The trip starts in Ralco, a small mountain town about 1 hours bus ride from Los Angeles. From Ralco we travelled by car over dirt roads through beautiful mountains, for 90 minutes. From Ralco on we are in the territory of the Pewenche people, and indigenous tribe related to the Mapuche, who are one of the last bastions of pre-colonial culture in Chile. Don’t expect people dressed in loin cloths and feathers. In some ways the Pewenche are assimilated to modern life – they have cars, televisions, and jeans. But they still speak their traditional language (Chedungun) among themselves, and follow many of their traditional ways, such as the collection pine nuts of the giant Auracaria pine trees , for them a sacred tree from where they take their name (Che = People of the Pehuen = Auracaria).

As in many parts of the Andes, the Pewenche have a mythical connection with the mighty scenery that surrounds them, and they try and manage their sheep, cattle and goat herds in tune with the rhythm and cycles of nature and the seasons. This became clear as we set off with our Pewenche guide, riding through the lush native woodlands. We passed through very healthy stands of Southern Beech (nothofagus), which come in very many different kinds, and at this time of year, a rich variety of autumn colours from green to russet to gold. The upper slopes and gulleys were thickly wooded by nurre bushes, which also adopt a rich palette of red and gold at this time of year. On the far hill crests were the majestic araucaria pines, some 50m high and many centuries old. That night we would dine on the rich pine nuts, boiled over the open fire.

The ride took us from the small settlement of Butalelbun – basically a collection of tin-roof homesteads in a broad valley with a school and health post – up to the summer pastures of Malalkawello, which means ‘horse corral’ in Pehuenche, and according to Juan Domingo, our guide, is used to describe these lush pastures surrounded by the steep Andes since it acts like a giant enclosure for livestock over summer.

But before we could reach the pastures we had to climb almost straight up a cliff on horseback, along a trail I would never have thought possible to walk on foot, let alone on a horse! Our guide told us from the start ‘trust your horse’ and this was good advice. I have travelled the Andes’ worst mountain roads by car and bus, and I am reasonably comfortable on horseback (but by no means an experienced rider) but these paths were heart-pounding steep, with knife-edge ridges and sheer drops hundreds of feet to the valley below. To compensate the scenery was stunning and I could have stepped into the Big Country of a John Ford western, with rugged rocks and evergreens bushes, clear streams and soaring mountain peaks on all sides.

None of my colleagues, and of course not the guide, seemed in the least bit bothered by the steep ascent, even as horse hoofs slipped and clattered on rocky ledges spitting stones into the void below. All I could do was sit tight and let the reins as loose as possible to let my horse, Chincolito, find his way up, several times springing like a mountain goat from ledge to ledge. Clearly any attempt to actively ride the horse in any way could only distract him, with a likely negative outcome.So I did the only sensible thing; nothing. Except occassionaly close my eyes and wish for a parachute.

At the top we reached a small meadow and dismounted and at last I could relax and enjoy the view below.

The rest of the day’s ride was a lot easier, though there were still some steep inclines, after a lunch stop we set off up above the tree line to the Andean steppe, the higher paramo with pampas grass. We rode right to the base of the mountain ridge that seperates Chile from Argentina, and after a 200 metre climb on foot (quite easy path) reached the snow line…and there we were, with one foot in each country straddling the border! This was amazing, as were the views down into Argentina and to the snow caps that seperate the two countries to the north and south. Condors floated overhead – we counted around 6 just at this spot.

We headed back down the valley to the tree line and camped in a small shepherds hut, called a ‘ruca’ by the Pewenches. This is made from slabs of wood rough-hewn and interlocked to provide a waterproof roof, there were several very ancient ones in the area that survived the winter snows for many years. Juan told us that soon the last of the cattle and horses would be moved down to the lower valley, since this was and of April and within a few weeks the valley would be under one metre of snow. We were very lucky with the weather, even at the snowline the sun was warm, and even though it chillled down that night I slept outside, with saddle blankets for a mattress, and watched the stars. Juan warned me to stay alert for pumas (mountain lions) that frequent the area, though rarely attack humans. I think he thought I was a bit ‘huay huay lonco’ to be sleeping outside, but the stars were bright and beautiful…and no lions came.

The next day we rode slowly back down, the descent to the lower valley via the same cliff path was also a real heart-stopper, but once again the horse proved their worth and never put a foot wrong. One of the fascinations of the trip for me was to witness the remarkable bonding between the Pewenche people and their animals. The treated the horse with great calmness, care and respect, and in return the horse were solid and dependable, and did not seem to have any bad habits. This connection with nature was also evident in the way the Pewenche react with their environment. I have travelled in much of the Andes and in other places I have witnessed much degradation of the land; overgrazing, deforestation and replacement of native species with commercial stands of imported pines and gum trees that wipe out local flora. But here in the upper Bio Bio, I was awed to see the Andes with good forest cover, even to the high peaks, and the land did not seem stressed. Where else can you drink water straight from the streams? A beautiful site typical of this area is are the mighty araucaria trees that stand on the high ridges.

