Post by 1dave on Sept 5, 2020 18:53:24 GMT -7
April, 1957. I was in Rivera, Uruguay. We wanted to go to Artigas (Named after the great Uruguayan General), the next town to the northwest. To do so, we had to cross over into Livramento Brazil and catch a circa 1930 bus with people, chickens and piglets. We bounced for hours on a rocky path now known as Br-293.
Half way we made a much needed pit-stop at a shack almost made of unpainted boards that included a 10' X 10' room designated as a "Quarto do Banyo." It featured an 8" hole in the concrete floor with 2" raised concrete foot pads on each side to . . . , well, it helped. There was a roll of waxed corn husk paper for our consumption free gratis.
It was good to finally reach Artigas.
Road from Rivera to Artigas. The sand Dune is over 160 million year old, older than the basalt that hosts the amethyst geodes.
The families we visited usually used fantastic amethyst geode sections for door stops. One of them gave me one, and that is when I became a rockhound!
They took me to a place a little southwest of town and drove an iron bar into the soft ground several times, heard a "TINK" and started digging, and there was another nice piece.
I just checked Google Earth, and I think this is the place today.
This photo from Ravenil is about how it looked back then. The only job openings were for Gauchos.
Mindat has a few specimens.
Half way we made a much needed pit-stop at a shack almost made of unpainted boards that included a 10' X 10' room designated as a "Quarto do Banyo." It featured an 8" hole in the concrete floor with 2" raised concrete foot pads on each side to . . . , well, it helped. There was a roll of waxed corn husk paper for our consumption free gratis.
It was good to finally reach Artigas.
Road from Rivera to Artigas. The sand Dune is over 160 million year old, older than the basalt that hosts the amethyst geodes.
The families we visited usually used fantastic amethyst geode sections for door stops. One of them gave me one, and that is when I became a rockhound!
They took me to a place a little southwest of town and drove an iron bar into the soft ground several times, heard a "TINK" and started digging, and there was another nice piece.
I just checked Google Earth, and I think this is the place today.
This photo from Ravenil is about how it looked back then. The only job openings were for Gauchos.
Mindat has a few specimens.
