had much sleep…. Euan had mentioned he had some pain from what looked like a spot but on closer examination I could see things moving…. Not pretty and nor was it pleasant so after freaking out for a few minutes, I spent 2 ½ hours pulling wriggling maggots out of a very small hole in Euans leg by blinking (the torch had been in one of the bags that got bashed around by one of the horses on the trek) torchlight. It wasn’t easy to get them out and thankfully I’d remembered something Euans Mum told me from when they lived in Nigeria, about preventing the things from breathing and forcing them to come up for air. So, after covering the wound with Vaseline I grabbed the little b*stards one by one as they stuck their heads out for air. There were 11 in total and, understandably, we were both a bit grossed out – me because I could see them and Euan because they were in him!! We still don’t know what they were, Juan was bemused and had never seen it before but I blame those little crawly lice-looking things that we came across on day one of the trek.
Thankfully we were busy enough to think about other things as we were bringing calves in to be weaned, tagged and branded and injected. It was a big day for them and the noise was unbelievable as all the calves were separated from their mums for at least a few hours (and some separated for good).
This is one of the Brangus bulls that are used on the estancia and this one is particularly striking because of his tiger pattern – in the sun his coat looked like tigers eye. A very impressive animal, both in looks and stature.
In the yards a fire was built to heat the branding irons
and the action began.
On one side of the race Bilinga grabbed the tail to hold the calf firmly against the race wall
while Juan did the damage with the iron.
and the end result was pretty clear!
We were really sorry to be leaving but said farewell to Bilinga and saw the horses safely arrive from their journey with the gaucho. Euan took a liking to the gauchos skewbald horse and Juan asked him how much for his horse but I don’t think the gaucho realised he had a serious buyer and just mumbled some response.
We were catching a lift with Juan to Florianópolis, about 1000km away, where he was going on holiday to visit some friends. We were very grateful for the lift as it saved us time, money and hassle as the bus route is not direct. Alison was coming too as were two Swiss girls, friends of Suzanne’s family so it was going to be a proper road trip. Juan had (in the typical blunt fashion that we enjoyed) warned us that he was not going to entertain us and did not speak while driving…..
While I’m on this topic, I’ve not been entertained so well in a long time (well, since we left Sander and Marije I guess) as I was when hearing Juan talk to the big group from Intrepid when they arrived at the estancia. He told them that he was not a psychiatrist and that any problems with the horses will be caused by us (so true!) – the horses have been riding their whole lives and some people only riding one day, so it is not a problem with the horse. On the food; “if you don’t like our food, don’t eat it. Don’t eat it on day one, don’t eat it on day two and by day three you will love our food”. On people having a crisis; “people have crisis’. Some people have crisis with capital C. I am not a therapist and I cannot do anything about these crises. I am looking out for accidents and looking to fix broken bones and broken hearts”. On complaints; “ if you have a crisis, see your tour guide. If you have complaints, see Suzanne”. I was nearly in stitches. Very very entertaining and all said with a dead pan face.
Outside the bar, a calf was tied up in the back of a ute
and another gaucho had stopped in for a drink. His mare had foaled and when he left the foal just trotted along behind its Mum.
The owner’s grandson brought out his computer to show us. Every schoolchild in Uruguay is issued one of these laptops that is bar coded and linked to their name (to avoid stealing). We were quite amazed as while many homes in Uruguay are without power, all children have these laptops, the batteries of which can be charged by a windup handle. Uruguay has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America, with something like 97%..
Friday was our last day on the estancia and luckily it was a lovely day and there was loads planned so we were able to provide some help. We’d not had much sleep…. Euan had mentioned he had some pain from what looked like a spot but on closer examination I could see things moving…. Not pretty and nor was it pleasant so after freaking out for a few minutes, I spent 2 ½ hours pulling wriggling maggots out of a very small hole in Euans leg by blinking (the torch had been in one of the bags that got bashed around by one of the horses on the trek) torchlight. It wasn’t easy to get them out and thankfully I’d remembered something Euans Mum told me from when they lived in Nigeria, about preventing the things from breathing and forcing them to come up for air. So, after covering the wound with Vaseline I grabbed the little b*stards one by one as they stuck their heads out for air. There were 11 in total and, understandably, we were both a bit grossed out – me because I could see them and Euan because they were in him!! We still don’t know what they were, Juan was bemused and had never seen it before but I blame those little crawly lice-looking things that we came across on day one of the trek.
Thankfully we were busy enough to think about other things as we were bringing calves in to be weaned, tagged and branded and injected. It was a big day for them and the noise was unbelievable as all the calves were separated from their mums for at least a few hours (and some separated for good).
This is one of the Brangus bulls that are used on the estancia and this one is particularly striking because of his tiger pattern – in the sun his coat looked like tigers eye. A very impressive animal, both in looks and stature.
In the yards a fire was built to heat the branding irons
and the action began.
On one side of the race Bilinga grabbed the tail to hold the calf firmly against the race wall
while Juan did the damage with the iron.
and the end result was pretty clear!
We were really sorry to be leaving but said farewell to Bilinga and saw the horses safely arrive from their journey with the gaucho. Euan took a liking to the gauchos skewbald horse and Juan asked him how much for his horse but I don’t think the gaucho realised he had a serious buyer and just mumbled some response.
We were catching a lift with Juan to Florianópolis, about 1000km away, where he was going on holiday to visit some friends. We were very grateful for the lift as it saved us time, money and hassle as the bus route is not direct. Alison was coming too as were two Swiss girls, friends of Suzanne’s family so it was going to be a proper road trip. Juan had (in the typical blunt fashion that we enjoyed) warned us that he was not going to entertain us and did not speak while driving…..
While I’m on this topic, I’ve not been entertained so well in a long time (well, since we left Sander and Marije I guess) as I was when hearing Juan talk to the big group from Intrepid when they arrived at the estancia. He told them that he was not a psychiatrist and that any problems with the horses will be caused by us (so true!) – the horses have been riding their whole lives and some people only riding one day, so it is not a problem with the horse. On the food; “if you don’t like our food, don’t eat it. Don’t eat it on day one, don’t eat it on day two and by day three you will love our food”. On people having a crisis; “people have crisis’. Some people have crisis with capital C. I am not a therapist and I cannot do anything about these crises. I am looking out for accidents and looking to fix broken bones and broken hearts”. On complaints; “ if you have a crisis, see your tour guide. If you have complaints, see Suzanne”. I was nearly in stitches. Very very entertaining and all said with a dead pan face.
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