Photo taken at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Starting my cruise on board of the Stella Australia, one of the few ships allowed to sail and land on the Chilean fiords in the De Agostini National Park el
Photo taken at Tierra del Fuego National Park
Hiking in Tierra del Fuego you feel like the valley down the mountain had just been flooded by seawater. In reality Patagonia was one of the last places on the planet where the ice sheet melted after the last glacial period
Photo taken at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
I arrived in Ushuaia, the Southernmost city in the planet. The end of the world will also mark the end of my trip.
I tried to get a last minute cruise to Antartica but it was too expensive for my pockets. So I will board a ship that will reach Cap Horn and the then explore the Chilean fiords all the way up to Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan. That is one of the least explored area in the world
Photo taken at Chascomús
I feel really grateful for the time I spent here with Luis and his family. The Pampa is such a peaceful place and all things considered the life of gauchos is not so far from the one that I experienced growing up in the countryside in Basilicata.
After almost ten months of traveling, here I felt like I was already back home
Photo taken at Chascomús
Luis is really passionate and devoted to traditional gaucho lifestyle, a kind of gaucho that is more and more difficult to find in a increasingly modern country like Argentina. Most modern gaucho today have abandoned traditional clothing and use a quad instead of horse
Photo taken at Chascomús
Traditional gaucho clothing is really straightforward: a shirt (camisa), a pair of large trousers (bombacha) with a faja around the hip and a big belt (rastra) that can feature prices won at competitions. Finally the gaucho always wears a hat (sombrero surer or gorra) and a pañuelo around the neck
Photo taken at Chascomús
“La tropilla” is an old gaucho tradition. Once the fields used to be really big and a man had to change horse during the day in order to avoid the animal getting too tired or injured. So he kept a group of house together with a “madrina”, a horse with a bell that every other horse would follow. When he needed to change ride he would just get down and catch a new horse.
Today the tradition is still alive thanks to traditional events and competitions
Photo taken at Chascomús
It goes without saying that the diet of a Gaucho is largely based on meat. However, in a way similar to the one observed in my hometown, this is based on a direct relationship with the animal. Every pork, sheep or beef that is consumed here was born, fed and raised right here in the field
Photo taken at Chascomús
The horse is really important in the life of a traditional gaucho. Luis likes to keep his well groomed: “it’s like a car I use everyday. I want it to be always in the best condition. The horse is really important to me. Without some of my daily task wouldn’t be possibile
Photo taken at Chascomús
I spent the first the day in the Pampa riding a horse to follow Luis in his daily activity in the field. Checking on livestock health, repairing broken fences and capturing sheep with a old school lasso technique