Vente nueve

On the 29th of every month, it is tradition in Uruguay to have gnocchi for dinner. Legend has it that payday was typically at the end of the month, and most people would be out of money before payday. So, the night before (or so) the end of the month, they'd scrape together a meal consisting of dough made out of potato, egg, and a little flour, and serve it with a simple sauce.

When we were at Sonia's sister's bakery yesterday, she picked up a bag of freshly made gnocchi for that evening's dinner.

Uruguay borrows food culture from various European sources, since they have historically had a lot of European immigration. It seems like Italian is the strongest influence - lots of pasta and traditional Italian food are consumed here.

We were more than happy to take part in this culture. :)

Mmmm...Bora Bora

We heard from two independent sources that Bora Bora was the best helado joint in town, and today we were treated with what I am positive is the BEST helado. Period.

Behold, a double scoop waffle cone - with a scoop of semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate Bora Bora) and a scoop of limoncello (very mild, refreshing lemon, not too tart), drizzled with chocolate sauce, and covered in chocolate sprinkles.

We're actually hoping for some cool weather some day so we can come back and enjoy a cappuccino and a hot chocolate that they also serve. But since today hit a sweltering 30 degrees (90 F and freakin HUMID), helado sounded a whole lot better!

Panaderia de Pan!

We have a long-standing giggle when it comes to bakeries here - many are called a Panaderia de Pan (a bread bakery of bread). It seems a little redundant and unnecessary, and therefore slightly humorous.

Today was our first day off since the huge thunderstorm a week and a half ago (after some administrative catching up immediately following breakfast). We spent the afternoon in town with Sonia and Luana, and our first stop, before we picked Luana up from school, was a bakery owned by Sonia's sister, another Laura, and her husband. (I believe their house is the structure slightly behind and to the right of the bakery storefront.)

Inside was a small shop with the overwhelming smell of freshly baking bread. Sonia said the best bakeries have brick wood-fueled ovens, that are more common here in small towns than in cities in Montevideo. Out of these ovens come pastries, pizzas, and beautiful loaves of bread.

Just as I was about to ask, Sonia ushered us through the storefront to the back building that houses the ovens and prep space. The entire operation is operated solely by her brother in law. There is an industrial mixer and a roller in the back of this building, and the large wooden prep surface in the forefront of the photo. That and the huge brick oven (kept at 200 C, which is just shy of 400 degrees F) is all it takes to make awesome bread.

So awesome, in fact, that when Sonia discovered that the loaves were all warm, she grabbed one, tore it open, and passed it around. Her sister was amused by our excitement, and loved that we started taking pictures of each other eating "pan suave." Because of the humidity, bread dries out relatively fast here, so tearing into fresh, soft, hot bread is a treat. :)

Oh, and please admire the American look - khaki bermuda shorts and tennis shoes. This is what happens when you concentrate more on packing for field work, and less on packing for days in town. I'm sure we'll look even cooler when we take this wardrobe to the big city of Montevideo and try to fit in. :)

Que lindo!

There are some really gorgeous aspects to Uruguay...

The weather is turning a slight bit - the days are still warm and mostly sunny, but there's definitely a chill in the evening and in the early morning. The fall weather has created some beautiful mornings, as the sun rises and the fog slowly evaporates.

Out in the field, we discovered a very large flowering shrub in one of the exclosures. It was completely covered in butterflies, which fluttered around the plant to find spots to land. It kind of made up for the fact that other plants were leaving tiny thorns in our skin and causing Cat to get temporary hives. ;)

Caracol!

About a week ago, Sonia told us she'd heard about a concert in town featuring our favorite Uruguayan band, Caracol. We borrowed some of her CD's during our field season last time, and listened to them so much in the field truck, that we knew a lot of them by heart. Well, not necessarily all the words, but we knew the music very well. :)

On Saturday, after a long but productive day in the field, and after dinner at the house, we ventured into town with the family to the concert. We got there as an earlier act was performing (Caracol was closing the show that night).

The concert was set up at a local park beside a lake, and it fit perfectly with the randomness that we've come to love about rural Uruguay. It was like a huge tailgate party - people parking cars, scooters, and motorcycles where they felt like it, some people sitting in their vehicles, others in lawn chairs, and others standing near the stage. Around the perimeter, people were selling hot dogs or their wares (jewelry, leather goods, plants, you name it). Some people even set up their own grills and were cooking chorizo over coals.

Some people were having a REALLY good time, including this guy. He was really drunk, and would stagger when he tried to walk. But when the music was playing, he was dancing with extreme rhythm and creativity. Most of the time, he slowly galloped in a circle with his arm out like he was riding a horse. His smile never left his face.

To close out the show, Caracol appeared on stage. They have mostly fun, peppy music, and it was pretty cool to hear it live. They played a couple songs we recognized right away, and a couple I hadn't heard before.

