Sonny Disposition
Active Member
Hi all. I drove out to Fairfax last night to hear Spencer Jack's talk on collecting in Uruguay. Someday, when I'm not paying tuition for somebody or other, I think that's the first trip I plan to take.
Uruguay is such a cool country. Settled by mostly Germans, Swedes, and Italians, more like a European country than a South American Country. It's basicaly a lot of low rambling hills. Water pours off the hills, forming lots of little streams, rivulets, and ponds that are just filled with--neat fish! In fact, the fish there have speciated so much that you can find different species on different sides of the hills. Lots of cool geophagus, paleatus-type cories, weird plecos, ancistrus and farlowella, and weird predatory characins with lots of teeth. Unlike Brazil, which doesn't allow collecting, the Uruguayan Government issues permits to hobby collectors. The climate is like Florida, and the fish can handle temperatures from the low forties up to the high 90s.
I know from other talks that Uruguay also has lots of cool killies. Spencer didn't include these, as he isn't crazy about killies. (I can see his point. Lots of killies are incredibly beautiful, but hide all the time. They jump out of the tank at every chance they get, often through the tiniest opening. And a lot of them conduct search and destroy missions on their own eggs, requiring you to pick mops at regular intevals.)
Most of Uruguay is covered with pasture land. Ranchers raise free range sheep and cattle. Because they have such a meat surplus, Uruguayans are always barbecuing--slow roasting over a wood embers. Jack says the Uruguayans eat like Hobbits, and tours generally offer two breakfasts. Barbecue dinners are washed down with 9 percent alcohol European style beer. People have gone on his trips and gained 10 pounds.
Someday. sigh.
Uruguay is such a cool country. Settled by mostly Germans, Swedes, and Italians, more like a European country than a South American Country. It's basicaly a lot of low rambling hills. Water pours off the hills, forming lots of little streams, rivulets, and ponds that are just filled with--neat fish! In fact, the fish there have speciated so much that you can find different species on different sides of the hills. Lots of cool geophagus, paleatus-type cories, weird plecos, ancistrus and farlowella, and weird predatory characins with lots of teeth. Unlike Brazil, which doesn't allow collecting, the Uruguayan Government issues permits to hobby collectors. The climate is like Florida, and the fish can handle temperatures from the low forties up to the high 90s.
I know from other talks that Uruguay also has lots of cool killies. Spencer didn't include these, as he isn't crazy about killies. (I can see his point. Lots of killies are incredibly beautiful, but hide all the time. They jump out of the tank at every chance they get, often through the tiniest opening. And a lot of them conduct search and destroy missions on their own eggs, requiring you to pick mops at regular intevals.)
Most of Uruguay is covered with pasture land. Ranchers raise free range sheep and cattle. Because they have such a meat surplus, Uruguayans are always barbecuing--slow roasting over a wood embers. Jack says the Uruguayans eat like Hobbits, and tours generally offer two breakfasts. Barbecue dinners are washed down with 9 percent alcohol European style beer. People have gone on his trips and gained 10 pounds.
Someday. sigh.
