Sunday, April 05, 2009

 

Vaca Voyeurism

"Vaca" is Spanish for cattle or cow. So what do cruisers in Panama City do for entertainment after a long day of boat chores? Go see the cows of course! The Exposicion Nacional de Ganaderia show of Brahma cattle was at the Panama Atlapa Convention Center right near where we were anchored. The kids on the sailing vessel Sailfish out of Canada wanted to go see the cows (and Terry did too even though cows don't produce a fiber for knitting!)

As we entered the grounds, we were treated to a show by horsemen showing the fancy footwork of their "High School" dressage horses. Wow! These beautiful animals were foot tapping and trotting to different beats as the rider gently tapped the horses front legs with a lightweight stick.









Once inside, we settled into comfortable seats and watched the judging for a while. The commentary from the judges was in both English and Spanish so we could follow along. Come on...let's go get some close-up looks of cows...

Now, isn't this one a cutie pie? Take a look at the size of those ears! We just thought that this cow had the sweetest face. But there were more animals to meet so we left the air-conditioned building and headed outside to the temporary stables.

So here I am, just lounging in the straw..no...wait, thats not me - those are wide-butt cows. Just a case of mistaken identy, you know how easy it is to get photos mixed up.





The Brahma breed of cattle is very large indeed! This breed is the one that we've seen all throughout Mexico and Central America. We understand that they are heat-tolerant and have very little hair which makes them perfect for hot climates. This was our opportunity to get up close and personal with our future hamburgers and to get our photo taken (Terry & Sailfish kids Sha-wei and Taj).

Also perfect for hot climates are hammocks. The cowboys (vaqueros) had their hammocks hanging in the stables and could take a little rest in them. I would be envious, except Jonesy has installed my hammock on the bow of Niki Wiki so I'm happy.

We also noticed that all of the cowboys' tool/work boxes were crafted from wood. Some were quite simple with lettering or brands carved into the surfaces. But this one below was the most intricately carved box that we saw. Isn't it beautiful - especially for something that is hauled around in a truck and hangs around cattle?



Soon, we had enough of loose cows wandering around, having to step carefully, and the smells of you-know-what in the tropical heat. It was time to go to the Fun Zone!











That's what the kids wanted to do too (really, isn't that strange?). While the kids drove the bumper cars, and us adults enjoyed $1US beers, I strolled around to look at the other rides.

The artwork on all of the rides was very cool! It looked like it was all recently air-brushed and everything was clean. Soon it was time to go back to the boats and eat something that wasn't fried or was meat left out in the open-air, and that we would recognize.
As Sha-wei and her mom paddled their kayak back to their boat, Taj got to ride with us. Not only ride with us, but Jonesy let him operate the outboard and drive the dinghy! Good ride!

It's all right Jonesy, Taj isn't going to run into that anchored sailboat.

Knitting? Not much. There's just so much to do!

Comments:
That's great to know that other countries also have stock shows.
 
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