Brazilian journalist Filipe Leite is crossing two continents on horseback. Leite is a second-generation cowboy living a dream he’s had since he was young: he’s riding two horses from the Calgary Stampede to his home in Sao Palo, Brazil, on a trek that will take him two years on horseback.
Leite said it’s a 10,000 mile journey through 12 countries. “I’m doing it because I heard of a story of a Swiss school teacher who rode two horses in 1925 from Argentina to New York. And I just fell in love with the story. I was very young when he told me about this saga and it never left my mind,” Leite said.
1. Assuming Leite travels the same number of miles each month, how many miles a month will he and his horses travel?
“I wanted to do something to raise awareness for human rights and social justice within the Americas and here we are; I just got out of Canada a couple weeks ago, crossed the border, so one country down and eleven to go,” he added.
2. Assuming Leite and his horses spend the same amount of time in each of the 12 countries he will be riding through, how long will he be in each country?
Leite managed to get a U.S. production company to sponsor his trip, he’s sharing his journey along the way online. And to help defray some of the costs, Leite has been partnering with fellow cowboys for a place to bunk with his horses.
“I’ve been staying at people’s houses. They’ve been giving me hay, they’ve given me water, like Tim here.”
His message at the end of this trip is one of humanity and commonality: “The horse is the common language throughout this trip so that brings everyone together and that’s really cool.”
He plans to make it to Brazil by the year 2014, just in time for the World Cup. Find out more about Filipe’s travels, including videos at Journey America.
1. Assuming Leite travels the same number of miles each month, how many miles a month will he and his horses travel?
Answer: 10,000 ÷ 24 = 416.66. Leite and his horses will average 417 miles a month.
2. Assuming Leite and his horses spend the same amount of time in each of the 12 countries he will be riding through, how long will he be in each country?
Answer: 24 ÷ 12 = 2. He will spend an average of 2 months in each country.