One More Time, Back to the Woods

I’m headed back up for what will probably be my last 2-3 week stint at Estancia Anita.  I can’t believe that I’m starting my 8^th month in the Chilean Patagonia – but I am.  And unfortunately, it’s also time to start thinking about home.

It’s hard to capture the last few months riding with Juan Luis (local cowboy), but of everyone I know who rides horses, I have the most respect for him.  Training his own string of rope horses, from unbroken colts to superb working partners, in the most difficult terrain, is very admirable.  Bogs, rivers, forests, bushes, rocks, cliffs, mud – you name it, and Juan Luis has to deal with it. 

During my next ~3 weeks hopefully I’ll be helping in their year cattle round up, bringing cows and calves down from the mountains, and then branding, sorting, and tagging the animals.  However, all of this is weather dependent.  If it’s not cold enough, the rivers won’t go down, and we won’t have access to the herds, or be able to cross the sale animals to leave the estancia.  My fingers are crossed that the weather will cooperate, and I’ll have enough time to round out my estancia experience with a Patagonian cattle drive. 

I also want to be more intentional about capturing daily live, both on film and in writing.  I forget that in Colorado we don’t go to the barn and simply cut off the selection of meat I’d like for dinner.  Or that not all streams and rivers are potable and carrying a water bottle here is worthless when you can drink all the water you want.  It’s also delightful to live in a place where the only communication to the outside world is by radio, cutting out the otherwise daily noise of advertisements, television, etc. 

I’m living the opportunity of a lifetime.  Herding cattle by full moonlight below glacial mountains reflecting white against a navy-blue sky.  Waking up and falling asleep by the sunlight, and nothing else.  Sharing life with local people in a land I respect and adore.  So here goes it, one more tour between national parks.

Videos from Life on a Working Estanica

Birthdays, Changing Seasons, and Changing Places

Sunset on Chacabuco and Rio Serrano in front of Estancia

Family/friends -

I just wanted to send a huge thanks for all of the warm birthday wishes!  I had a great birthday in a small cabin in an estancia tucked away in the middle of nowhere, with some friends from here and clients from the trip.  No electricity, no running water, but good people, good food, and a great birthday time :) 

I feel like it was just the other week I sent out an update...but I don't think that's the case.  So I'll try and give you all another glimpse into what in the world I've been up to down here, and how I'm passing my time.  I still struggle sometimes with the Spanish, but I’ve certainly improved since when I first arrived.

Changing Seasons

Fall is in the air…the snow is falling lower, and the lenga trees are about to start turning from a deep green to various shades of yellow and red.  With the changing of the seasons, the tourists are becoming scare.  Thus, less daily horse rides and not much to do in Rio Serrano.  With the ending of the tourist season, other seasons arrive in Patagonia.  It is time for many round ups and gathering of cattle for branding, castrating, and changing from summer to winter pastures.  Thus, as of the middle of March I finished my “work” in Rio Serrano, came down to “town” – Puerto Natales – and made plans to change speeds for a while.

  

From Serrano to Estancia Anita (Pekin)

Me with Juan Luis (left) and Pekinn

There’s an estancia tucked away between two National Parks – Torres del Paine and Bernardo O’Higgins.  The estancia is unique in Chile, in that it is the only estancia between two national parks; it is owned by Luis (Pekin) Guerrera.  With over 10,000 acres of pure wilderness, the estancia is accessible only by a series of 2 boats going downriver or upriver and then a vehicle transfer of 1.5 hours to town.  The surroundings are even more wild and more closed than the estancia itself, and I have an unbelievable opportunity to spend time with people who work daily with livestock passing rock precipices, crossing bogs and glacial rivers, and encountering wild bulls (I’m not joking).  Knowing I had this opportunity, last week I rode Clos (my horse) from Pueblito Serrano 4 hours by horseback to the estancia, whereupon Clos was directed by a boat to cross Rio Serrano.  Thankfully, my little horse crossed without a problem, and has a new home for awhile.

Lessons

Clos in Lago Guiekie

There’s a lot of things that now seem normal, that have taken awhile to lean and assimilate.  It’s not that things are ­that different, insomuch that things are similar, with a  Patagonian twist.  A sampling…

-Stoves here are generally always “on” – whether that be gas or wood.  You cook things by putting a pot or a kettle closer or farther away from the hottest part of the stove.  Never leave a kettle with only a little water – it will burn.

-When drinking maté (local drink of yerbs served in a gourde with a straw and then passed counterclockwise) you say “thank you” only when you don’t want anymore – if you say “thank you” the first time you are served, you’ll be skipped every time.

-Food in the campo is mostly meat, meat, and more meat with potatoes, rice, or bread.  When you are lucky, there are also onions, and sometimes tomatoes.  People who are coming up from “town” are generally expected to bring treats, whether that be Coca-Cola, chocolate, fruit, or wine. 

On the Horizon

Lago Guiekie with Glaciar Tyndale behind

There’s still some things that I’d like to do while I’m still in Patagonia.  I’m hoping to spend the next few weeks up at the Estancia with some friends exploring an area called “Campo del Diablo.”  It’s 1-2 days of riding up into the mountains, and from there we hope to explore some of the interior, a place that few people have ever gone.  Shortly after that, there is an endurance horse race April 23, another 1-2 days of riding from the estancia, but this time in Torres del Paine.  There’s some of us who want to race the short race, 40km, and I hope to bring Clos.  After that, the leaves will really start changing colors, and with the rivers finally down, the round ups are in full swing.  That should take me to the middle of May.  Patagonia is huge – there is still so much more to explore.  But I feel that after investing more than 5 months here, and with some good friends, I’m finally a lot closer to being where I wanted to be in Patagonia than my job when I first came.  I am connected to an incredibly beautiful, and wild place….

