Below is the collection of Journals to date from various professionals and visitors of Condor Valley. First hand experiences are essential.
Mt. Creston
If you go to Condor Valley and take in the view from La Bodega, the most dominating landscape feature you will see is the dark and jagged ridge of rock called Mount Creston. At 10,300 feet it is the highest peak around and stands out against the skyline dark and ominous as a funeral procession. It was on this magnetic mountain that I spent three weeks with Gustavo Maras searching for the elusive and endangered taruka (see taruka project summary and expedition timeline). To reach Mt Creston requires at least eight hours on horseback through...
read moreThe Condors of ‘Condor Valley’
It was our first day in the Condor Valley back-country (see Taruka Expedition timeline). After a four hour ride Gustavo and I were climbing the knife edge ridge that towers at the back of the Peusto to take in the land. The ridge had narrowed to a sheer band of rock that is about a meter wide and inclines steeply to the summit. I was concentrating on a bit of technical scrambling when Gustavo pointed upwards and whispered a warning, “Euell, cuidado”. Not five meters overhead circled two condors. With their dark heads tracking us even as...
read moreFinal Week on the Ranch
The fourth and final week on the ranch was of course amazing. It was an odd week as far as the weather was concerned- being really hot some days and rainy others, but aside from that nothing too crazy happened. We rode everyday and managed to find a few dozen more cattle. The several hundred cows that had already been rounded up were finished being vaccinated then kicked out into the wild again because all the pasture around the place has been eaten up over the last month. Now, the gauchos will continue to search for new cows and any that are...
read moreWeek 3
It was another fantastic week out on the ranch! I have been having so much fun on that amazing place. I feel like I’m fully settled now and take comfort in being a part of the daily routine there. How fortunate I am to be a part of the magical land in the Condor Valley! Here is what I had written for the week- Monday: Today I stuck around in Chicoana while most of the others went out to work. I had to stay behind and retrieve my ATM card that the cash machine took from me while I was making a withdraw. Getting to the bank at the...
read moreWeek Two
Last week was an amazing one- I rode every day, got to experience eating some interesting things, and best of all I got to see and hang out with an old friend. The coincidence is astonishing- the one and only American I have seen since being in Argentina is a guy, who upon my arrival was high up in the mountains of the ranch studying a species of deer that is all but extinct. Come to find out that guy and I are childhood friends who grew up as neighbors in our hometown of 500 people in Northeast Oregon. Crazy or what? We hadn’t seen...
read moreWeek One
Hola everyone! Wow, so much has happened in the last week I don’t know where to start. I would like to make small posts more often, however the ranch doesn’t have internet- nor electricity for that matter. So, I have to make my posts on the weekends when come to town. The ranch or “finca” is amazing. The buildings are rustic, most all the work is done on horse back- it’s like stepping back in time a hundred years. At night, the thirteen employees and I dine on a long wooden table in candle light then hang out afterwards for the...
read moreTaruka Expedition Timeline
6 October: Ride four hours from La Bodega to El Peusto on horseback with Martin, Bruno, Jose, Gustavo, and two pack horses. Chicken and beef Asado over a campfire for lunch with boxed wine. Climb a nearby peak in the afternoon to take in the landscape. Condors watch us overhead. Drink mate with coca and local herbs before turning in for the night. Sleep on leather bound cots with our horse blankets for padding. 7 October: Wake early to watch Jose round up the horses. After coffee and some leather repairs we ride from El Peusto to El Ojo...
read moreThe Old Ones – an adventure on Horseback through Condor Valley
“The Old Ones” was written by Jodi Lorimer (Faye Sweeney’s mother) upon her visit the the Bodega. The essay is a account of one of her adventures on horseback. The afternoon had settled in nicely at the Bodega. It was the edge of autumn and the weather was perfect. Tati took off work a little early so he could escort us on a horseback ride. Neither Carol nor I are what you’d call horsewomen. In fact we sparred over who would get the nagiest nag, particularly after hearing Faye’s adventure tale of being thrown by a spooked...
read moreBird Sounds of Condor Valley
Recordings made by Andrew Scott Birds at the River Birds at Dawn There is an incredible diversity of bird life in the beautiful Condor Valley. Andrew Scott recorded these during his trip in January 2007.. Here we bring you the truly beautiful symphony of their song straight from the source. The first example was recorded at 6am when the dawn chorus is at its richest and most sonorous. The second was recorded along the banks of the river and the adjoining fields in the heat of the mid-morning. Close your eyes and...
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