Middle of nowhere 1

Friday, January 14, 2011 – Saturday, January 15, 2011

It is unbearably hot right now.  It’s 3:30pm on Saturday and I’m relaxing at the estancia.  I tried relaxing on the bed outside under the tree, but the sun beat down through the leaves and warmed my body and flies kept landing on my bare skin.  I moved inside thinking my room might be more pleasant, but the lack of fans or aircon means the room isn’t cooling off.  The window is wide open but the faint breeze barely enters.

I arrived at Estancia Yvytu Itaty yesterday afternoon.  My three hour bus ride from Durazno to Tacuarembó passed through fields and fields and more fields.  Square plots of trees rose from the ground, clearly belonging to estancias, and thin wood/wire fences stretched into the horizon.  Unlike the journey to Durazno, there were small undulations in the otherwise horizontal land.  I listened to a few Freakconomics and Planet Money podcasts before switching to music and my guidebooks.

Once I’d secured up my backpack from the luggage compartment, I heard my name.  Matius, a guy from the estancia was waiting for me.  Before we departed, he helped me determine bus times and it turns out buses only go to Salto Monday through Friday, so my plan to head there Saturday or Sunday night was out.  I’ll have to stay in Tacuarembó Sunday night now and leave for Salto Monday.  While it’s the timing I originally intended, I was hoping to get into Argentina a day or two early.

The drive to the estancia backtracked the road I’d just come on but eventually we made a sharp right onto a stone road barely visible from the paved ruta 5.  We bumped and bounced and tried to make conversation.  Matias kept speaking in Spanish but sadly I was only getting a few words and felt like I was missing the entire meaning.  I really am trying but I just don’t know enough words yet.

We drove through the open countryside, only passing a couple estancias before Matias took a left on a “road” whose path was only just visible from the downtrodden grass of car tires.  Five kilometers on this track, the house and a clump of trees appeared in the distance, nothing else in sight.  Nahir, in Spanish, showed me around the house and we walked outside just in time to see the two other guests returning from their afternoon horseback ride.

After hearing nothing but Spanish for the last few hours, I was relieved that Tom and Samantha spoke English.  They are taking a year off from life in London and are a few months into their trip, having been to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.  Post Patagonia, they’ll visit New Zealand, Australia, India and China.  Even though they’d only been at the estancia for a day, they learned a lot about the place.  Apparently a couple days ago a sheep was killed; hence the copious amounts of lamb in the meals.

We sat having afternoon tea (at 7pm) with some biscuits and homemade dulce de leche and fruit yogurt drinks.  Before dinner at 10pm, we had time to relax.  While waiting for the water to warm for showers, I asked them about Peru and Bolivia gathering some good advice.  The sunset was magnificent, a big ball of orangey-yellow sinking below the horizon.  I moved away from the house to get a better view and was stunned by the silence of it all.  The only noises I heard were birds chirping and the occasional horse or donkey call.   Nothing but the wide open fields in the distance, the estancia was the only building in site.  All I could think was “I’m in the middle of nowhere in Uruguay, wow.”

Wide open spaces

I was given a small glass of pisco and offered some mate as we sat in a circle waiting for dinner to be served.  As I watched a satellite go by, a shooting star crossed the sky.  The stars are incredibly bright out here, only the brightness of the moon providing light against the black sky.  Nahir and Maria Rose cooked lamb with rice served with some herbs and bread.  It tasted excellent with the hint of lemon I added.  For dessert, we had some type of rice and milk concoction, not exactly sure what it was, but it was sweet and delicious.  By the time we finished dinner, it was past 11pm and after a bit more chatting (mostly to Tom and Sam in English), we headed to bed.

Double fisting - mate and pisco

Me, Tom and Sam at dinner

Matias, Pedro and Nahir

This morning started with the milking of cows.  I got out of bed around 8am and threw on some clothes.  Pedro had already separated the mothers from their babies and brought the first pair into the barn.  Sam went first to show me how it’s done, but she struggled a bit getting milk out of the udder.  When she was finished, I sat down on the bench, grabbed the nipple and squeezed my hand from the base to the tip.  Out came milk!  First try!  I went on for a bit before tiring of the motion.  After Tom took his turn, Pedro showed us how it’s really done.  I couldn’t believe the quantity of liquid he released with each squeeze – a true pro.

Pedro milked the other two cows himself as we stood watching.  It was a bit sad to see the baby cows tied up next to their mothers and you should have seen them go for her milk once they were released.  The last cow did not enjoy being tied up, and she kicked and moved around until Pedro got a good grip.  Just as he sat down to begin milking he jumped back up as she let out a nice big poop, and then a long pee.  It was pretty funny.

Breakfast consisted of bread, toast, dulce de leche and yogurt drinks, which gave us enough energy for some horseback riding.  We went out with Pedro and two of the dogs for about an hour, exploring some of the grounds but without much purpose, so it seemed.  Tom told me that he hadn’t quite figured out why the dogs seem to herd the cows to go nowhere in particular.  When we returned, Tom and Sam prepared to depart for Tacuarembó to Montevideo.  As soon as they left, Pedro and I were back on the horses.  He told me that I could go “mas rapido” and so I kicked my horse and started galloping.  Amazing!

Maria Rose, Nahir, me, Pedro and Matias

We went a different direction from the first ride, passing a few of their donkeys, cows and sheep before herding some sheep to take back to the house.  I think they are in the process of sheering the sheep, but I couldn’t understand everything Pedro was saying.  Lunch, a vegetable/rice pie thing with pesto and lamb with pasta soup, was served on our arrival.  Since there were no English speakers left, I was “forced” to speak Spanish.  Nahir got out a Spanish-English lesson book after the meal to help me practice.  I read pretty well, but still needed the English translation on the other side of the page to fully understand the sentences.

And that brings me to now.  I’ve spent the last hour trying to relax outside but it’s too damn hot.  Not that I’m really complaining because I definitely prefer the heat to the cold, but without a fan or air conditioning it’s a bit less bearable.  Pedro and I will go on another ride this afternoon before tea, free time and dinner.