Pucon, Chile at the base of the smoking Villarica
Volcano
15 january 2001
Hello All
We crossed into Chile a couple of days ago from Argentina and will cross back into Argentina probably tomorrow. We just came across to enjoy a hot spring and see a few volcanoes and of course, it has already turned into an adventure. Day before yesterday morning when we were leaving Ancamil hotspring near here, we passed a huaso or Chilean cowboy in full regalia trimming the mane of his horse. Of course, as I always do, I stopped to talk to him and when I asked him why he was dressed up, he said that he was going to a rodeo about 100 miles away. As we talked further, he explained to me that a Chilean rodeo was very much different from the American variety. He explained that two horsemen go on either side of a cow getting points either good or bad from the way they drive the cow around the ring. They have one chance to pin the cow to the side of the ring against an area padded with straw. It sounded interesting so we decided to go.
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We started off across country as the snow capped and smoking Volcan Villarica loomed to our left. As we neared Pucon, we were right at the volcano's base - between it and Lago Villarica. Pucon is a tourist town full of people from everywhere---many come across from arid Argentina to this green mountainous heaven and there are people from other countries as well. We found an internet cafÈ, stocked up on groceries and gas and continued across country to the town of Villarica at the end of the lake and then to Freire and finally across countryside dotted with beautiful farms with cows grazing peacefully in green pastures to the town of Teodoro Schmidt near the Pacific coast.
We found the rodeo ring - roughly but sturdily built by the people of the town beside a big building divided into two parts - one for dancing and one for eating. We had some empanadas and asado or grilled meat rigt away and marveled at the old west feeling of the bar which must have been 30 feet long. Chilean huasos in cut away jackets, striped pants, black boots, huge flat brimmed hats that our friend Tonio told us cost over $100 each, leather or woven belts, leggings of leather with tassles at the side and enormous spurs leaned against the bar drinking beer, wine or Pisco. We felt like we had been transported into the past being the only travelers there; everyone else was Chilean.
(click on the photo to zoom)
We had our food and then drifted out to behind the restaurant to try to find our new friends who had arrived before us. Not having any success, I took some video of the huasos warming up their Chilean horses which are a breed unto themselves. They are strong horses trained to obey the slightest touch of the reins against their neck and also trained to run sideways at the touch of the spur against their sides. This maneuver which is one of the most important ones for them since to herd the cow, many times they have to move sideways especially when they are pinning the cow to the side of the ring. When the cow is pinned, the horse does another maneuver which is to rise up above the cow and force it to the ground with its chest. They seem to do this automatically (after being trained) as we saw a riderless horse in a pasture do this to a cow.
We went on into the ring which amazingly was built on one side around a huge tree so that spectators could sit in the shade; just a little touch of South American engineering. We found some seats on the rough boards and watched as they dragged the ring with a tractor, the ring having been previously wet down from another round of competition that had taken place in the morning. Finally an older gentleman carrying a long staff entered the ring riding a white horse leading perhaps 15 pairs of riders all in full regalia and added to what I described above, each man wore a colorfully striped poncho. They were introduced to the crowd and then the rodeo started.
A cow comes into a small area toward the front of the ring and two cowboys carefully herd it around about three times in tight loops since this sectioned off small ring in the shape of a 'media luna' or half moon is tiny in comparison with the larger outer ring. They get points either good or bad from how well they herd the cow. Then a gate is opened at one end of the media luna and the cowboys and the cow burst out into the larger ring. They go round the ring in a clockwise direction and at the right side have a chance to force the cow into the side of the ring. If successful and if they do it well, they can get up to four 'good' points. If they fail or do it less than perfectly they get fewer points or even 'puntos malos' which are bad points.
About half way through the competition, I spotted our friends. They were about the best cowboys there we were soon to realize as they did the job flawlessly getting five points which was the most that anyone got. I felt like a special person when both of them saw me in the stands and both waved at the same time. I nearly dropped the video camera! We watched the other cowboys and at the end of the competition, our friends were declared the winners. On the way out, they motioned for us to meet them outside where we congratulated them for their triumph and to my surprise, one of them gave me his first place prize that he had just won explaining that he had several more at home and that meeting us in the morning had brought them luck.
Then they invited us into the rear of the area where the trucks, the riders and the horses all would be staying that night since this is a two day rodeo. We walked back with them where Domingo, Tonio's uncle, had a small fire going and a teakettle of water ready to make mate. We sat on bales of hay for the five horses they had brought and drank mate while we talked. We were then able to see the saddles and the harness and the other gear on the horses. The stirrups are made of carved orange wood and are held up by a ring of decorated metal that is fastened by a leather strap to the saddle. There were leather braided ropes and silver decorated harnesses; all very different and exciting for us.
Then Tonio invited us to bring our Vanagons back beside their truck since both they and we were going to stay the night. We felt honored when we drove our vans from the parking lot in front to the area reserved for the cowboys in back. That honor for me rapidly evaporated when they put me on one of the horses complete with Tonio's poncho and wide brimmed hat and took a picture. There was a man who looked like Santa Claus with a gray beard on a Chilean horse complete with poncho and hat in skinny legs and in shorts! What embarrasment; I was the ONLY person out of hundreds of people in shorts. But, the picture was done and I had had my moment on a Chilean horse wearing the poncho and hat of my new friend Tonio Alvarez who was the champion of the rodeo and I held in my pocket the first place ribbon. So I was immensely proud of myself; even in shorts!
We visited the rest of the afternoon and into the southern night with them. The Milky Way was very strong on this moonless night and off to the other side of the sky from Orion was the Cruz del Sur or Southern Cross. We went off to the 'baille' or dance at around 9PM. After a while they went off and got a bottle of Pisco and four Sprites for us to try -- Pisco being the national drink here in Chile. I won't go any further into this except to say that they had to help me back to the van at 3:30 in the morning all of us staggering this way and that in the cool southern night. Lucky for me that I didn't have to ride a horse the next morning since for only the second time in this trip, I had a horrible hangover. I was dizzy, had a headache and verged on being sick. Finally I got myself together about noon and was able to bid farewell to our friends and head back across Chile to Pucon again where we had planned on visiting a volcanic cave and a forest of 1500 year old araucaria trees near here. Well, the forest was closed on Sunday so we camped by a river within sight of the volcano instead and had a good cool night's sleep - unlike a week ago when we were in Buenos Aires sweltering in 90 degree heat.
Another day of our South American adventure,
Will Foertsch and Larry Calhoun
