One of things that I really wanted to do whilst in either Uruguay or Argentina was to visit an estancia or in simple terms a horse ranch where your could stay the night, enjoy the rural surroundings and do horsey type things during the day.
I was scouting around online and found this little gem of a place not far from where I was in Montevideo. About an hour from the port town of Sacrmento De Colonia, was a small town that I cannot remembers its name, (but I googled it and its called Valdense) but it was there that I was to get off and visit this estancia that I would be staying at for the next 48 hours or so. To my surprise, there was a luxury Mercedes waiting at the side of the road for me, seriously there was, however this 2000 model e-class had seen better days. It was then a 15min drive into the countryside to where El Galope, the name of the estancia, was located. If I had been knocked unconscious and then had woken up, I would have sworn that I was still in Ireland. The scenery and colours were all very similar as the car rounded the small roads through the countryside. Coupled that with the strong agricultural presence the area had, the only thing that would have told me otherwise that I was in a foreign land was the sound of the Spanish language.
On arriving at El Galope, the dogs greeted me as I arrived through the gates! Great, I get on so well with dogs..... Eh, no. Monica, the owner, then appeared, rescued me and welcomed me into her home and put some manners on her dogs (who really were full of fun and joy, not bad manners) for whom I came to enjoy their company after a while. I cannot remember both of the dogs names but one was called Tupac. Ah, just like the rapper, I said. Apparently there was an Incan warrior that also bore the same name. A shame, nothing to do with California llllluuuuuuvvvvv, da da da da! I had loads of questions to ask Monica about her dogs affiliation with Shug Knight and death row records but this wasn't to be.
The estancia was beautifully made, a lot of visible stonework and where possible, warm woodwork such as their own sauna were installed to enhance the back to nature vibe the estancia was aiming for. The beds were super comfy too, making this as relaxing an experience as possible. They had duvets, the ones made out of black holes, so that if you lie onto one, you may never return. They were that comfy!
Back in the living area, as Monica stoked the wood fire with one hand, the other cradling her cup of maté, she told me all about herself and her husbands life stories on how they've traveled the world learning new skills and languages, running many businesses including selling bull semen to Europe and then finally settling into the estancia lifestyle back in their native Uruguay. As a keen artist, you could see Monica's touches all around the property too which gave the place a more personal feel. If there was one place in the world to do nothing, this was it, rancho relaxo!
The weather hadn't been great the few days previous and with me not exactly possessing the same jumping skills as Richard Dunwoody, lets say, we said that we'd leave the horses till tomorrow and instead I'd take a walk to the nearby town to have a wander around. The town would very rarely get any tourists so I tended to stick out like a sore thumb. At one stage, some locals had corner street bets on what height I was. Yeah, I could hear ye! Monica was kind enough to do the taxi work also, bringing me in and out of town just in time for a deliciously cooked Uruguayan steak for dinner washed down with a dark red wine. One of her friends locally was a retired wine maker from the Mendoza region in Argentina. Fair play to him because he listened in class and brought all the tips and techniques he acquired over the years back to this rural place in Uruguay for yours truly to enjoy on the cheap.
As I mentioned before, the sauna was a welcomed addition to the building, something I now deem every house in Ireland to have. As president on Venezuela, I will be fixing the roads and installing saunas all over the country. Ireland should follow suit. Monica got it fired up a few hours before dinner using only wood and sweat. I'm not sure if it was a good idea to eat and drink before this or of it was just the sheer heat of this little box but it was H O T hot and forty minutes of me going in and out, chatting to Tupac, the sauna was enough and it was then time for bed.
Unfortunately the night didn't bring good weather so the horses had to be again cancelled the following day which was a shame but safety first in these situations. Instead, I walked down the road taking in the scenic fields until I got to one of Monica's friends houses. I was told that I'd know the house as she collected stray dogs and brings them back to full health at her home. Great, more than one or two dogs and they were unsupervised. I hadn't been having too much luck with the dogs of this country so far, awaking them from their slumber and just causing them to be very aggravated even from a distance. Well when i arrived at the house, it was like the gates had been open on Jurassic Park, with one of each of the breeds coming out at me at once! But fair play to this lady, she had the street beat out of them, very mannerly pooches once they stopped barking. Their bark was certainly worse than their bite. The main reason I was there was to stick my fingers in some cheese and drink some of her wine but she wasn't at home leaving her k9 friends in charge, though not of the cheese tour of course. It was back down the lonely road with no cheese and no wine in my belly :(
After these little trips there was little for me to do, only for relaxing beside the fire with a glass of wine and good company.
The following day brought me to the old port town of Sacramento Del Colonial where I would visit before taking the ferry to my next destination of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The smell of s***e lacking at this stage with the onset of an ocean breeze.