On the hunt for gauchos

Thursday, February 11, 2016
Bage, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
I wanted to see some gauchos because I was in cowboy country, but Wanderson said they were all on vacation, or it was too hot to work this week. So, we went grocery shopping and made a picnic to take to a cowboy park outside the city. There was also a small movie set used for a gaucho movie about five years ago nearby. 

I managed to see some tired looking gauchos leading some horses somewhere while we were snacking on papaya and watermelon in the park with the cows in the field

Wanderson also brought me to a tiny, possibly polluted water cascade. We forgot the blanket, so we left early and took the bus back to town.

We went back and picked up the blanket and then went to nap in the park for a while until dinner. Wanderson brought the mate and I brought the peanuts.

For dinner, we had pizza at a restaurant he used to work at. The pizza was cooked on a large stoned and it was packed full of six cheeses. We had some fancy beer and I paid the bill. I had already bought all the stuff for lunch and was kind of expecting to go halfsies on dinner. I guess he had no money at all, so then I felt more sorry for him than anything. He kept insisting he would pay me back for things but never did. 

We walked all the way across town to a brew pub that only had two beers on tap. It was a furnace inside and even though a huge fan was blowing in my face, I was sweating just standing at the bar. I told Wanderson I was leaving, but he got them to put one more table outside, so I stayed. 

We met two of his friends and one of them lived in South Carolina, so he was nice to talk to. His girlfriend wouldn't even look at me, I dunno what that was about. Maybe she was embarrassed she couldn't speak English at the same level? I paid for the beers again, and when we got home, again, no effort was made to pay me back. I was tired of Wanderson. 
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