TORRES DEL PAINE - Patagonia, Chile - A Short Story

After a slight hiatus due to spending time developing my new website (not writing related) I am returning to my series of short stories inspired by my photos from my recent South American journey.


The puma sat up on the hillside secure in the belief that he was adequately camouflaged by the surrounding vegetation.

The hare wasn’t fooled but she knew if she sat motionless, the cat wouldn’t spot her.

What the hare didn’t know was that the puma had been scouting the area for likely looking prey and had spotted a small herd of Andean Deer.

Unfortunately for the puma, the deer were ranging over an exposed slope. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to creep close enough to strike and catch one.

He turned his attention towards the guanaco and spotted a baby in the middle of the herd.

Hmm. He would need to isolate the youngster if he was to have any hope of making a kill.

There! The calf was fast asleep. He had found the perfect candidate.

As an added bonus, the parent clearly wasn’t paying attention. 

Now if he could sneak in close enough…

Alas, a Southern Lapwing sounded the alarm. 

Alerted to danger, the guanaco herd loped away.

Frustrated, the puma started scanning the area again.

If he was lucky, he might find a nice, juicy hare for a little snack instead.

I hope you enjoyed my fourth story in my South America series. I'd love you to leave a comment.

GAUCHOS IN PATAGONIA - A Short Story

It was an annual event. A chance to do a little business.

A chance to meet old friends.

A chance for the local ranches to showcase the quality of their meat.
Who doesn't like a barbecue?
Matias and Pedro couldn't carve the meat fast enough for the hungry attendees.

Matias paused. It wasn't even midday and he was tired already.

Pedro looked around, wandering when the rodeo was going to start.












He spotted his cousin strutting across the cordoned off arena. Did this mean they were preparing to begin?

Pedro grinned in relief. This is why he was here, never mind the family get togethers, it was the horsemanship he wanted to see.

More gauchos were keeping their horses' fidgets under control by riding them around the arena.

Would the rodeo ever begin?

Pedro got word that they were waiting for the stand-by ambulance to arrive. Nothing was allowed to start until the ambulance was on-site. 
Pedro grimaced, 'it's quite something that Health & Safety has spread it's insidious net to the arse end of Patagonia,' he thought.



I hope you enjoyed the second story in my South America series and I look forward to reading your comments.