More at the hacienda

Thursday started with a two hour horse ride.  Ben was moderately keen (I really think he just didn't want to rake any more lawns!) and the horse he saddled up was very well behaved for him.  Most of the ride was a quiet walk over the stone roads, calling "buenos dias" to all the people we went past.

We did a big loop that nearly went back down to the highway.  I was a little disheartened at this as I could see la lluvia (the rain) coming and we were a long way from the hacienda.  Luckily Guido had a plan - we would canter home as the road had more of a verge.

The horses are incredibly well behaved - no racing for home, no trying to overtake each other.  Ben's horse did seem a little on the slow side, partly as he wanted to snack on every available plant.  I was a little concerned when we started cantering but no need, Ben figured out the most comfotable position - leaning back a little, cowboy style and as little trotting as possible - and on we went.

The horses are very unconcerned with the train (it's pretty slow and quiet), the odd car and the hordes of dogs that race out and greet you at every house.  One even latched on to Ben's horse's tail but the he just kept on walking.

The valley here is all dairy farms and looks a lot like dairy country at home, rich lush pastures, with shelter belts of eucalyptus.  There the similarity ends though - many of the fence posts are little live trees, all the trees have hundreds of bromeliads in them and much of the housing looks very different from home.  The people look a little more prosperous than in other places we've been, with fatter livestock, but most local people are very poor.  In spite of this and our obvious wealth, they always meet you with a smile and a cheerful welcome.

After lunch Gabriel showed us round more of the farm and we gave a hand with odds and ends of jobs.  The night was particularly cold and even with a big fire roaring it definitely felt like we were in the highlands.