It's Still Rio Grande

Our last stop in Brazil, Rio Grande, is about 100 miles north of the Uruguay border, located on a very large lagoon (over hundred miles long) and ringed with wet and agricultural lands. It has a frontier town feel. There's a university and teaching hospital, and like university towns everywhere, has a young attitude. The town has an eclectic mix of late 19th century ornate Portuguese architecture, 1930's influenced art deco buildings, (both styles done in amazing colors) and a 1950's style of cubic block buildings.
The Oceanographic Museum has a dock on the property and welcomes yachts. We have been tied up to the dock along with two French boats for the last two weeks. The grounds of the museum are very park-like and make for a pleasant place to hang on a hot afternoon. The director, Lauro, is a very personable and interesting man and, he and Mark have formed a friendship. He wants to help whenever he can to make our stay more pleasant. He asked Mark to give a short speech on Alaska Fishery Management at the opening of the museum's new shark exhibit.

From left: Mr. Lauro, Nancy Krill, Mark Roye

While strolling through a leather shop (bridles, saddles, boots, belts, etc.) we noticed a poster for a local rodeo the following weekend. We were able to get a bus on Saturday, arriving about 3:00 pm. The main event was roping and the gaucho had to lasso only the cow's horns. Their lasso is braided leather 8 meters long and the loop they toss is a couple meters wide. It seems to be more difficult to control then our cowboy style lasso. The horse they ride is called a creole, less than 15 hands, compact and very good-natured. At the end of the day the finalist had probably thrown more than 20 times. The winner that day was a gentleman in his 50's! We're hoping to visit a large horse ranch tomorrow, owned by a friend of Lauro's - we'll see.

We've enjoyed our two weeks in Rio Grande. The relaxed, safe atmosphere would make it easy to stay longer. We've been waiting these two weeks for a good weather window to continue south. The weather has been very unsettled, the winds changing direction everyday. But it looks like Monday might be a good time to leave. Who knows, we might be here another two weeks. Rio Grande has been a great place to end our time in Brazil.