Where have all the cowboys gone?

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I will do the laundry if you pay all the bills

CHORUS:

Where is my John Wayne
Where is my prairie son
Where is my happy ending
Where have all the cowboys gone

Where is my Marlboro man
Where is his shiny gun
Where is my lonely ranger
Where have all the cowboys gone
Where have all the cowboys gone
Where have all the cowboys gone

Yippee aw, yippee yea (6 times)

("Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" Lyrics Artist(Band):Paula Cole)

Day 2 in cowboy land.

Sleep was perfect - hotel so quiet, air con and no plastic bags or late night revellers to be seen or heard. We went down for our breakfast and early mate and planned the day - a trip to the bus station to find out what to do and get tickets outta here.

The day was already humid and on account of our laundry being done (which ended up costing small fortune!) I had to wear jeans and my pyjama top for the day! Headed to the bus station where we got some info on a nature walk we could do. We were also informed that the borders with Argentina were in fact open, just for strange hours and unpredictable times. We had to ask at a few desks (a few seemed clueless as to how to actually get to Argentina) we established a bus and a time - 6a.m. tomorrow morning.

We decided then to visit the city museum which consisted of 2 rooms with rocks and weapons and a blind man who showed us other random artefacts including a giant armadillo shell and a dinosaur egg. He insisted that we go to the other museum of the town, which was basically rocks and pictures of dinosaurs. After 5 minutes we were educated and escaped back to the air con comfort of the hotel.

After a siesta we set off on a bit of walk into the area which is being prepared for the big cowboy festival next month. We were a bit disappointed as we had read this was real cowboy country and were looking out in the town for some evidence of such. On the way back to the hotel we saw a few come out of the woodwork. They´re cool. Dressed in berets, high leather boots and big leather belts. One dude we saw had a leather vest and a kerchief. I was desperate to get a photo but I guess it would be like going to a small country town in Australia and wanting to get a picture of a bloke with a mullet, flanalette shirt, trackie dacks and ugg boots. So we didn´t get any pic´s.

Went for a beer in a local pub where I was the only woman except for the bar tender, and down the road to the spot where we had dinner and a drink last night and by this stage virtually know the bar tender by name. We enjoyed people watching at the park opposite and marvelled at the whole mate culture. Young and old sat in the park, mate cup in one hand, thermos in the other. Women on the backs of motor bikes with their boyfriends would be holding on for dear life to their dearly beloved, the other hand clutching the beloved mate. I had to check it on the internet last night to see that it wasn´t some strange drug that everyone is addicted to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_%28beverage%29

Dinner was then taken at the only other food place mentioned in the guidebook which was a BBQ place. For less than 11 Euro we dined on steak, pay by the kilo salad, wine and the best chicken I have ever tasted (my vegetarian days are sooooo over.....)

Now back at the hotel and off to bed soon for a 5:00 start for tomorrow and hopefully back into Argentina. We´ve decided that Uruguay is a pretty cool little spot.

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Photos

Where have all the cowboys gone?
In the rodeo stadium of the town, getting ready for the big fiesta of cowboys next month

Cowboy country
In the stands set for the great cowboy fiesta at the start of March

Mate with the lads
Teenagers, not getting stoned or drinkin or even smokin ciggies in the park on a Friday night, but just sharin a few mates....