Childhood memories come alive in Uruguay´s Panagea

22-27 October 2010
Panagea Cattle Station (Estancia Panagea)
Tacuarembo, Uruguay

   Of all the things I have done this year, Estancia Panagea is one of things I rate the highest, and it is something that if I were to fly back to Argentina or Brazil, I would make an effort to go back again. It was simply fantastic!
   It is a working cattle station (with about 1000 head of cattle and 2000 of sheep) that invites backpackers to come and get involved. For me it was magical. I passed my years from age 5 to 12 on a farm that was primarily a goat farm but also had sheep and cattle. Working the stock on Panagea brought back many memories for me that I had long forgotten, and showed me a really special part of the world.
   Even those tourists (there usually seemed to be 5-6 during my stay of 5 days) who had no rural background loved it. The first person I met there was a travel journalist (seems a fantastic life!) and it seems he´ll be giving it a fantastically good review.
   On your first morning on the station they lend you some gaucho (=cowboy) clothes, then they teach you to saddle a horse, and then you get on it and go for a ride. It isn´t compulsory to be involved in these activities, but I do recommend it. In the morning you might bring in some stock and work with the stock in the yards before putting them back to the paddock. Then it´s lunch and siesta time (it is South America) and then back to resaddle the horses and go out again, if you like.
   The hosts are a Uruguayan man and his Swiss wife, and bab. In the paddock a real gaucho shows you want needs to be done. The other guests didn´t have as much Spanish as I do, so I was put in charge a translating from the Gaucho (who spoke a rough Spanish Portuguese mix) to English and another guest translated my English to French for another guest who spoke only French (It´s amazing that we got the stock anywhere!). The hospitality is lovely. Nothing is rushed, and although the website has you expecting a lumpy bed and camp kitchen slops, my bed was really comfortable and the meals were always delicious and very appreciated.

 In Uruguay there was is much pick (that´s grass), that the cattle never get extra feed brought in, so when I walked into the paddock they ran to the other side of the waterhole and looked at me. At home they might have come to see what I might have for them.

 Leaf cutter ants on their path.

 Nandu´s ... they look like small emu´s.

´My´ horse was named Perth. I was told that if I kicked Perth and got galloping, we would stop when we got to Perth (Australia). She had a hard trot, so I preferred anything slower of faster then it´s trot. 

Cattle swimming through the dip, for ticks.

Other tourists working in the yards.

Gauchos (=cowboys)

 

Drenching the sheep. 

Gaucho bread. 

Accept the fact that it is nothing like the bread you like at home, 

and then you can like it too. I really did like it!

Notes:

Panagea Station is aimed at Backpackers who don´t want a touristy experience. If you go you should get involved in the farm work, otherwise why go? It costs $40 a day, and includes everything and they even pick you up in town and drop you back to town. It´s a good price for this once in a lifetime experience.