Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak


Gado
Cows gathered in a corral at the Swiss Agro resort, in Colónia Pellegrini.
car bad luck
The vet's van gets stuck on a bridge on the way to the Swiss Agro resort.
Passing
Gauchos cross one of the stable doors where they work
cornered
Cows advance towards a terminal in the corral where the veterinarian administers the vaccines.
traditional costume
A knife strapped to a leather belt that tightens cooler summer pants.
SOS
Veterinarian talks on the phone to try to fix his van stuck on the bridge.
Gaucho Pablo and Perrito
Gaucho Pablo holds a dog.
Vaccines
Veterinarian inspects vaccines that keep them as fresh as possible.
Herd
Gado observes the action of the gauchos at the Swiss Agro resort.
Vaccination
Veterinarian injects another vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease.
cattle scare
Gauchos urge cows forward in the stable corridor.
unique case
Young gaucho joins a stray calf to the herd.
Gaucho fashion
Colored pants and boots worn by gauchos in the region in the very hot summer of Corrientes.
Persecution
Gauchos from the Swiss Agro resort chase a stray cow.
gaucho paul
Gaucho Pablo poses next to one of his horses.
The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.

There is no trip through South America where the procedure is not repeated.

Argentina, one of the largest meat producers in the world, has an aversion to exceptions. “Buenos dias. Avanzen unpapato here, pleaser”, the duty officer tells us with an arrogance.

We enter the country of the pampas from Brazil, through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge. At the border, the authorities of SENASA (Secretaria Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuária) force them – like anyone else who enters the country – to drive their car tires over their sacred foot baths, large sponges soaked in a sterilizing liquid.

Then we still have to go out and do the same to the shoe soles.

The responsible for this increased care and for the long traffic queues that form is an infectious Aphtovirus that, despite being known for more than 2000 years, continues to spread the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease.

This disease can infect herds of whole cows in three stages. It causes huge losses in the economies of countries that did not protect themselves in time. In South America, epidemics have been recurrent. And they generate shameful political feuds whenever countries blame each other.

Argentina, in particular, has proven knowledge of the cause. Even if the name does not translate it, it was Scholein Rivenson, an Argentine veterinary doctor from Gualeguaychú, Entre Rios province, who developed the first effective vaccine against the disease.

vaccines, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Veterinarian inspects vaccines that keep them as fresh as possible.

The Colony of Pellegrini, on the banks of the vast Esteros del Iberá

In the weeks that followed, we discovered the remote scenery of northwestern Argentina, in Corrientes, the wetland of the Iberá Wetlands, a huge expanse of lakes and marshes that competes in size and ecosystem richness with the brazilian wetland.

There, along with the beauty of the landscape and the myriad of wild species – from caimans and alligators to anaconda and capybaras – we are fascinated by the visual rawness and sedated life of Colónia Pellegrini, a poor village alienated by the isolation to which it was voted in shores of Lagoa Iberá.

Colónia Pellegrini has only a few single-storey houses somewhere between the villa and the trailer. And one or two grocery stores almost without provisions. Further down, the lagoon that attracts tourists and biologists from all over the world, is surrounded by stays livestock breeders.

herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Gado observes the action of the gauchos at the Swiss Agro resort.

These farms employ hundreds of gauchos somewhat displaced from the vast expanse of Pampas that begins a few hundred kilometers to the south.

South American and Argentine Vulnerability to Foot-and-Mouth Disease

The forty million Argentines make up one of the populations that consume the most red meat on the face of the Earth. To this end, their famous barbecues, held around the clock, throughout the country.

But they are also one of the main meat exporting nations of the product. There are plenty of reasons for the cattle herds of La Quiaca (on the border with Bolivia) to Ushuaia (southern city in the world, capital of Tierra del Fuego) be subjected to preventive measures at all times.

We stayed close to Colonia Pellegrini. After repeated early forays into the flooded wilderness by boat, the owner of the Pousada de La Laguna suspects that a drastic change of plans would please us.

