VENEZUELA HACIENDA

VENEZUELA HACIENDA: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29
I rode twelve hours yesterday. I arrived exhausted. I was in no state to appreciate where I was. This morning I explore the house and its grounds. Though spacious, the house is simple in materials and decoration. Floors and benches are polished cement. Woodwork is carpentry as opposed to cabinet-making. This is Latin America: the wood oven and grill beside the pool could cook an ox. I slip naked into the water and swim a couple of lengths. The sun is low on the horizon. Sunlight, filtered by trees, dapples the water. I dry myself and stretch, waggle the bad ankle and do my squats. I am surrounded by emerald pasture spotted with white cattle. Bifocals in place, I admire the view. The farm manager collects me in a four wheel drive pick-up. Farm? Hardly an appropriate word for 64 000 hectares...