The Great Race

...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

Labels: Argentina, Chile, Environment

...as we know it...

It's a long way from home again.

Mirador de la Cruz

About 10750 km to be more precise.

End of the Road

The border between Argentina and Chile runs along the Beagle Channel.

Beagle Channel

It's like Banff, but with water. The unusually clear and sunny weather makes it truly spectacular. Someone said that the Inside Passage is similar.

Lighthouse at the end of the world

Today the water is absolutely calm, but one can imagine past explorers battling the raging sea, in the dark, with only a faint light keeping them from rocky destruction.

Lighthouse reflected

There's a certain false romanticism about a lighthouse at the end of the world. Even if this one is not really at the end of the world. And even that one is not the same one that inspired Jules Verne.

Lighthouse up close

Labels: Argentina, Chile

It's the end of the world...

This is the far frontier - a mythical land of fire.

Cape Horn Island

Over the centuries, many have passed this way.

Cape Horn

From explorers...

Ferdinand Magellan

...to tourists.

Welcome to Ushuaia

This is another wilderness-tourism town, reminiscent of Banff or Canmore in Alberta.

Downtown Ushuaia

There is a minor rivalry between Argentina and Chile, over these frontier territories.

Chilean naval station

Back on the mainland, Punta Arenas lays claim to being the southernmost city in the world.

Welcome to Punta Arenas

However, Ushuaia is the town that most people associate with Antarctica, and wild adventure in general. There was even a reality series by that name, on CNBC several years ago.