Ask us if we want to follow up on a cow vaccination. The experience is not at all exotic for those, like us, who had the privilege of living in the interior of Portugal.

Even so, the wild-rural atmosphere of that region removed from the Argentina, the possibility of living with a genuine group of Gauchos in the midst of fieldwork prove to be irrefutable privileges.

The Accident Vaccination of Cattle of stay Swiss Agro

We accept the challenge. The next morning, the inn's foreman takes us in a van towards the Swiss Agro Estancia, where the veterinarian is expected. We found him sooner than we thought. On the way to the farm. And in trouble.

veterinarian on the phone, foot and mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Veterinarian talks on the phone to try to fix his van stuck on the bridge.

El Doctor has not yet found an explanation for the phenomenon but it always seems to be like this: the more he tries to make time, the worse his days run. It had four visits to go until sunset when the board of one of several small bridges that had to cross gave way.

He left his van attached to the platform and his vaccines at risk of overheating.

The accident stops passersby. Despite successive solidary attempts to release the vehicle, only a rusty tractor recruited in the meantime solves the problem.

veterinary van, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

The vet's van gets stuck on a bridge on the way to the Swiss Agro resort.

When he arrives at the ranch, late and irritated, the veterinarian finds everything ready to start the vaccination. The humor of the resident gauchos quickly brings him back to a good mood: “Calm down doctor!! So the animals get nervous!".

We are entering the peak of the southern hemisphere summer. It's over forty degrees.

As if that wasn't enough, the movements of the cattle raise clouds of dust that invade the eyes and nose and cling to the sweat.

gauchos incite cows, foot and mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Gauchos urge cows forward in the stable corridor.

Heat, Dust and Stubborn Cattle. The Hard Work of Gauchos

Discomfort is part of their daily lives. pampa cowboys that relieve him with the use of hats, belts and chiripas (skirts) typical of leather that go with light, light shirts and blue scarves.

knife, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

A knife strapped to a leather belt that tightens cooler summer pants.

Their lives are spent on horseback and under the sun and rain. Even so, they end up confessing to us that, among all the tasks, it is with the repetitive vaccinations that the most enraged.

With effort, the gauchos herd and lead the cows from the corrals to a corridor that squeezes and immobilizes them in a kind of wooden corset. There, at a mechanical pace, the veterinarian sticks the huge syringe in back after back.

vaccination, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Veterinarian injects another vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease.

Renew doses and keep an accurate count of immunized cattle. There are six hundred and twenty at Swiss Agro. The task takes two hours.

According to his estimate, one of the estancias he had scheduled for the afternoon will have to stay for the following morning.

It's nothing that doesn't happen to you very often. This time, the delay imposes an arduous punishment. Instead of returning to Posadas, you'll have to stay overnight in the isolated Pellegrini Colony.

Despite the setbacks, the task and duty are fulfilled.

gauchos, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Gauchos from the Swiss Agro resort chase a stray cow.

The gauchos recover from the rush as the dust raised by the animals settles. One of them, the always smiling Pablo, relaxes playing with a dog at the estancia under the indifferent gaze of his companions.

gaucho and dog, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina

Gaucho Pablo holds a dog.

El Doctor leaves the scene with pomp and circumstance, extolling the virtues of his work. "Very good. These ya querran protected.

Not if you know, solo pear in the United Kingdom, in 2001, the foot-and-mouth fiber has killed more than 6.000.000 animals. Han lost nearly 18 million dollars. Imagine and so here in Argentina... "

Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
Salta and Jujuy, Argentina

Through the Highlands of Deep Argentina

A tour through the provinces of Salta and Jujuy takes us to discover a country with no sign of the pampas. Vanished in the Andean vastness, these ends of the Northwest of Argentina have also been lost in time.
Viti levu, Fiji

Cannibalism and Hair, Fiji Islands' Old Pastimes

For 2500 years, anthropophagy has been part of everyday life in Fiji. In more recent centuries, the practice has been adorned by a fascinating hair cult. Luckily, only vestiges of the latest fashion remain.
Marajó Island, Brazil

