MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan survivor of 1972 Andes air crash emphasizes simple life.

Andes survivor Roberto Canessa

By Peter Lowy - A recent trip to Uruguay enabled me, along with another journalist, to visit The Refuge, a ranch belonging to Roberto Canessa, a member of a rugby team that in 1972 survived a crash in the freezing Andes for more than two months, in part, by resorting to cannibalism. What started as a leisurely tour of the ranch, ended late that night with a seaside dinner, after assisting with emergency horse surgery!

A recent trip to Uruguay enabled me, along with another journalist, to visit The Refuge, a ranch belonging to Roberto Canessa, a member of a rugby team that in 1972 survived a crash in the freezing Andes for more than two months, in part, by resorting to cannibalism. What started as a leisurely tour of the ranch, ended late that night with a seaside dinner, after assisting with emergency horse surgery! Roberto, an eminent cardiologist, has a ranch in Lavalleja called The Refuge, some 60 kilometres or so north of Punta del Este. It is a place of great tranquillity and serenity. He has plans to make it a day-trip destination for tourists who want to get a taste of rural Uruguay and his philosophy borne from his Andean experience. Simply put it is: "We always have more than we need and we do less than we can to live a happy life." The Refuge emphasizes the simple life. The main house is a simple, squat structure consisting of a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bath, dining room, and work area. The walls, interior and exterior, are nearly two feet thick. The furniture includes several tables that Roberto fashioned from rough hewn wood. The chairs in the various rooms are a jumble of styles. Although Roberto came from a wealthy family, he keeps things simple and drives an old, dented car. Greeting us when we arrived at The Refuge was Claudia Gimenez, a self described producer who is helping to develop the site. Along with our guide Maria Jose Ardao, we sat down for lunch under a shady tree, which provided relief from the hot sun. Roberto drove up and joined us. A constant light breeze off a nearby hill provided natural air conditioning. Tamed horses wandered about freely, grazing nearby. A green parrot strolled under the table. Lunch consisted of green salad, including full flavoured tomatoes of the sort we used to have at home in the U.S., but which we rarely get today, and that very Uruguayan meal of parrillada-cooked grilled sausages and steak – along with a fine, local dry red wine. After getting acquainted during lunch, we explored the property by car to get a sense of what visitors may see and take in. Their visit to The Refuge starts with a stop at a room adjoining the house called the Chapel – though Roberto is not religious – which includes artefacts of the plane crash survivors and documents of the experience. A book, "Alive!", was a worldwide bestseller and sparked great controversy regarding the need to engage in cannibalism to stay alive. Ultimately, only 16 of the 45 people on board survived. A medical student at the time, Roberto provided guidance to the group on which body parts would be most sustaining to consume. After two months of living in the remains of the wrecked fuselage, Roberto and a friend left the group and walked for 10 days before finding help. His approach to life, and all that he has done since, has been shaped by the ordeal. Today, at aged 56, he is an outgoing, engaging, happy man. He frequently is asked to speak at medical and business conventions and conferences. Following a brief stop at a three-roomed cottage on the property, supplied by a water pumping system Roberto invented, we intended to go horseback riding. Just then one of the ranch hands came up to tell us a horse had been injured. We jumped in the car and went to see the animal. While traversing a narrow path on the rock-strewn terrain, another horse apparently had bumped it, causing it to fall. The horse suffered a six-inch gash at the top of its left hind leg. Though bone was visible, it was not bleeding badly and was still on its feet. One of the ranch hands brought over a medical kit. Four others, all expert horse handlers, got the horse to lie down and tied its feet together with ropes. Adolfo, a true horse whisperer, cradled its head in his lap and kept talking to him to calm him. No veterinarians were available, so it was up to Roberto to go to work. Over the next 90 minutes, he attempted repeatedly to sew up the wound. The ball of the upper leg bone normally fits a socket joint, but the socket had broken in half. First, Robert cut more hide along the length of the wound to allow access to the deeper flesh which he needed to sew together. His goal was to sew the torn inner flesh, then the covering layer of skin below the outer hide, and then the hide itself. Maria, our guide and an English teacher at a local school, jumped in as nurse and you'd have thought she had been trained as a nurse. She was terrific, injecting antibiotic, assisting with the stitching, and providing all around support. Claudia held back the hide to allow room for sewing. I kept stringing needles with thread. The horse basically was held still but would then abruptly attempt to kick. Although the ranch hands had restrained him, the kick broke the sutures, opening the wound and dislocating the bone from the broken socket joint. This meant that the whole process – repositioning the bone and suturing – had to begin again. And twice more, as the horse periodically kicked, before the wound was closed. When the job was done, the horse was washed down and sprayed with a fly repellent to protect the wound. He was up on his feet immediately, though limping of course, because his left hind leg couldn't support him. His bone needed to be pinned together. The closest vet, who wasn't able to attend right away, was to come in the next day or two. We dropped Adolfo at his home on the property, where his two little children, Jasmine and Washington, were playing. We expected to then head back to town, but Roberto suggested horseback riding, as that is what we originally intended. We rode as the sun set and until the stars emerged to create the most brilliant night sky, unpolluted by any electric lights. Roberto offered to give us a life back to Punta del Este, but as we were hungry, my colleague, Lisa Sonne, and I invited him to dinner. So, at midnight, the three of us of sat down at an open air restaurant – the only one where we could find a free table – and had a delicious fish dinner and a spirited discussion about horses, ranching, tourism, and some of the things that make a worthwhile life. Finally, at 1:30 am, we got back to the hotel and called it a day. Peter Lowy, contributing editor to Travel World News, writes on places of interest to novice and experienced travellers alike, with an eye toward introducing readers to people who reflect the spirit of distant places. For more information about Uruguay, contact the Uruguayan American Chamber of Commerce in the United States at www.gateway@uruguaychamber.com and www.uruguaynatural.comPeter and Lisa flew American Airlines to Uruguay and were accommodated at the Sheraton Hotels in Montevideo and Colonia, and at the Conrad Hotel in Punta del Este.