Back in the village of Butalelbun we waited for our ride back to Ralco, and passed the time checking out the rawhide lassos which the Pewenche use to muster cattle, and I got a chance to look more carefully at the saddlery they use; thick woolen saddle blankets, topped by a simple lightweight steel and wood saddle frame, topped by a thick sheepskin (or goatskin) rug, where the rider sits comfortably.

I would have loved more time in the area, there was alot more to see and do, but my short holiday time had run out.

For me, this was one on the most memorable and enjoyable trips for a long time, and I would recommend it to anyone with a lovel of the wilderness. Youi need to feel confident on a horse, but there is no difficult technical riding. Just remember – relax, enjoy and trust your horse!

This trip was a huge opportunity for me to get involved with emotions, landscapes and peoples that reflect my own mestizo identity. Being able to feel in such a short time honest friendship and feeling welcomed in these landscapes, makes me think about what really links us together as compatriots with indigenous people that have been oppressed and almost ignored for generations. Feelings of surviving pride and struggles over legitimate aspirations gave form to my wish to live a “new pact” from each simple glance and the sincerity of each word. To start literally building, from a track, a bridge of trust that allow us to see clearly the importance of a community that with dignity is looking for its own place in a society that’s homogenizing and segregates its own roots.

More than just a tourist product, more than emotions and beautiful landscapes, going into the corners of the Pewen and its people, by foot, horse or bicycle, is a life experience that gets deep into our feelings of pride, of belonging to a country in which original people still live, still fight, and who want to keep in our eyes the fruits of their identity, resisting and surviving. By means of a simple trip, we must work with them not just for the success of a micro-enterprise, but for the recognition of a culture, way beyond their tracks, and see together new and better alternatives for the future, in peace.

I did not know much about the Pewenche culture. I knew about the Araucaria trees (Monky Puzzle Tree) and its fruits, the pewen, a little about Mapuche-Pewenche handcrafts, but I didn’t know much about their personalities and their way of living.

I am enchanted by the beauty of the landscape!!! I have never seen Araucaria forests before, so beautiful and wild!!!

I loved sharing with such nice people. I think the guides and their families are very kind and welcoming.

I really liked the horse riding trip, the horses were very good! I liked especially the races we made in the mountain plains, was so much fun!!! It was a very authentic trip, that’s what I liked most.

In fact, I think the guides were very proud of being able to show their lands, their traditions to us, foreigners. I think they felt very valued by this. Also, they were very curious about my own culture, so a real cultural exchange took place, and that was so cool too!!!

What I liked most was the astonishing landscape and the stay at the Ruka with the ñaña (woman) cooking sopaipillas and all those nice things. It was the moment we got to share more with them. I also loved the traditional food as the tortillas, fresh eggs, sopaipillas, mote, toasted flour… well I have not eaten meat, but it seems that the goat barbeque was delicious too!

I realized that this community lives very isolated from the rest of Chile, that they live in very extreme and harsh conditions during winter, so I think that supporting them economically while sharing with them made me very happy!

It was a marvellous experience. Now I know much more about Pewenche culture, and I found out another part of Chile, very isolated, wild and beautiful!!

I will never forget this trip, I really want to come back to travel through Sendero de Chile!!!

A beautifull territory!!!

Thanks again for allowing me to live this!!

It was a huge experience, impossible to measure and hard to explain without being short of words. A trip full of colours, smells, conversations, encounters, flavours, surprises, laughs, and emotions. It was a real life experience of travelling through a particular place, a culture, a worldview and a particular way of life.

I also enjoyed the natural and informal way in which the communities presented themselves, how they taught us, told us about their lives, their culture, their everyday activities and their dreams. It was so simple and natural that allowed for spontaneity and empathy, the kind of communication that doesn’t require any other technology but to be able to look in the eye and talk under a free sky.

The landscapes, all I learnt and even the more pedestrian pains and aches, all had an special flavour, the flavour of living something of a privilege, full of wealth and simplicity, something that is the result of hundreds of years living, dwelling, thinking and creating the places that welcomed us. To see this place so full of life and strength, a landscape that is not pristine but rather a place full of stories and meanings, beautiful and impressive, that remind us that were are just one more of all the beings that have someday been around here.