We docked at Punta Arena. which was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a tiny penal colony to assert sovereignty over the Strait. During the remainder of the 1800s, Punta Arenas grew in size and importance due to the increasing maritime traffic and trade traveling to the west coasts of South and North America. This period of growth also resulted from the waves of immigrants attracted to the gold rush and sheep farming boom in the 1880s and early 1900s. The largest sheep company, controlling 10,000 square kilometres in Chile and Argentina, was based in Punta Arenas, and its owners lived there.
Since its founding Chile has used Punta Arenas as a base to defend its sovereignty claims in the southernmost part of South America. This led, among other things, to the Strait of Magellan being recognized as Chilean territory in the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. With a population of 127,000 it is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south.
Estancia Teresa Olga was our destination after landing at Punta Arenas. Estancia Olga Teresa is in the Río Verde area, 78 km northwest of the city of Punta Arenas. In 1922, the Estancia was acquired by Don Fermin Berjoan Roca, pioneer of French origin, who gave it the name of his two daughters, Olga and Teresa. Currently, the Estancia belongs to his grandson Rodolfo Concha Roca, together with his wife Yvonne Paeile Jordan and their four children, Rodolfo Luis, Lorena, Cristián and Rodrigo.
In 2000, the family started to develop agrotourism which encourages visitors to experience natural life at first hand. They involve the family and staff doing demonstrations of sheep dogs and sheep shearing, a Chilean Rodeo demonstration and ending with a typical lamb spit roast. After lunch we saw the, by normal condor standards, very large number of nesting birds living on a cliff face.
The barbecue was "interesting" rather than gourmet. This method of cooking tends to overcook and dry out the meat, but must be just the thing if you are a gaucho and are cooking up for the night in the middle of the pampas.
It is difficult to do this sort of event without giving the punter the feeling that they are being "processed". We were processed here, but it was actually quite a jolly day out.
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The sheep handling and shearing demonstration was aimed at city folk who have no idea as to what goes on in the country, and I think that the majority of our fellow passengers were impressed by it.
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Chilean rodeo is different from the rodeo found in North America. I must say I found it difficult to see the attraction in Chilean Rodeo, nor was I convinced as to the point, given the costs. But you could probably say that about most sports.
In Chilean rodeo, a team (called a collera), consisting of two riders (called Huasos) and two horses, ride laps around an arena trying to stop a calf, pinning it against large cushions. Points are earned for every time the steer is properly driven around the corral, with deductions for faults. Rodeos are conducted in a crescent-shaped corral called a medialuna. The sport, in its modern form, is strictly regulated. Chilean Horses are used exclusively and riders are required to wear traditional huaso garb. Rancagua hosts the annual Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo, the nationwide rodeo championship. The greatest rider in the sport's history is considered Ramón Cardemil, who obtained the national title seven times; the last champions were Juan Carlos Loaiza and Eduardo Tamayo. Huasos have been known to travel hundreds of miles to compete in competitions. The sport has become so popular that in 2004, more spectators attended rodeo events than professional football matches. A good horse can cost upwards of $100,000, so somebody likes the sport.
The Economist wrote Chilean rodeo is a maze of contradictions. It originated in the humble task of herding cattle to market, and yet it is one of the upper classes' most fiercely guarded traditions. For most Chileans, it is symbolic of their traditional rural lifestyle, the cult of the horse and the skill of the huaso, Chile's version of the cowboy, but its roots go back to a time when the entire country was controlled by just ten families. Keen to preserve the tradition, Chile's authorities made rodeo the national sport in a law of 1962. Although it continues to attract a huge following, only the very wealthiest Chileans can afford to participate in rodeo, putting its long-term survival in doubt.
The elitism of rodeo is apparent at all levels. Juan Carlos Loaiza and Eduardo Tamayo, this year's champions, are backed by Agustín Edwards Eastman, the owner of El Mercurio newspaper and one of the richest men in Chile. Mr Eastman is thought to spend between $40,000 and $60,000 each month on maintaining his Futrono ranch, which includes paying for a vet, grooms and a team of horse-breeding experts. He also pays salaries to Mr Loaiza and Mr Tamayo and stumps up their attendance fees at competitions. Although other sports are similarly awash with money at the very top, few enjoy the status of de jure national sport.
While a long list of rules is designed to safeguard the traditional nature of rodeo, many serve to make involvement in it even harder for the average Chilean. Laws about the purity of the Chilean rodeo breed and the specifications for riders' dress make participation an expensive business, and most competitions do not award prize money to winners. Because it is not played internationally, rodeo does not qualify for government funding from Chile's Olympic Committee. Riders who wish to participate in rodeo at any level must fund themselves. That means being able to invest in land, horses and equipment, as well as paying as much as $2,500 to take part in a competition.
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Condors. Within the grounds of the Estancia there is a little hill called Cerro Palomares, whose slopes shelter a condor colony. After a 10 minute walk, we reached close to the base of a cliff, where the condors nested. There were 20 to 30 condors on the cliff while we watched, though the estancia does say that there are upwards of 70 on the site. The area is naturally very windy, as the condors need wind to give them lift to get into the air - without wind they would just sink like stones.
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Punta Arenas we only saw for a few minutes. On the return we were dropped off in the Plaza de Armas, and walked about 1000 metres back to the boat. Enough time to buy a Punta Arenas Penguino and a bottle of Chilean desert wine. Hence we missed seeing the Punta Arenas Cemetery, which was listed by the New York Times as one of the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world ( the list includes La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires and the Highgate Cemetery London)
The City cemetery of Punta Arenas was opened in 1894. It resembles a miniature city with alleys, carefully grown cypresses, graves and tombs of the European immigrants from the richest families of the community. The official name is Sara Broun Sementerio Municipal. The huge stone gate was donated in 1919 by Mrs. Sara Broun, the richest and most influential woman in Patagonia at the time. Members of Patagonia affluent families lived in luxury all their life, and after death found their last refuge in the rich tombs of the cemetery of Punta Arenas.. We never saw the cemetery because of lack of time, but I include a photo for the record
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The voyage on Silversea Explorer in South America