The city of Río Grande is about the same size as Ushuaia, but there the similarity ends. Ushuaia is set against the gorgeous Andes range, whereas Río Grande is about half way up the island and set right on the Atlantic coast. My hotel is one block from the ocean. All one sees around this area is steppe, softly rolling and grass-covered, with no mountains or forest. Because of this, it is ideal for producing high quality sheep in great numbers.
Numerous shallow lakes dot the landscape, though many are dry because of little rain. We searched for miles to find the flamingos who inhabit the lake shores. Though we saw several condors overhead and other typical birds of the region, not a flamingo was to be found. Here are some that Fernando captured with his camera on a previous trip.
Our first stop was 12.5 miles inland at the María Behety estancia. Originally the ranch consisted of 475,000 acres and was like a small village with quarters for 100-150 men. It has since been divided into four properties and now has only (!) 154,000 acres. The Corriedale sheep produced here are some of the most important of the race in the world. The ranch was named for the wife of José Menendez who founded the estancia in 1898. It has the largest shearing shed in the world, which we visited. It helps to travel with someone like Fernando who is known to many of the workers, so we had easy access to the property and the shearing shed.
Next, we visited the Los Flamencos estancia, once part of the María Behety, and located several miles to the east. Here is their shearing shed which was also in use today.
Segunda Argentina was the name of this estancia founded in 1902 by José Menendez.
This is the heavy machinery imported from England in the last century to form the wool bales.
We returned to town for lunch, then paid a visit to the Salesian Museum. The order came to Tierra del Fuego in 1894 to preach to the indigenous Yahgan and Ona people. Because of the recent gold strike and the importation of sheep, the people were being exterminated at an alarming rate. The padres brought them to a mission in Río Grande and another on Dawson Island in the Chilean fjord country. They were taught to pray, wear clothes, and learn European ways. They quickly died out from disease and a broken heart. This small museum and the larger one in Punta Arenas preserve many of the artifacts of these people. Here is a modern representation of a typical Ona house or choza.
Tomorrow: my bus leaves early for a 4-hour trip to Porvenir across the border in Chile. From there I take a ferry to Punta Arenas.
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