How to tell you are running in an Emerging Market (+2 new wine reviews)

Emerging Market Running: So last Saturday I head out for a morning run and decide to check out a nice stretch where they are building a road to connect some new housing developments to the main highway (The Dutra). I had to stop to take this picture as it struck me that it said 1000 words about development in developing countries:

Yep, great big piles of horse shit, laid fresh, in the path of the asphalt-laying machinery. I usually get in one run a week along this stretch which has the back of 2 gated communities on the left and a big nature preserve on the right, but I have to say this was the first time I saw completely unattended horses just eating their way along the shrubs on the right.

Here is a better shot of the horses themselves. There were about 6-8 of them and there did not appear to be anyone keeping an eye on them. There is a cow grazing pasture just past the cement wall on the left, but I have never seen horses there before.

The run itself was half fun/half not, as once the road construction ended the road turned into a complete mud pit. I stopped once to take this pic:

But only turned around once I almost lost my shoe in 8-inch deep slop resulting in the following pic:


As mentioned above, on the right of the trail is a publicly owned nature preserve (which you can see part of in the top-banner photo). Technically it appears the reserve is closed, although there are some visible shanty-houses (a mini-favela) and one runner once warned me that there were illegal pot-growers in among the native vegetation. There is a sign at a visible trail-head that warns, "Attention: It is prohibited the traffic of pedestrians, cyclists and automobiles". I am trying to decide now if climbing through the 2 strands of barbed-wire is worth the beautiful trail run vs getting shot at by pot growers risk:


I will probably check it out next Saturday just for shits and giggles. Being a large gringo in running clothes should at a minimum have the growers think I am a potential customer rather than a member of any local law enforcement.

2 Quick Wine Reviews:

2007 Uxmal Malbec (Argentina) - I had a bottle of this at an Argentinean steak place in São Paulo and it was ok. Was the 3 cheapest bottle on the menu and was drinkable, but not really offering anything of note. I debated adding a "rule" that said, if your wine from Argentina has a name that makes you think of a pyramid in Mexico, then move on, but it sounded just a touch too harsh.

2006 Altosur Cabernet Sauvingnon: This was the second bottle that we ordered at the same meal as the Uxmal (5 drinkers at the table) and it was markedly better than the Uxmal. Firstly it supported my "rule" that any wine from Argentina with the word "ALTO" in it is going to be good. Also, the Altosur is a brand from the Finca Sophenia winery which makes some outstanding top-end wines. This is an export-only brand (label in English and Spanish) and was quite tasty. While I don't recall exactly what we paid for it, this brand is positioned about 2 steps down pricewise from their flagship brands. I recommend anything these guys produce and the Altosur line is a nice entry point.


Coming soon: I ran a 20:59.59 5k on Sunday and will post a race report as soon as I see if I make it into any of the on-line photos. Per two posts below it was a lap around a shopping mall so I didn't take any pictures myself.