Wednesday morning Steve and i had breakfast and then he went off fishing with Adrian. Did I tell you that Adrian is one of the heed guides at Tipiliuke? He is also the head of the Argentinian Fly Fishing Team. The contest will be held in Northern Italy this year. Adrian was tutoring Steve in the European Nymphing Style. Steve has been quite successful using this method. The Angler can only use it in very fast water. That’s all I’ve got on the technique. you are on your own to understand the rest.
While Steve was fishing, Kevin asked if I wanted to go into Juninde Los Andes, hunting season was starting soon and Kevin needed to get the necessary permits for the arriving hunters. Kevin asked if I would like to go into town to visit the Gaucho store. He thought the readers of my blog-meaning you-my dearest fans- would enjoy a visit. So si si! Kevin and I jumped into the truck and were off. 
What better name for a Gaucho Store but “Patagonia Rodeo?”
There was lots of stuff for sale in the store. Here we see a selection big Mate cups and straws, picture frames and coffee thermoses.
I am not sure if I have told you about Mate, and Mate etiquette on this trip. Mate is a warm herbal drink enjoyed by any South Americans. It is sipped through a straw. It is not served boiling hot, like tea or coffee. Mateine, where the name mate is derived from is similar to caffeine, it gives you a good buzz. The Mate is sipped through a straw called a bombilla.
I usually wait to be asked if I would like some, and then take a sip or two. You either pass the cup to the next person or you hand it back to the person who brewed it. You do not say “Thank You”, if you do, you don’t get the cup back. Saying “Thank You” is considered rude.
No, I did not buy a Mate cup or bombilla this year! Maybe next trip!
Here are some beautiful silver belt buckles. Do you think that Steve would like the ones with the trout on them? Well too bad for him, I didn’t buy him one!
There were some beautiful knives that I think my friends Charlie and Greg would like. They didn’t get any presents either. 
There were lots of bridles also. I didn’t even get our daughter’s pony something either!
There were los of boots for sale, both for him and for her. 
These are the thermoses to hold you hot water for your Mate break when you are on the go!
There were lots of sheep skins for the saddle. Hats, blankets, saddles and wraps were available also. 
This shelf held lots of shirts, pants, and berets!
These are some of the handsome belts available. I was thinking about getting Steve a belt. I wasn’t sure about his size. If I got him too big, he might think I thought he was fat, if I got too small, he’d think I thought he was skinnier that he actually was, and therefore he might think he was fat! So I played it safe and got him nothing. He told me afterward that he was a 38. The belts were all sold in centimeters so a size 38, wouldn’t have done me any good anyway!
So the whole idea was to show you how belts are made right? Here we have the young belt maker. Like Steve, he isn’t quite sure where to look for a picture. 
The belts are hand made. Here Senor Belt Maker Jr. is sewing the thread into the belt. I am not sure if the design is free style, or if he had a pattern already transferred to the belt. I also have some video but that won’t be posted until we come back from the trip. Or maybe not! You’ll have to come back to find out!
Here you see four colors of horse leather. Natural leather is on the bottom of the display. Brown when the skin is dyed by coffee, green is from a mate dip and then the red is from a dip in beet juice. 
The skin is cut into skinny pieces and then sliced again into a thread. 
Here is the finished belt, made with all the colors of horse thread. Kevin said that the belts are extremely long lasting, he has had his belt for over 40 years! That I can’t believe, I think something was lost in translation!
I am going to break the blog into much shorter posts. I am having problems loading my pictures from my iphone to my ipad. I have found that I can link my ipad keyboard to my iphone and post that way. I am sure I have bored you to death with my posting problems, but I wanted to keep you updated. I have heard some complaints about no postings. I shall not punish them, by taking them off my email list, as I need every last visitor!
Once again, thank you for stopping by my blog. I would love to hear comments from you. My number one commentor is Cathy V. The rest of you have some serious catching up to do! If you can’t comment push the like button! It has to be there somewhere!
The Argentina polo belts are SO popular over here with the young and me! What a selection, lucky you.
I knew I should have bought one!
I actually have a mate and straw and have enjoyed Mate when visiting Argentina. You will have to stop by when you are back in Poughkeepsie to see it and compare with the ones in the store.
Sent from my iPhone
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