Best. Day. Ever.

After working yesterday morning on plant identification in one of our grassland sites, we kept our date with Sonia and took the afternoon off to venture out into Tacuarembó to see it from a local’s perspective. We drove into town with her and her daughter, Luana, to see the sites.

We drove through Tacuarembo, with Sonia pointing out the different barrio centers that were the focal point for each different neighborhood. She pointed out a couple high end shops (mostly clothing) that we will probably return to at some point. Because it was Sunday, most things were closed. This actually ended up in our favor, because instead of spending the afternoon in the city, Sonia called her father-in-law to see if we could come out to their house, meet them, and ride horses (a long-time goal for a certain fellow student here).

As we drove up to their house, Quique’s dad opened the gate for us, followed our truck on foot, and, along with his wife, greeted us onto their homestead. We met Greta, their sheep, their cow, their chickens, their 4 dogs, and a couple of their cats (including one that was on a leash when it was outside). It was easy to see that Sonia (and Luana) felt at home here, and immediately sat down, played with the dogs, and showed us around.

Quique’s dad went to get his two horses that actually live in the neighbor’s yard. Apparently this arrangement has been agreed upon awhile ago, and seems to work just fine. While we waited, we wandered the property with Sonia, and Luana found a bicycle and other things around the place to play with.

After Quique’s dad saddled up the old horse (23 years old and VERY calm) we took turns on a short ride around their yard. It turns out when an old Uruguayan man is instructing you on how to command a horse in Spanish, you catch none of it, and instead smile and just try your best. I think Scott fared much better here, because I just let the horse do whatever, and then Quique’s dad would come by and help once in a while.

After we became experts on horseback, we sat on the porch with the family and had snacks and joined in conversation while Sonia and her in-laws passed around the mate. Even when you don’t know Spanish, you can pick up on some of the conversation by the tone and gestures being used. For instance, I knew enough to pick up on the fact that Sonia was giving me a hard time by recounting my wrong turn and illegal u-turn that she had me make across Ruta 5 earlier that day. It also turns out that understanding driving directions in Spanish is much harder than you may think.

Once we were done there (filled with coffee cake and sweet crackers) we headed back towards La Corona with a few stops along the way. Sonia had us stop in town to check out a local park and a nearby shop downtown highlighting local artisan products. It just so happened there was were street food vendors right on the corner, so Sonia treated us to torta fritas (like thick elephant ears or flat churros).

We also had to stop at a local panaderia so Sonia could stock up on the bread/cracker things we have with most meals. I think I’ll be returning to this place, as it is like a local grocer (and not at all like the big supermarket we discovered last time in town). They not only had all kinds of bread, but also a small deli case of cheese and hams (the food mainstay of Uruguay) and also appeared to have a local wine selection.

We made it back to La Corona having thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon adventure. Meeting some locals, hanging out at their house, and just basically experiencing life here was one of my goals with traveling down to Uruguay, and I’m ecstatic to have been able to do a little of that.