The title of one of the ship’s shore excursions caught my attention: “Punta Arenas Sights & Patagonian Estancia on the Pampas.” The description explained the last phrase, and I was intrigued enough to book it. I would experience an afternoon at a large, family-owned sheep ranch on the vast, open grasslands of Patagonia, a sparsely-populated area of Chile that I had never heard about. I wondered if the visit would open up an authentic view into a culture and life so different from mine. That’s what I wanted.
But first, I would tour the port town of Punta Arenas, Chile, located strategically on the Strait of Magellan which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The tour guide for our group of thirty people expertly narrated the history of Chile, the discovery of Punta Arenas, as well as the current politics and economy of her native country as we traveled throughout the city with stops at the highlights.
We stopped at a hilltop viewpoint for a panoramic view of the city and the Strait of Magellan, this vital, historic sea passage connecting the oceans between Chile and the Tierra Del Fuego group of islands. Discovered by Magellan in 1520, this passage was used for ships traveling between the two oceans until the Panama Canal was built in 1914.
Every town we have visited has a central square with a statue of a famous historic person surrounded by greenery and significant buildings. The one in Punta Arenas, Plaza de Armas, features a bronze statue of Ferdinand Magellan with various indigenous figures on its base. I joined other travelers who have rubbed the toes of one of them which supposedly means “I will return.”
We had a 30-minute visit to the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, where I wandered around looking at taxidermied wildlife, archeological artifacts from the indigenous people groups, and historical displays of days of exploration of this area.
Touring a cemetery was unusual to me, but I walked through the landscaped paths of the Cementerio Municipal (City Cemetery) respectfully, listening to our guide share about the ornate mausoleums built for various families of the area. Perhaps the most interesting gravesite in this park-like cemetery was the Tomb of the Unknown Native dedicated to all the indigenous people of Patagonia.
Then began the hour-long bus ride into the interior of Patagonia, this vast section of Southern Chile with many more sheep and cattle than people. The flat semi-arid land covered with short grasses stretched for miles in all directions. A few low hills were off in the distance. Shrubs, dotting the landscape, are windbreakers for animals but are not edible. Our guide called it a cold, dry, windy wilderness.
We arrived at Estancia Olga Teresa, a large working sheep ranch owned by the Roca family since 1922. The original owner named it after his two daughters, Olga and Teresa, and it is currently run by his grandson and great-grandchildren. This estancia blends the work of raising sheep with tourism, inviting people to experience the hospitality, history, and culture of the ranch. From the moment I walked off the bus, I was excited that I would have a chance to see and learn about a very different way of life.
As we walked over the wind-swept field, I could see farm buildings scattered throughout the pasture land. The idyllic scene could have been a painting by a master artist. I just wanted to stop, feel, and stay awhile!
As we walked towards a cluster of open-air buildings, the wind carried the smell of meat cooking over a fire. Our first cultural experience? A Quincho Barbecue. A quincho is an outdoor, partially-covered, multi-section space used for preparing and serving asados (barbeques). The lamb for our lunch had been cooked over a spit for 4-5 hours, seasoned only with salt. Family members served us appetizers at the table, and then dished out portions of lamb and potato in a serving line. Salad, rolls, and dessert plus local wine completed our tasty meal shared in the cool, windy summer air.
We walked through more fields to a large fenced area where a family member shared about the importance of sheep dogs. She told us that the shepherd picks the dogs and trains them. Dogs are never purchased; they are always bartered from another rancher. A shepherd uses unique sounds and a short, thick whip to train the dogs to round up the sheep and herd them to where they need to go. The training can take three years. A well-trained dog can herd 500 sheep at a time.
The shepherd and his three dogs captured our attention as he used various sounds and whip-motions so the dogs could bring the sheep from a pen quite a distance away to right next to us at the fence.
If you want to see some videos clips of this, please watch “Video: Punta Arenas – Patagonia” in the “Where in the World is Odysseus” section of my web page.
Then we were off to the sheep-shearing building. Do you know why a sheep needs to be sheared? Its coat gets to be so heavy that the sheep can’t move fast enough to get away from a predator! And, of course, the wool can be sold. But even if a sheep is to be sold for meat, it must be sheared yearly so it can survive out in the field. We learned that a professional shearer, using modern equipment, can shear 225-250 sheep a day.
After we were all seated on wooden benches, a ranch-hand, trained to demonstrate for us, hauled in a ewe, a female sheep. This sheep was so docile that it just was limp in his arms. He tucked her head between his legs, and started shearing with a noisy clipper. Piles of wool clumped up on the floor as the shearer turned the sheep into various positions to get her completely shorn.
(If you want to see some videos clips of this, please watch “Video: Punta Arenas – Patagonia” in the “Where in the World is Odysseus” section of my web page.)
When the wool was dumped onto a table, we all had a chance to rub it between our fingers to feel the lanolin that is used as a base for ointments and lotions. Wool from this ranch is categorized and rated by a lab in New Zeeland. Because the price of wool has been so low since Covid, most of the sheep from this ranch are sold for meat.
As we headed home to the ship on the hour-drive back through the grassy flatlands, I pondered about my afternoon in Patagonia. I was left with these thoughts:
- The word Estancia means “stay”, “sojourn.” During my “temporary stay,” I had felt the peace of the open range, seen the rhythms of a ranch at work, enjoyed a sanctuary of quietness. I had had a memorable “sojourn.”
- I was reminded of my Shepherd as I watched the shepherd at work on the ranch. Like a sheep under the watchful care of his shepherd, so am I under the forever care of mine. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” Ps 23:4-5
- I thought about the sheep following the voice of the shepherd and being gathered together by the sheep dogs, and I remembered the words of Jesus in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
- And watching that docile ewe being shorn? What a picture of Isaiah 53:7 prophesying how Jesus surrendered willingly to endure His persecution and suffering. “As a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.”
My ponderings in Patagonia are linked to photos and videos that will be watched over and over as I replay this delightful afternoon in my memories.
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