The Buffalo Island

A vessel that transported buffaloes from the India it will have sunk at the mouth of the Amazon River. Today, the island of Marajó that hosted them has one of the largest herds in the world and Brazil is no longer without these bovine animals.
San Ignacio Mini, Argentina

The Impossible Jesuit Missions of San Ignacio Mini

In the century. In the XNUMXth century, the Jesuits expanded a religious domain in the heart of South America by converting the Guarani Indians into Jesuit missions. But the Iberian Crowns ruined the tropical utopia of the Society of Jesus.
Mendoza, Argentina

Journey through Mendoza, the Great Argentine Winemaking Province

In the XNUMXth century, Spanish missionaries realized that the area was designed for the production of the “Blood of Christ”. Today, the province of Mendoza is at the center of the largest winemaking region in Latin America.
Ushuaia, Argentina

The Last of the Southern Cities

The capital of Tierra del Fuego marks the southern threshold of civilization. From Ushuaia depart numerous incursions to the frozen continent. None of these play and run adventures compares to life in the final city.
Beagle Channel, Argentina

Darwin and the Beagle Channel: on the Theory of the Evolution Route

In 1833, Charles Darwin sailed aboard the "Beagle" through the channels of Tierra del Fuego. His passage through these southern confines shaped the revolutionary theory he formulated of the Earth and its species
Ushuaia, Argentina

Last Station: End of the World

Until 1947, the Tren del Fin del Mundo made countless trips for the inmates of the Ushuaia prison to cut firewood. Today, passengers are different, but no other train goes further south.
Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

The Resisting Glacier

Warming is supposedly global, but not everywhere. In Patagonia, some rivers of ice resist. From time to time, the advance of the Perito Moreno causes landslides that bring Argentina to a halt.
Iguazu/Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

The Great Water Thunder

After a long tropical journey, the Iguaçu River gives a dip for diving. There, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, form the largest and most impressive waterfalls on the face of the Earth.
El Chalten, Argentina

The Granite Appeal of Patagonia

Two stone mountains have created a border dispute between Argentina and Chile. But these countries are not the only suitors. The Fitz Roy and Torre hills have long attracted die-hard climbers
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

Departing from Mendoza city, the N7 route gets lost in vineyards, rises to the foot of Mount Aconcagua and crosses the Andes to Chile. Few cross-border stretches reveal the magnificence of this forced ascent
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

A Farm at the End of the World

In 1886, Thomas Bridges, an English orphan taken by his missionary foster family to the farthest reaches of the southern hemisphere, founded the ancient homestead of Tierra del Fuego. Bridges and the descendants surrendered to the end of the world. today, your Stay harberton it is a stunning Argentine monument to human determination and resilience.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Beach
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

Discovering the Western Visayas archipelago, we set aside a day to travel from Iloilo along the northwest coast of Guimaras. The beach tour along one of the Philippines’ countless pristine coastlines ends on the stunning Ave Maria Island.
Jabula Beach, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
safari
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Yaks
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 11th: yak karkha a Thorong Phedi, Nepal

Arrival to the Foot of the Canyon

In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Architecture & Design
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Aventura
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
Roman morione on tricycle, moriones festival, Marinduque, Philippines
Ceremonies and Festivities
Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

Even the Eastern Empire didn't get that far. In Holy Week, thousands of centurions seize Marinduque. There, the last days of Longinus, a legionary converted to Christianity, are re-enacted.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Cities
Valdez, Alaska

On the Black Gold Route

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker caused a massive environmental disaster. The vessel stopped plying the seas, but the victim city that gave it its name continues on the path of crude oil from the Arctic Ocean.
Beverage Machines, Japan
Lunch time
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
One against all, Sera Monastery, Sacred Debate, Tibet
Culture
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
scarlet summer
Traveling

Valencia to Xativa, Spain

Across Iberia

Leaving aside the modernity of Valencia, we explore the natural and historical settings that the "community" shares with the Mediterranean. The more we travel, the more its bright life seduces us.