When the show was done, we started heading back to the truck, but Sonia gestured us to follow her. We went to the side of the stage where the Caracol van was parked, and she snagged them before they had all their gear loaded to take off by saying in rapid Spanish, "These girls want a photo! THEY ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES!" I really forget sometimes what a novelty that can be here - two white chicks from America are wandering around Tacuarembo.



Well, I think this makes us official groupies now. :)

Fin de semana Santa

We spend our Easter in the field, tackling some ungrazed grasslands. They haven't been grazed (except for a little incident we're correcting right now) for 18 months, and in that time the grasses have grown like crazy. It's a little hard to get used to, wading into a really tall meadow, unable to see the ground (or even below your thighs for that matter), and trusting that you've already rustled all the snakes out of your path.

It turns out the diversity within these grassland patches appears to be much lower than the grasslands that have continued to be grazed. So while it's a major exercise in looking at vegetation within multiple layers, and trying to spot things growing under other things, the mental strain of identifying dozens of different plants in one plot is much better.



When we returned to the house, we were greeted with hellos and Easter candy.

Cena de atun

The other night we had fresh tuna for dinner (Sonia said it came from Tacuarembo - not sure what kind of species of fish we're talking about).

Here's our elegant table, set for us two:

On the menu: fresh tuna, cut into steaks, lightly floured with the sides crusted in sesame, and sauteed. Served on a bed of vegetables in a red wine (tannat) sauce.

Also, spinach bunuelos: a spinach dough creation, fried until crispy on the outside, and warm and soft on the inside.

For dessert, a fresh pear poached in red wine, served with helado (ice cream) of three flavors: vanilla, strawberry, and dulce de leche. Our helado always comes drizzled with blueberry sauce or chocolate. :)

Trabajamos

Lest people think all we do is eat, relax, and take photos of the weather, I thought I should post photos of what we're actually here in Uruguay to do.

One of the main research questions for my project is how "native" vegetation is affected by habitat and grazing regimes. So, I have five sites set up as experiments, with exclosures and nearby space that has continued to graze. With this design, I can survey vegetation in four treatments: grazed forest, ungrazed forest, grazed grassland, and ungrazed grassland. We're also surveying vegetation at different scales, to figure out if these habitats or changes in grazing affect vegetation diversity at very local or larger scales.

This is what the sites look like: forest habitats, munched grassland, and grassland that hasn't been grazed by cattle for 18 months (unless the fence was broken at some point and cows were able to get in and chow down temporarily).

This is one of the grazed grasslands up close. Some of the larger grasses are really sharp, so the cows avoid them, and just eat around them. So we get to survey vegetation in and around these large clumps, as well as try to distinguish different chewed grasses and plants around them.

This, by contrast, is one of the forest plots (denoted by PVC poles). It looks like there isn't much going on at all in the way of vegetation. In terms of cover, that is true, but forests do have almost the same diversity as the grasslands at the large scale, it's just not as abundant.

And this site, I loathe. In fact, everyone that has every helped me at this site also harbors severe hatred for this site. Not only is it partial wetland, and you sometimes get your boots stuck if there's been rain recently, but the water on the ground surface is hot. So when it's a really hot day, not only do you have heat radiating down on you, you also have it coming up from below. Add to that the miserable aloe-like plants that dominate this site, which are covered in really sharp thorns. Just try walking through or squatting over a plot to study the vegetation. It pretty much sucks.

We're saving this for last for this part of the project. After this, we'll get the reward of being done with the experimental sites, and moving on to studying plants in Eucalyptus forests. And possibly enjoying some good food and/or wine.

Mas tormentas

We're getting a lot of thunderstorms this week, which apparently is tradition - Easter week is usually a wet one. On Wednesday, we met some local employees and got started on some more temperature monitor deployment, which was great, and then our plan was to head out and do some vegetation surveys. However, the sky was quickly getting dark.

As we got closer to the field site, the sky rapidly turned charcoal grey, rain pelted down, and the thunder started. We figured it may be a good time to not be out in the field. High winds, potential flash flooding, and lightening strikes don't really mesh too well with field work in forest/grassland habitats.

I got a few office things done and got caught up on labeling and sorting plant photos. But the greatest benefit to dealing with storms here is the comfort food that you get at dinner. Behold homemade ravioli, made with a dough akin to gnocchi, filled with ham and cheese, and covered with a mushroom cream sauce.



I will admit I had at least half this serving plate. It was hard to stop eating it. :)

Laisa en el campo

We were getting ready to leave for the field yesterday, and got a little surprise, just before we started the truck:

Apparently someone wanted to join us in the field.

She meowed at us a bunch, then jumped down and watched us as we drove away. We suggested she could eat all the spiders in our plots while we work, but I think she may be a bit of a flight risk.

Asado!

We celebrated Kike's birthday with an asado for lunch on Sunday. Sonia and Kike were kind enough to invite us to join in with their friends and family, and we chatted and enjoyed the food outside.

