6 minute read
Riding High
Shelley Seale travels to the "End of the World" as she journeys with a Chilean cowboy through Patagonia.
Destination: Chile
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Location: Patagonia
A visitor rides across the Patagonian countryside.
Dramatic glaciers.
A herd of guanaco.
The mountains were vast, the sky was endless, and only the sounds of birds calling and our horses’ footsteps could be heard. There were no other people in sight and no trails in the remote Chilean wilderness — I was relying completely on Lucho, the experienced cowboy who led the way across the tall, grassy plains and through the trees of this vast desolate landscape.
Patagonia is a wild and rugged place, and riding horseback through the Sierra Dorotea Mountains was an adventurous, yet peaceful, way to explore and take in the inspiring beauty found in Southern Chile. Here in the Ultima Esperanza Seno — “Channel of Last Hope” — fjords carve through craggy mountain ranges that creep down hundreds of miles to the Balameda Glacier, near the end of the South American continent.
Lucho had greeted me at the estancia (ranch) in silence, with a bone-crushing handshake. He had a rough, windbeaten face beneath a jaunty black beret, and was dressed in the poncho and baggy gaucho pants that were the traditional garb for a baqueano, as Chilean cowboys are called.
He clearly had an unspoken connection with the horses as he checked their saddles; the animals moved in tune with him, seeming to know what he wanted before he touched them. We set off on horseback without a word, quickly climbing past the log fences of the lonesome ranch and out of sight of civilization. Lucho’s solemn and stoic manner was typical of the baqueanos, who spend most of their lives in solitude in this great expanse of land.
He worked the ranches, taking in new horses and taming them, rounding up sheep and cattle in a lifestyle rooted in tradition. Lucho was clearly knowledgeable about every nook and cranny here, leading our horses easily along craggy cliffs, shallow streams and through the occasional snowdrift, which became deeper the higher we climbed. I knew that a person who had not lived and breathed Patagonia their entire life would get lost in this wilderness. The true skill of the baqueano is that of the pathfinder; he knows how to orient himself at all times, using the sun, the stars and the landscape to find his way. They are famed for knowing how to find shelter and clean drinking water in the middle of nowhere, and it is said that they can find their way anywhere; even in the all-encompassing darkness of the Patagonian night.
Keep your camera at the ready.
Until recent years, these forests were the only source of building and firewood for the estancias; some locals would go into the mountains with wagons and bulls, where they would live for months at a time gathering wood before going back down to the valleys to sell it. An isolated existence.
We rode without speaking, picking our way among rocks and fallen trees. Lucho smoked one cigarette after another as he rode. The silence was comforting, reverent almost; it felt as if speech would break the spell cast by the untouched nature that was all around us. As we crested ridge after ridge, the forest gave way to sweeping drops over thousands of feet.
Lucho stopped occasionally for me to admire the view, though he remained fairly uninterested in anything beyond his horse, his cigarettes, and this land. It’s not that he was rude, but outsiders were simply not a factor in his world, beyond not letting us become lost forever in this outback.
My horse beneath me, though I could not remember his long Chilean name, was strong and dependable. It was certainly not the nose-to-tail, broken trail horse that one often finds in riding excursions meant for tourists. Yet he was calm and trusting, sure-footed and dependable. The Chilean horse is one of the oldest equine breeds in the Americas, and perfectly adapted to the life in Patagonia. He responded easily to my commands and I trusted him in return.
In one direction, far below were the lakes and fjords. Across to the east, over the next mountain ridge, was Argentina. The horses began carefully picking their way up a steeper incline covered with loose rock, and I was looking at the path below when suddenly we came to a stop.
Glancing up, I saw that we had come to a mesa overlook. Framed by two massive granite rocks, a breathtaking view was before me: a deep purple valley framed by snowcapped mountains in the far distance, a dramatic landscape formed by centuries of cataclysmic earthquakes, glacier movements and volcanic eruptions. It was worth it travelling all this way for this view alone.
Lucho starting a fire.
More riders exploring the wilds of Patagonia.
One of the horses taking our writer on her tour.
A condor circling overhead.
Chilean cowboy Lucho helping to keep centuries of tradition alive.
Lucho dismounted, unsheathed a carved silver knife at his belt, and began hacking away at small tree branches. Soon he had built a roaring fire, over which he brewed some mate tea as he stared wordlessly into the flames while the horses snorted and stamped their feet nearby.
Here, in one of the most remote and wild places I had ever been, I got a glimpse into a lifestyle unchanged for centuries. The size of Patagonia and its forbidding topography proves too harsh for much human conquering. Its inaccessibility from the rest of the world creates a place that is rarely found by today’s intrepid travellers: a pureness that has been little changed by man. Rather, it seems, it changes those who visit instead. Immersed here, one quickly understands why Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral described Patagonia as “beautiful desolation.”
EPIC RIDES
No, you’re not dreaming, you can actually do this…
JOURNEY ACROSS THE MASAI MARA
For a hack with a difference head to the Masai Mara. Ride out with a team through the Kenyan bush and spy giraffes and elephants along the way. Enjoy a picnic enroute, then hunker down around a campfire after dinner to swap stories with your fellow riders.
RIDE THROUGH A DELTA
Possibly the most glamorous way to cool off during a ride — canter with a team through the Okavango Delta in Botswana. You will have more than 50 horses to choose from for your African adventure. And after a day in the saddle you will be able to relax at Macatoo Camp.
GALLOP ACROSS THE MONGOLIAN PLAINS
Fancy riding with some of the best horsemen in the world? Then how about joining the Golden Eagle Hunters for a journey across the plains of Mongolia? Each year, the nomadic herdsmen ride — with eagles in hand — to their annual festival and if you are a guest of Lightfoot Travel you can join them. This is definitely one for the bucket list.
TREK ACROSS THE ANDES
Join your sure-footed steed at Estancias Huechahue in Argentina and go on a 10-day ride across the Andes to Chile. Spy open plains, mountains, forests and volcanoes on this phenomenal ride.
GETTING THERE
For more information on travelling to Patagonia email aLightfoot Travel Designer at info@lightfoottravel.com
Photography: Keith Hajovsky. Main shot: Library image from Explora.