Fort São Filipe, Cidade Velha, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
Ethnic
Cidade Velha, Cape Verde

Cidade Velha: the Ancient of the Tropico-Colonial Cities

It was the first settlement founded by Europeans below the Tropic of Cancer. In crucial times for Portuguese expansion to Africa and South America and for the slave trade that accompanied it, Cidade Velha became a poignant but unavoidable legacy of Cape Verdean origins.

sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Entrance to Dunhuang Sand City, China
History
Dunhuang, China

An Oasis in the China of the Sands

Thousands of kilometers west of Beijing, the Great Wall has its western end and the China and other. An unexpected splash of vegetable green breaks up the arid expanse all around. Announces Dunhuang, formerly crucial outpost on the Silk Road, today an intriguing city at the base of Asia's largest sand dunes.
Guest, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Islands
Michaelmas Cay, Australia

Miles from Christmas (Part XNUMX)

In Australia, we live the most uncharacteristic of the 24th of December. We set sail for the Coral Sea and disembark on an idyllic islet that we share with orange-billed terns and other birds.
Sampo Icebreaker, Kemi, Finland
Winter White
Kemi, Finland

It's No "Love Boat". Breaks the Ice since 1961

Built to maintain waterways through the most extreme arctic winter, the icebreaker Sampo” fulfilled its mission between Finland and Sweden for 30 years. In 1988, he reformed and dedicated himself to shorter trips that allow passengers to float in a newly opened channel in the Gulf of Bothnia, in clothes that, more than special, seem spacey.
On the Crime and Punishment trail, St. Petersburg, Russia, Vladimirskaya
Literature
Saint Petersburg, Russia

On the Trail of "Crime and Punishment"

In St. Petersburg, we cannot resist investigating the inspiration for the base characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's most famous novel: his own pities and the miseries of certain fellow citizens.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Nature
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Girl plays with leaves on the shore of the Great Lake at Catherine Palace
Autumn
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Golden Days Before the Storm

Aside from the political and military events precipitated by Russia, from mid-September onwards, autumn takes over the country. In previous years, when visiting Saint Petersburg, we witnessed how the cultural and northern capital was covered in a resplendent yellow-orange. A dazzling light that hardly matches the political and military gloom that had spread in the meantime.
Matukituki River, New Zealand
Natural Parks
Wanaka, New Zealand

The Antipodes Great Outdoors

If New Zealand is known for its tranquility and intimacy with Nature, Wanaka exceeds any imagination. Located in an idyllic setting between the homonymous lake and the mystic Mount Aspiring, it became a place of worship. Many kiwis aspire to change their lives there.
Willemstad, Curacao, Punda, Handelskade
UNESCO World Heritage
Willemstad, Curaçao

The Multicultural Heart of Curaçao

A Dutch colony in the Caribbean became a major slave hub. It welcomed Sephardic Jews who had taken refuge from the Iberia Inquisition in Amsterdam and Recife. And it assimilated influences from the Portuguese and Spanish villages with which it traded. At the heart of this secular cultural fusion has always been its old capital: Willemstad.
In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Coconut picker in Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
Beaches
Unawatuna to Tongalle, Sri Lanka

Along the Tropical South of Old Ceylon

We left the Galle fortress behind. From Unawatuna to Tangale, the south of Sri Lanka is made up of beaches with golden sand and coconut groves attracted by the coolness of the Indian Ocean. Once the scene of conflict between local and colonial powers, this coast has long been shared by backpackers from the four corners of the world.
Prayer flags in Ghyaru, Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Society
Dali, China

Chinese Style Flash Mob

The time is set and the place is known. When the music starts playing, a crowd follows the choreography harmoniously until time runs out and everyone returns to their lives.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Tombolo and Punta Catedral, Manuel António National Park, Costa Rica
Wildlife
PN Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Little-Big National Park

The reasons for the under 28 are well known national parks Costa Ricans have become the most popular. The fauna and flora of PN Manuel António proliferate in a tiny and eccentric patch of jungle. As if that wasn't enough, it is limited to four of the best typical beaches.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.