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estancia maria behety lodge
This modern, cozy lodge overlooks the river nearly 30 kilometers upstream from the entrance to the estancia. The mid-estancia location positions the angling guests within quick and easy striking distance of the very best pools of the Rio Grande. Fishermen have easy access to more than thirty miles of river frontage and enjoy the finest trophy sea trout fishing on Earth.
The very spacious lodge hosts a maximum of a dozen fly fishermen and was designed with every necessary amenity. Each guest enjoys queen-size beds, a wonderful, open bar, fine food, and a club-like, informal atmosphere. The fish-savvy, English-speaking guides know the river intimately and give new meaning to the term dawn-to-dark work ethic.
 7 night/6 day packag $4,295 - $6,495
Early and very late season discount pricing is available
It’s a working ranch
IT’S A REAL WORKING ranch (actually, Patagonians call them farms), and the sheep-shearing (esquila) on Estancia Maria Behety is the largest in the world. Anglers who are there during the month of January (early summer) wit- ness an incredible roundup of tens
of thousands of mature sheep that are herded from all corners of farm, “cov- ered” (bred with a prize ram), and shorn of their wool. Lambs to be sold are sep- arated for slaughter, and mature ewes are de-loused, and then returned to some distant estancia meadow to give birth 145 days later.
The ovejeros (shepherds) live and work on the estancia year ‘round, tend- ing to chores and their flocks, while the teams of shearers move over the course of the summer from estancia to estancia.
At EMB they work in two 8 or 10 hour shifts each day for several weeks until they’ve removed the past year of wool growth from about 45,000 sheep. Watching the methodical shearing process is remarkable. Esquiladors (shearers) work in pairs and are paid by a formula calculated by the number of sheep each of them shear, the volume of wool derived from their shearing, less demerits for any cuts or wounds they cause in the wool harvesting process.
Little has changed in the way that the barn has operated in nearly a hun- dred years. Dozens of mechanical shears are driven by the same, century-old, 2- cycle motor delivered from England in 1904, and the wooden floors of the huge barn are slippery from the lanolin of 50 generations of the most prized sheep in Patagonia. It doesn’t get dark in January and 24 hours of daylight floods the barn through dozens upon dozens of windows.
la villa de maria behety
This beautifully-restored, historic mansion qualifies as the most deluxe fishing lodge in all of South America. Guests enjoy the old world charm of the century-old family home, sharing the Rio Grande with anglers from Maria Behety Lodge.
The top guides and best sea trout fishing in the world is accentuated by single occupancy accommodations for each of only six guests, and wonderful food, paired with the finest Argentine varietals selected from a magnificent 7,000-bottle wine cellar. There is a billiard room, and a few other luxury amenities.
 7-night/6-day package $4,695 - $7,395
Early and very late season discount pricing is available
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