...and I (don't) feel fine

Amidst natural beauty, there is an unshakeable, foreboding sense of loss.

Native Warrior

As in North America, so many of the place names here come from indigenous languages. Languages of people and cultures which have been almost completely annihilated.

For centuries, the Mapuche held sway over Chile and Patagonia. Today they still survive, in spite of the past and present mistreatment of aboriginal peoples, so prevalent throughout the Americas.

Better off than in the far south, where the Kaweskar have been reduced to a single stall in the Punta Arenas market, or the Yaghan to a single living speaker.

Nature itself is a delicate balance, and even here is under attack.

Not Penguins

On this trip, we did not visit any penguin rookeries. I wonder if I might one day look back at this as a missed opportunity. Worldwide, some penguin populations have crashed by 50% or more this past season. Their life cycle is inextricably linked to sea ice, the disappearance of which is now more widespread and occurring faster, beyond the species' ability to adapt.

Andean Glacier

I recall in elementary school, learning about blue whales, and how there might only be a handful left in the oceans. Their numbers have recovered slightly since the international moratorium on whaling (still defied by some nations) went into effect, but they are still extremely rare. Some may roam in these waters.

Lobos Marinos

Even a species numbering in the tens of thousands is not all that many, and still so vulnerable to any fickle twist of nature, or a tipping point which humans can't undo, no matter how hard we may try. The sea lion (or sea wolf in Spanish) is faring a little better than its cousin the sea elephant (or elephant seal). Better still than the ill-fated sea cow, a subject of one of the naturalist lectures.

Unsustainable practices which might once have been excused as ignorance, can only be considered unacceptable today. Like the ancient sketches of the dodo, or the antique stuffed passenger pigeons, our digital photos and videos might someday be all that is left.

In Flight