Gaucho culture
There are a huge number of people in the region
who live well below the poverty line in terms of income but in a limited
way live reasonably well. Many families have a piece of land which
still produces some meat, fruit and vegetables and is the central point
of interest and income to the extended family. The provision of some
food is complimented by income from working on bigger farms, building
projects and other industries. In more isolated areas there are a good
number of more traditional “colonos” who live hours or
days from the nearest neighbour or road and live on extremely little.
They produce the meat and vegetables they need and sell a few animals
or wool each year for purchasing the essentials of tools, flour, mate,
cigarretes and wine. Tourism for these people is one of the few options
open to them as a way of creating some income with the resources already
available to them like land, horses and food. This relies to a large
extent on companies such as ours using those resources and helping
in their development.
Much has been written about Gaucho culture, mostly as
a result of it obviously disappearing. Much has been romantisized and
quite a bit imagined but the spirit and ideaology of the gaucho persists.
We see it most clearly in some of the characters we meet out on the trail
who choose to live in monetary poverty but have a rich life with long
periods alone tending cattle and seasonal migrations to pick up shearing
work in Argentina or building work in towns. This is a way of life life
centred around farms, mountains, forests and pampas, of solitary living
combined with tremendous generosity of spirit, of people who will happily
give you all they have and open up their house to you.
The gaucho and the Chilean poblador or colono have combined
into the rough mix of cultures which we find today where though we are
in Chile the dialect is often more Argentine and many phrases of language
are unintelligible in the rest of Chile. There are some interesting quirks
of dialect and some great sayings which at first glance make no sense
at all but with a little explanation add a great richness and variety
to fireside conversations.
Drinking Mate is to Patagonians what fast food is to
Americans and Guiness to the Irish, but a bit healthier. Just about any
stop at farms out on the trail will involve drinking Mate (mat-eh). The
drink itself is a chopped herbacious bush grown in the north of Argentina,
Paraguay and Uruguay. It is drunk from a small cup or gourd through a
silver straw and shared by everyone in a group. The whole process has
a lot of tradition and very respected rules which you can only learn
by doing it. Needless to say most travellers try it, make mistakes, get
laughed at and consequently get accepted into families and households.
Mate has a deadening effect on hunger and also acts as a stimulant. It`s
use grew from the gaucho culture of cattle herding where on rising before
dawn a few rounds of mate would be drunk whilst the meat was put over
the fire, the first shift of early morning work would be completed while
the meat cooked and then a late breakfast eaten before hitting the trail.
We put this same system into practice on many of our expeditions and
mate quickly replaces coffee as everyones prefered drink out on the trail.
The ritual of resting, chatting, exchanging stories, sharing and laughing
are more important than the drink itself. |
