"Rio Grande do Sul" Estado do Rio Grande do Sul by PeteBrown444

I actually feel a bit of a fraud because I did not go there as a tourist. I went in a ship (work). Also I did not stay in a hotel...well actually, I did on a couple of occasions, but as I was not paying the bill, I did not pay much attention to whether it was expensive or not. Anyway, we sailed into Rio Grande, tied up at the docks which were a mile or two out of town, and went into the centre where an excellent time was had. The seedier the premises, it seems, the nicer the people were. There is a strong feel of being in gaucho country, lots of horseman ship, and folks dress up in the traditional gear, big chaps and cowboy hats. Boleras are an ancient weapon consisting of three stones on a piece of raw hide. You hold the middle one and swing the other two around your head until the centrifugal force is making them go really fast, and then you let go. They go flying off and if they hit a person, could easily kill them. Originally a hunting weapon, and also used in warfare. In Spanish, they are called Las Tres Marias...after the three beads on the end of a string of rosary beads (and also the belt of Orion is called by the same name)
We ended up in a bar run by a Filipino man. There was singing and dancing till the very wee small hours. However, to be realistic, we probably went to the part of town which sensible people would choose to avoid.

Years ago, before I had even considered learning Spanish, I read a short story (highly recommended) by an Argentine writer called Jorge Luis Borges. The story is called Emma Zunz. It starts of with her living in Buenos Aires, and she receives a letter through the post announcing that her father has died. The letter came from Rio Grande do Sul. I go a big kick out of goint to this little town which I had read about years and years previously.