Canelones, Uruguay

I spent a Sunday afternoon at the country home of Mauro’s parents, located in Canelones Department, adjacent to Montevideo. The home is located in parts of Uruguay’s wine country.

The visit was amazing! The home is actually part of a farm filled with cows, sheep, ducks, chickens, swans and a peacock. The most amazing sight was when the peacock opened up its feathers in order to attract a mate. Unfortunately, this did not work.

The home is surrounded by a large grassy field, which I enjoyed lying on. There were numerous trees and wildflowers. These included trees that bear oranges, lemons and figs. At the end of the estate is the River Santa Lucia, perfect for a dip on a hot day.

As for the lunch, it was scrumptious! We savored asado (steak), chorizo and the salivary glands of cows, all cooked on the outdoor grill! Furthermore, there was baked Roquefort cheese and an assortment of vegetables. We finished the meal with ice cream topped with strawberries in Kirsch liquor. Yum!!!

On the Farm, Uruguay

I had originally wanted to stay on an estancia in Uruguay (actually, in Argentina, but the two countries are very similar). I, like most other people, had romanticized about life on an estancia--riding horses, savoring parrilla (grilled meat) and sipping mate (tea) under the stars. However, since Cser Maria was able to connect me to a farmer friend of her’s (Alejandro), I decided to stay on a small farm instead.

Alejandro’s farm turned out to be very rustic. Not only was it in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by fields and hills, the farmhouse did not contain a shower. I was taken aback at having to use the traditional bucket and cup to bathe myself!

The farm is indeed very self-sufficient. Alejandro and his family owned 16 cows, 2 horses, 3 pigs and a bunch of dogs, cats and rabbits. Yes, I felt like I was living in a zoo! There was also a vegetable garden with lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, beans and corn. The only fruit grown on the farm were small peaches. And by the way, there were also peanut trees!

For a city boy like me, the tasks on the farm were indeed exotic. Daily tasks include milking the cows, herding the cows to the stream, feeding all the animals and making cheese. Other tasks include baking bread, making butter and tending the vegetable garden.

Here’s a 101 on how to make cheese, which is the only product that Alejandro’s family sells at the Sunday market. First, milk and curdling agent are added to a vat. I was told that it takes 11-12 L of milk to product 1 kg of cheese. Then, the mixture is stirred for about 1 hour. Next, the curd (to become cheese) is sifted from the vat and placed in a mold. All the “milk” is allowed to drained out, which takes 1 day. The next morning, the cheese is placed on a shelf for 15 days to mature.

Making cheese, in my opinion, is much easier than milking cows. I was excited at the latter activity, but when it came time to do it, I lost interest after a few minutes. This is because one can expend lots of energy in milking, yet out comes a trickle of milk. At the rate that I was milking, it would have taken me close to an hour to fill the 10-L bucket. Alejandro surprisingly preferred to milk by hand even though he has a milking machine. He milks at least 80 L of milk each day!

Tacuarembo, Uruguay

I traveled by bus for about 5 hours to the heart of “gaucho” or rural Uruguay--Tacuarembo. This town is literally in the middle of nowhere as it is surrounded by endless green fields and rolling hills.

My main purpose in visiting Tacuarembo was to stay at a Uruguayan farm for a few days. I’ll talk about my experiences at the farm in another entry as I would like to talk about my adventures at Tacuarembo. There, Maria, a CouchSurfer who helped me organize my farm stay, picked me up at the bus station and then took me to a practice session of a murga, which is a singing and dancing Carnaval troupe. In addition to the one guitarist and two drummers, there were about a dozen singers and dancers. This was a perfect complement to the candombe Carnaval drumming that I had witnessed the previous night. I was entertained by the fact that local TV was filming the event and also by the Uruguayan murga coach who could also speak Swedish.

In the evening, Maria’s friend, a farmer by the name of Alejandro, drove me to the farm on his motorcycle. Thank God I did not have my huge backpack with me, as I doubt it would have survived the ride! The ride was quite windy and bumpy but the main perk was being able to see the sky full of stars in a quiet environment. It’s quite interesting how trusting one becomes when one is placed in a foreign environment. I mean, I don’t even know this guy and I am riding with him at night on an empty road--who knows where he’ll take me!