More of Puesto Viejo

I have decided to break my unwritten rule (excuse the pun) of not blogging the same place twice. This is due to the phenomenal amount of rainfall that has happened over the last fifteen hours and the boredom that that brings regardless of whether you are in the UK or Argentina.

 There is no polo today and its been rumoured it will take till Friday to allow the ground to dry properly. This means I will not ride- half the staff are thinking of taking off to Buenos Aires, as there is nothing to do. If the polo industry worked this way in England, you would probably be able to get two matches in per year- as it is, to prevent the ground being churned up and ponies breaking legs, the ground must be more solid and the pitches less of a lake. I am playing with the idea of heading back to Buenos Aires but I have heard all the interchanges are shut and cars are floating...

I have been given back my original lavish hotel room, a room which is blissfully frog, spider and beetle free, which is more than can be said for the broom cupboard I have spent the last week in. I have showered really infrequently due to the marine wildlife that decides to swim too close to my toes, that ahs sent me squeeling and running in to the pampas. In fact I ended up enlisting help for getting rid of a teenage  frog (a middle sized, confused one) and unfortunately ending up killing it, pushing it out with a broom. Sincé then, the whole frog population of Argentina has staged a siege.

So far, my days have been fairly unstructured which has been both great because it means I can ride, or swim or chill when I like but also a little unsettling. It seems its very much the Argentine way of life to work when you need to. I always spend the day at the stables and end up sending 60 percent of it making conversation (limited but getting there) and drinking Mate. This is a bitter lemon drink...I have not taken to it and pretend to like it but really...I wish I could be cool and sociable and Argentine like all the grooms. I do not even go near tea and I am a Brit.

I had a funny time taking out the owner of the club daughters out for a ride, one being six as of today and the other ten. They are half Argentine, half British, bilingual, incredibly confident and pretty much born on horseback. One the youngest going too fast and disappearing into the pampas, the eldest turns around and says "Izzy, you know if anything happens, everyone will hold you responsable"....