Jesuit Ruins Trinidad. Photo by Freyja Ellis

Two little girls decked out in fleece jackets and mud-covered, blue, rubber rain boots chase spring lambs for hours. The lambs skitter and bleat. The girls call out “That one’s mine!” and “Come here little lamb.” The lambs are largely impervious to the little girls’ entreaties, and the girls retire to a pair of bedraggled lawn chairs. One girl holds a three week old lamb in her arms. The other one, the younger of the two, leans back, arms akimbo, feet tucked under, and studies the scene. Around the two girls, three dozen lambs aged from three days to six weeks run, jump, butt heads, and curl up to sleep in a warm spot of sun soaked grass. The locale is a small pasture adjacent to the barn. Later, a ranch hand invites the girls to watch an ewe give birth. He explains to the girls that the lambs are kept close at hand to keep them from becoming victims of the raptors in the area. He tells them their job is to keep the lambs safe. They nod their heads solemnly.

Cabanas San Francisco, about an hour and a half out of Route One from Asunción towards Ciudad del Este, is one tenth dude ranch, nine tenths Paraguayan sheep ranch. It really is a working ranch that happens to have a couple of rooms for weekend guests who stop over to get a glimpse of how the other four-fifths live: A fifth of the Paraguay’s population lives in Asunción, the bulk of the rest live in the campo or countryside, and many of those are involved in ranching and farming. Paraguay is the most agrarian country in South America—agriculture makes up a quarter of the economy and figures prominently in the daily lives of the majority of the population.

There is a saying that for each 100 kilometers (60 miles) you travel from Asunción, you move ten years back in time. The little towns seem more rugged and more literary. The scene becomes more rustic and remote. Stop for gas or a soda, and you may not encounter many Spanish speakers. Guaraní—the other official language of Paraguay—quickly becomes the primary or only language spoken.

Increasingly, the scene becomes agrarian. Along the principal highway that runs eastward to Ciudad del Este, cattle or sheep crossing the road will interrupt most travelers at least once. Vendors sell produce and honey in small kiosks along the road. Occasionally, you’ll pass a gaucho clad in chaps and cloaked in a woolen poncho riding on his blanket saddle.

At least two dozen estancias make the ranching life accessible by opening their doors to visitors. Some feature both ox cart rides and world class clay tennis courts. Others sport a bit of Paraguayan history. Most are a window into ranching life and a chance to relax in a hammock and perhaps take a swim. Cabanas San Francisco, just past the fishing mecca of Villa Florida, offers guests a view into a working sheep ranch.

The visitor’s day follows the rhythm of ranch life. Though it is fine to decline, guests are invited to rise just before sunrise to help milk dairy cows—by hand—or search for fresh eggs. Breakfast follows as does a chance to let the sheep out to pasture. The day for a guest is low key: birdwatching, lamb watching, and walking are the main options. Horseback riding is available or you can back track to Villa Florida for a day on the river. At the end of the day, watch or lend a hand bringing in the flocks and feeding the chickens and their progeny.

When the day’s work is done, (meaning after nine o’clock) a traditional dinner is served. It might be an undecipherable collection of sweet meats or very fresh lamb. On occasion, chicken might be served. The young guests who spent their day running with the animals surprise their parents by eating their lamb without batting an eye. Then they slurp down their rice pudding. And after a hard day on the ranch, the two young shepherds collapse into bed without protest.