3 Feb - Punta Arenas and a day out visiting a ranch... it WAS interesting, ate far to much barbecued sheep and drank far to much Pisco Sour!

Early Morning Departure for Ranch Tour
The ship arrived exactly on time Friday morning. There was a little delay disembarking due to one of the Tenders running aground and the sea was quite choppy. However, once ashore we were quickly transferred to our coaches, where we were informed that the our ranch tour which included horse riding and quad biking had been cancelled. As the coach set off, it was announced by the tour guide that we were now going to tour a sheep ranch for a sheep dog display, sheep shearing and horse rodeo exhibition. NOT exactly what we'd paid for, but by then it was to late...

The Ranch, sheep dogs, sheep shearing and rodeo
We drove over 2 hours through a landscape of dry steppes, miles and miles of sheep country - featureless except for the odd bush but beautiful in its own way. Not that I saw much of it, as I'd fallen to sleep before the coach had left Arenas, although Ann did wake me up a few times because of excessive "snoring".

On arrival at the Estancia Olga-Teresa ranch we were given a warm welcome and served coffee and home cooked biscuits in the outdoor dining area come shop, barbecue pit, museum and antique tool exhibitions. the smell of the whole sheep cooking slowly around the barbeque was mouth watering - but we had to wait until later for that experience. 

The first thing we saw was the sheep dog exhibition where the expert horseman rounded up a small herd of sheep using a Border Collie (cross breed) dog. It was interesting to watch man and dog in action and the sheep running from here to there almost- but not quite- running into the crowd of onlookers who were cheering and clapping with excitement. I knelt down to take a picture of the sheep as they galloped towards me. Through the zoom lens it looked a bit like the Raptor stampede scene in Jurassic Park, but true to my new found artistic bravery, I stayed in place and got a great picture.

After the sheep dog show the group was split into two. Our group went on to see the horse rodeo display. The skill of each rider was astonishing and the special Chilean horse breed could go from still to breakneck speed in seconds. Apparently, the horses are so loyal to their riders that often they would stay with a hurt rider and look after them after a fall.

It was an excellent display of horsemanship and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The sheep shearing demonstration was OK, but Ann felt sorry for the sheep as most of them incurred cuts during the shearing and looked very bedraggled and sorry for themselves.

Barbecue Lunch - far to many Pisco Sours and heaps of cooked sheep!
Everyone joined up again at the dining area and were served copious amounts of Pisco Sour, which is the local firewater and certainly gives a "warm glow" on the way down. The lunch consisted of barbecued (whole) sheep, boiled potatoes, salad and a hot chili tomato relish. The portions served were enormous and I swear, another mouthful, I'd have begun to bleat, baa baa... The hosts also provided many bottles of the local red wine, so by the time it came to leave, most passengers had to be literally "poured" into the bus!

Both me and Ann slept all the way back to Arenas and awoke feeling slightly hung over and smelling faintly but distinctly of sheep shit.

A brief tour of Arenas followed where we bought some small presents and more chocolate. The central plaza had a statue of Magellan and looked very grand.

It was then back to the ship as it had started to rain quite heavily. First stop onboard, the Golden Lion for a well earned "hair-of-the-(sheep)-dog. Curiously, the sheep shit smell has followed us onboard, we've checked all bags and pockets just in case we'd inadvertently rustled a sheep, but came up blank.

We had a late dinner in the Kings Court restaurant and then an early night.

Although the tour was changed at the last minute, we both enjoyed the day and have many fond memories of an authentic sheep ranch. Waking up this morning and inhaling the mysterious sheep shit smell only served to enhance those memories in a rather unpleasent way!!

Outside dining area

That's my sheep in the middle and very tasty it was too!!

The boss of the shepherds, probably one of the best pictures I've ever taken, the full size image wouldn't be out-of-place in the National Geographic.

Sheep stampede...

Authentic Chilean Cowboys getting ready for the rodeo demonstration.

Trainee shearer in action.

Statue of Ferdinand Magellan complete with bare breasted mermaids (lucky chap).

Punta Arenas with QM2 in the bay, gives an idea of just how big the ship is.

More Later...

Visiting Punta Arenas, Chile - Options for an EIGHT hour Visit!
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