Guanacos and Merino

I just found my friend Freddy in the wind of the Chilean pampas. And we are always looking for a way not to celebrate Christmas in the middle of the meadows.

Several kilometers after finding my German in an abandoned hut on the side of the road, we are at a junction of two paths. And obviously we have to turn to the direction where the wind will blow us completely in our face again. Even pushing with all our strength, we are now only moving about 4 or 5 km / h ... under the gaze of some guanacos, this wild animal resembling the llama.

The wind makes the fur of the wild guanaco roll up.

Is it me or does it look like these animals are always smiling?

It is then December 24 and the roads are deserted. Freddy then had the idea to write Merry Christmas (merry Christmas) on a piece of paper to attract the attention of the few motorists who could get us out of this hurricane. He tears off two sheets of his travel insurance book and traces the letters on them with the only pencil he has: a quill. I can't help laughing: you can't make out anything of his handwriting more than 30 cm from the sheet. His work seems completely useless.

Freddy and his good idea to write Merry Christmas with a pen.

A few llamas in a Chilean farm.

Our savior

John Robertson, our savior.

But the wind is so strong that his leaves stick to his body without even having to hold them. Maybe it's that or my big gestures that make our savior stop in his pick-up.

The truck is driven by John Robertson, a ranch owner in his mid-thirties. He agrees to embark us for the few tens of kilometers which separate us from the next village. The truck is already full with 3 other ranch workers in their sixties. We therefore embark with the dog Koy in the box, our two bikes, all our luggage and those of the passengers of the truck. It's very cramped but at least we are moving forward!

The bitch is stuck on me as we hurtle down through the pampas. Then, after disembarking a worker at a small shack at the end of a dirt road, I am promoted to a place inside the cabin. I then learn more about our driver.

John tells me he is the 4th generation of a Scottish family who immigrated to Chile. He owns more than 8000 animals, mainly sheep. I ask him how big is his land. He is not sure of the exact figure, "14 or 15 hectares", he replies. “In this region far to the south where the pastures do not grow very quickly, it takes at least a hectare to feed a sheep. He adds.

He raises his sheep mainly for meat, the vast majority of which is exported to Asia, but also for wool. And it is probably the latter that he is most enthusiastic about. His sheep are type merino, whose wool is well known to outdoor enthusiasts for the creation of technical clothing.

John tells me that his father passed away just a few months ago. He is the only child and inherited the earth. Few young people decide to live in these regions with such a difficult climate. But he loves his job as gaucho and wouldn't do anything else. He does not yet have children himself but tells me he would like to have some. He proudly explains to me that his father had recently succeeded in obtaining certification for their wool, for the product they have developed over many years. Their 7 tons of annual wool thus now bear the official name of Patagonian Robertson Merino.

The young owner also explains to me that he gives back 10% of his production to local artisans (named artelanas) to create their products. His way of giving back to the community of southern Chile… In addition to taking two cyclists on Christmas Eve!

The infinite horizon of the pampas. With rain approaching.

Two pockets for Christmas

John drops us off, Freddy and I, at Cerro Sombrero. We set up our tents next to the small tourist center of this community of barely 600 people. Almost nothing is open except the small local grocery store where we manage to buy a few products

We eat together our "holiday supper", pasta with canned corn, protected from the wind by the walls of the center. After supper, Freddy puts water on the fire of his camping stove. Then add the tea.

“I'm going to put two tea bags tonight. He told me seriously. “It's Christmas after all! "