Valle del Hilo de la Vida, Uruguay

Alicia and I headed to an area called Valle del Hilo de la Vida, the Valley of the Thread of Life, where there are a series of stone cones. The stone cones may have been created by native people over a thousand years ago, but researchers are not sure exactly why. The valley is thought to be sacred and hold a special energy.

Before entering the valley, where we would walk to avoid disrupting the historic stone structures, Alicia and I had to first ask permission. Alicia led me to a stream where we dipped our hands in the cool water and then took a sip to see if we would be able to enter. I wasn’t sure that drinking from the stream was a good idea for a traveler like me, so let my local guide Alicia do that part. This was sufficient to get us the good energy we needed to hike into the valley.

I have been in many places, where the locals believe that the land is special. In remote Kipahulu on the island of Maui, I waited on horseback as Keoni, my guide, chanted, sang and prayed a traditional oli or call to his ancestors before we were able to enter the upper part of a pristine forest. In Ireland on mythical Omey Island, I gave a an offering of my horse’s hair at the holy well. If the locals say it should be done, I am not one to mess with rituals, especially when there are sacred places involved.

We seemed to have passed muster as we hiked into the valley. All around us on the hills, I could see the stone cones. At first you don’t really notice them, but once you see one, you pick out more, sort of like those pieces of artwork made of thousands of dots where you have to look closely for the images to appear.

There are around 100 of these stone formations here in Valle del Hilo de la Vida. Alicia and I hiked to a large cone to see how big it was close up. You can see from the photo that it is quite large and that there are these almost stair like stone appendages that jut out around the formation.

It was quite hot out there under the sun with not many trees around, so we hiked back to the welcome center by the entrance. The stone cone site is owned by a husband and wife team whose family makes amazing pizzas in their wood fired ovens. We enjoyed cold water, coke and a myriad of pizzas as we met the family and learned more about what they know about this interesting archeological site. They certainly have a passion for ensuring its preservation and hiking around those stone cones only made me want to know more.

La Salamora Castle, Uruguay

A castle in Uruguay, you might ask? Well yes. Just over the hill from La Salamora lies a stone castle built in 1928 by an eccentric lottery winner. Why he decided to build a castle amid the rolling grasslands of Uruguay surrounded by cattle is why I am labeling him eccentric. It is really interesting to see it in the distance (it looks like it comes out of nowhere) and ride around it. The castle itself looks far older than the 1920’s to me. It’s still privately owned but at this point in need of some repairs. The views from its high point are stunning and I thought that the castle would make for a very cool boutique hotel- only if it is environmentally friendly though, in keeping with everything else that is around here.

Leaving the castle, we rode through herds of cattle under a beautiful blue sky decorated with puffy white clouds. We did a bit of trotting to make up time and that’s when I realized that my stirrups were a little too long for me, as I felt a little off balance. I told Alicia, I would need to raise them a bit when we stopped. There’s no posting in the saddle here. They ride more like American cowboys, and I have found that how well I ride here does depend on the smoothness of my Criollo horse. I’ve had a couple of bouncy ones and a couple of smooth so far and definitely some that like to go fast!

One of the great things about riding with people when you travel is that you do chit chat as you ride. I was curious to know more about what life was like for people in Uruguay, so as we rode, Alicia filled me in. Uruguay is a small country, with only a little less than 3.5 million people. Many of these people live in Montevideo, the capitol. Alicia explained that one reason that so many people live in Montevideo is because of the schools. If you want to attend high school, many times you have to move to the city because you can’t get that level of education everywhere in the countryside. Another reason is that the university in Montevideo is free to anyone in Uruguay, a definite perk.

Back at the ranch the sun was setting. We set our horses free for the night and Alicia and I walked back towards the ranch. As we climbed over one of her fences to avoid having to walk anymore than we had to, we encountered an armadillo. Armadillos are so random. I have seen them in the most unlikely places, like Cumberland Island, Georgia, so I was both surprised and not to see one slinking across Alicia’s fields. There are also ostrich’s on the farm.

After taking a shower in my wind powered shower with surprisingly good water pressure, we all settled down at Alicia’s table for a dinner of abundant grilled meats. Life in Uruguay is good.

Morning Mate, Uruguay

This morning I enjoyed a drinking a morning mate with Alicia at La Salamora. No, not latte, mate, the national drink of Uruguay. Mate (pronounced mah- tay) is like a tea and to me it tasted like an oolong or green tea, if you have ever had that. It is strong and is said to keep you alert and awake. Many people in Uruguay drink it all day long. It is sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla. The straw has a sieve at the end and the cup is filled with leaves and then hot water is poured in. Because so many people drink mate, you can fill up your mate thermos at the gas station, where they have hot water dispensers that are made to fit thermoses.

Drinking mate is a social thing and it’s meant to be shared. That means that Alicia made a mate and passed it to me. We would be drinking the mate, passing it back and forth, out of the same straw. This was a little strange to me at first, because I am very American when it comes to thinking about germs. I asked Alicia about this and she said that people in Uruguay are very healthy and then laughed. I took a sip from her straw.

I was feeling the caffeine as Alicia and I rode out from La Salamora with Daniel to visit a nearby castle. A castle in Uruguay, you might ask? Well yes.... more to come