From Rio Serrano to Estancia Anita (Pekin)

(http://bagualesgroup.com/Torres_del_Paine_Informacion.html)

After passing nearly 3 months in the sector of Rio Serrano near Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, I left on horseback with Clos from Serrano to Estancia Anita, owned by Luis (Pekin) Guerrera.  This trip marks the changing of yet another mini-season of my time in the Chilean Patagonia.  From the map you can see Rio Serrano - we rode on the bottom side of the river (relative to the map), crossing 4 rivers, until arriving to the far side of Rio Serrano with the Estancia on the other side (the small house at the bottom of the map).  From here, we crossed in boat, and Clos was guided across by Juan Luis (son of Pekin).  Thankfully, Clos arrived safely to the other side of the river, starting a new life between the National Parks Torres del Paine and Bernardo O'Higgins.  I hope to spend at least the next month in this remote estancia, accessible only by a series of boats or by horse, learning how to work in pure mountain, rock, and forest while on horseback.

Southern Cross from Rio Serrano

I went outside last night and realized, with shock, the wind had blown all of the clouds away.  What was left was a moon-less and star-filled night.  This is an attempt to catch the Southern Cross with digital pixels.

On Always Being a Guest: Days and Nights in Rio Serrano

Should I wipe of off the table?  I ask myself.  Or sweep the floor? 

Adita, the house grandmother, continues to sandpaper the top surface of an old wood-burning stove without looking up.  There are dishes in the sink, I could wash a few dishes, I think to myself.  Settling on dishwashing, I attack the pile in the sink, scrub sheep grease off dirty plates with hot water and soap, and leave the steaming pile to air-dry.  Maybe it doesn’t matter to her if I help with any of it, but as a constant semi-guest in the house, I feel obligated to look for small ways to continually be helping out.

It is interesting living up at Rio Serrano.  Interesting is the best, though rather non-descript, word I can find to contain the complexities of life up here.  An explanation of the dynamics must be preceded with the characters in this play:

Me (Andria): visitor/part-time horse guide and English-speaking representative

Aniseto Astorga: husband of Adita, 70+ yro., illiterate, grew up in the “campo” - countryside

Adita Astorga: wife of Aniseto; went to school until age 12, has lived in Rio Serrano since

Holmen: oldest son of Aniseto and Adita and has two children: Holmen Jr. and Bastian

Gonzalo: second son; married to Victoria

Victoria (Vicky): from England, wife of Gonzalo; they met 5 years ago when she came on vacation for a horse riding trip and Gonzalo was one of the gauchos

Holmen Jr. (“Gordo”): 11 year old son of Holmen, up in Rio Serrano now for summer vacation

Nicolas: 10 year old nephew of Gonzalo/Holmen; cousin to Holmen Jr.

Bastian (“Bastie”): 4 year old son of Holmen

The Neighbors:  anyone ranging for cousins to visitors in the nearby hotels

The Passengers (“Los Pax”): people who come for horse rides or are camping

Miscellaneous House Guests (2-6 at a time): random family and friends that show up unannounced that stay for varied periods of time

Horses (~30): mix of Criollo/Thoroughbred/Percheran/Quarter Horse crosses that make up a herd of tourist horses, working horses, and a few foals and youngsters yet to be trained

Sheep (~40):  a band of nearly 40 ewes, with fewer and fewer lambs every week as the corderos are eaten for asados (barbecued lamb)

Cattle (~150): Hereford/Angus crosses for meat

Dogs (20+?): assorted collection of mutts that help on occasion to move the cattle

Cats (3):  scavenge food, fight with the dogs and the chickens

Kittens (8?): they are hard to count, always hiding under the house)

Chickens + 1 Rooster: ~13, depending on how many the dogs have killed recently

A mixture of Chilean hospitality, very informal job expectations, and landing up with a family that communicates very informally (family time often consists of sitting silently on the couch and staring out the window, or sitting on the same couch and using binoculars to spy on the neighbors, inspect the new truck from Hotel Rio Serrano, or simply see who is coming up and down the main road) had made for a rather interesting time up in Rio Serrano.  Before I start in any deeper on this, you my reader must know that I have been and really am enjoying my time in Rio Serrano with the Astorga family.  The scenery is spectacular, unlike anything you’ve ever seen.  I’ve had the opportunity to travel many places in the backcountry by horseback, places I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.  The family has been very hospitable to me, accepting me as one of them, and appreciating having someone else here to help cover the rides so they can work more with their small transportation business and with their livestock.  However, at the same time I am in the constant position as “guest” which leaves me in a position of not quite having a position.  It’s not like I was hired to do a job with a job description, expectations, rules and norms, and also an expectation of what my employer is also obligated to do.  It’s not that I’d rather have that situation, but the fact remains that living constantly in between can also be quite complex.  The blog entries that follow in the following days will contain short stories to shed light on life up here.

Meet "Clos"

My horse needed a name.  A Chilean name, since he's a Chilean horse.  Walking through Puerto Natales I saw a sign with a sale for boxed wine, specifically the brand "Clos."  In Chile, unlike in the U.S., boxed wine is mostly overproduction, and not the cheapest stuff on the shelf.  I thought well, my horse is pretty much the color of red wine ("vino tinto") and he was sorta the bargain-basement price, but a lot better than what he was sold for.  He's my cardboard boxed wine Chilean horse.  So, his name is Clos.  (for you non-Spanish speakers it is pronounced like "Close", with a long "o" but short "s" not a "z" sound).