On the menu...

Molleja (sweetbreads, which are the thymus gland of a cow). They are marinated in lemon juice, and then salted while they cook over the coals until they have a crunchy coating. Sounds gross, but it's seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten. One of my goals is to get my fill of molleja before I come home.

Chorizo (not sure what the main meat content is, but I"m guessing pork; this one was stuffed with red pepper and cheese) and Mate for the locals

One salad of sliced beets and hardboiled egg (unusual combination, but seriously good)

Another salad of fresh tomato, hearts of palm, and fresh basil (like the Uruguayan version of a Caprese salad)

And all the meat you can stand (seriously, there was beef roast, chicken, and lamb ribs, and could have fed three times the people there that day - we went through probably 3 trays like the one below, and there was still meat on the grill)

Cumpleanos para Kike

We celebrated Kike's birthday on Sunday with a great lunch (soon to be posted) and a homemade birthday cake Sonia baked in the kitchen.

Multiple layers of cake were sandwiched between pudding/frosting layers of dulce de leche, chocolate, and vanilla. Around the sides of the outer frosting were crushed meringue cookies. And then she topped the cake with cherries and chocolate frosting, saying "Felicidades."

Everyone enjoyed the cake, and the whole day...

No trabajamos en el campo hoy

Well, we're not working in the field today. We woke up to the sound of high winds and thunder. As we ate breakfast, it seemed to be getting darker.

A couple hours later, the front of the storm hit, with continued high winds, lightening, and thunder so loud it shook the house. And then the rains really came down.

It has a tendency to flash flood here, which is another great reason (besides the high winds and the lightening strikes) to not be out in the field. The trees and vegetation (and soil samples) badly need the rain, so I was somewhat happy to see it come through.

It does, however, put a kink into our plans today. Luckily, our pace is going great, so I'm not too stressed about missing some field time. Instead, we'll be working on plant descriptions and other related work. And possibly cozying up with a good book or knitting for awhile.

Una problema...

We finished two more forest plots today, which we are pretty stoked about. We still remember a lot of the vegetation and identification details from last season, and the diversity seems to be down a bit compared to last time, so we haven't had much of a lag even for being the beginning of the season.

We did, however, have a slight downside to the day. As we were crawling through the fence and entering the exclosure, ready to sample vegetation in our Exclosed (ungrazed) Forest plot, we noticed something a little weird. 

Fresh poop. Logic tells us that there really shouldn't be fresh poop inside an exclosure. So I looked up to the far side of the fence and discovered this:

Yeah, that fence should really be upright. And cows and horses really shouldn't have access to our "ungrazed" plot.

Upon close inspection, it looks like recent nearby thinning caused some damage to the fence, and some of the wires of the fence actually snapped in two. And our last discovery regarding this was the most disappointing to me:

One of the fence posts was actually cut into two pieces, by a chainsaw I'm guessing considering the height of the cut and the proximity of the tree stump. That meant that humans were directly involved in the damage, and it also meant that no one mentioned anything to the local research staff about the damage or to facilitate repairs.

An email has been sent, and we're working through the channels to get the fence fixed soon. The damage to our study plot was minor, and involved lots of poop, a resting place in the middle of the plot, and only minimal munching on our plants. Even with the munching, we were still able to identify our plants, so I don't think this will have affected the results of the research.

Since this is the last extended field season for my dissertation project, I won't be back at these sites for quite awhile. We want to make sure the fences are all in good shape to leave unattended for an extended period of time. We'll also be fashioning some fancy laminated labels to post along the fences denoting the area as a research site and listing contact information in case of damage.

Tomorrow we're planning a partial field day, and then helping celebrate Kike's birthday party here at La Corona. Should be fun!

Una otra cena

Another dinner, in pictures:

Aperitif while checking email and catching up with office work. Brazilian booze (something fairly strong with lots of flavor), flavored with fruit from the palm tree in front of the house. Served in a cylindrical glass with one ice cube.

Roast beef, and roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, cooked with the roast. Served with a healthy side of chimichurri sauce. I have decided that our fridge at home must always be stocked with chimichurri sauce, especially in the summer. It's hard to beat the flavors of fresh garlic, parsley, oregano, red pepper, salt, and oil.

As a side dish, another fresh salad of lettuce and ripe tomato, this time served with hard boiled eggs harvested from the chickens in the coop behind the house. They were the first eggs, so they were small, but the yolks were relatively large, and the flavor was great.

And for dessert, Isla Flotanta (floating island). It's an awesome cross between a meringue and an angel food cake (imagine an angel food cake but without flour). It's spongy and really light, and studded with a few chopped prunes, and covered in a caramelized syrup. In case that's not great enough, there's a sauce available, mostly made of capuccino liquor, to drizzle over the top of each piece.



Our happiness continued when we finished our field lunch the next day and enjoyed some Isla Flotanta leftovers for dessert.