Wave One of Field Crew Patagonia 2012 has arrived safe and sound in Punta Arenas, Chile! Yesterday, John, Olav, Justine, Rachel and I flew in to Santiago, where we rested up for the night before catching a direct flight south this morning. Our stay in Chile’s capital was short and sweet, and oh so welcome. It is summer here in the southern hemisphere, and being at 33oS (on par with Phoenix, Arizona), Santiago was a balmy 30oC (86oF). After leaving the short, cool, rainy winter days in Vancouver, stepping out into dry and breezy warmth is quite a treat. Santiago is a beautiful city, with wide tree-lined boulevards and a mix of old and new architecture. Women were walking around in summer dresses, couples were sneaking make-out sessions on park benches, and it seemed everyone was on foot or on a bicycle, enjoying the weather. Dazed from our 10 hour flight, the five of us checked into our hotel in the charming Providencia neighborhood, and immediately ran out for a bottle of Chilean vino blanco. Dinner was at the first place we could find with vegetarian options that was open for dinner at 5pm, a sports bar that may actually have been called “Sport Bar,” complete with an English menu and Eric Clapton blasting from the speakers. Yes, we are fully enjoying the local culture! After dinner, I could barely keep my eyes open, and hit my pillow somewhere around 8:30pm. While our hotel, the Bosque Tobalaba, was in an older building, I have to give them credit for their comfy mattresses, as well as their friendly staff, who were very patient with my halting Spanish.
Our taxi driver this morning was very friendly and talkative. As we drove past a train station, he tried to tell us that the ornate metal roof was designed by the same architect responsible for the Eiffel tower, and it took us all a really long time to understand him. His pronunciation of the word Eiffel sounded like “eye-FELL,” and we just weren’t understanding. He was speaking in Spanish, Rachel was speaking in both tongues, and I was throwing out random words in Espanol. Once we got it, there were laughs all around. He told us he has family living in Montreal, and said he sees big similarities between Canada and Patagonia, with big mountains at the coast and large flat expanses filled with lakes and oil land. This reinforced that we truly are at Canada’s antipode…on the opposite side of the earth, I would expect things to be so different, but the similarities can be surprising and striking. If our landscapes are so similar, I wonder even more if our glacial histories are the same as well. In a few years, I’ll have it all figured out for you guys.
Late afternoon sun on the stairwell of our hotel in Santiago
Some of the crew with the local wildlife in Punta Arenas (left to right: John, me, Olav, Rachel)
Today we are staying at the Hostal de la Patagonia, a cozy hotel that sits right across from the best souvenir shop I’ve seen in this part of the world. We went and picked up our vehicles from a small car rental outfit run by a guy named Dante. His daughter, Macarena (who was very good natured when I said “ah, like the song!”) studies English, and seems to keep an eye on her dad’s business. I now have the keys to a big Mazda 4x4 pickup truck, that makes a great “glug-glug-glug” noise when I turn the engine…it makes me feel pretty badass. Tomorrow we will do some shopping for miscellaneous tools and other field gear, and then head south to Tierra del Fuego. But first…do you know what we’re going to do? That’s right…the penguin sanctuary. Expect photos. Some of you might know that last May I flew in the day that everyone else had happened upon a solitary penguin, and I might have felt a bit (okay, a lot) jealous. Today, as we drove along the coast of the Strait of Magellan from the airport to the city, Rachel and I simulspotted two little penguins standing on the gravel bank. Joy filled my heart. All is well. It’s going to be a great trip.
