Our last day on the Baker was Easter Sunday. We woke up in the dark and dew, and when we put on the river we were greeted by golden light. Our fingers were frosty as we gripped our paddles in preparation for the final 30 mile leg of our journey. About 2 hours into our paddle, the fog lifted revealing an inviting play wave. Mollie rocked it and hucked her meat. Skye rocked it until he took a little swim. To warm him up, we made him the center of a group hug. The escualos made a fire on the front hatch of a sea kayak and brewed mate whilst slaying the flat water. Hyped up, we successfully transitioned from the wild Baker to the calm fjords of Tortel.
Tortel is an intricate web of cyprus boardwalks, and a long hike up a mountain of stairs with our gear was our first order of business. We were soon greeted by a local Tortellino, who shuttled us by boat to our host families where their warm showers and beds were eagerly received. After a morning of exploration and picking up some needed items, we roped down our bags to the roof of Claudio's van and headed to the Rio Pasqua.
Clebo, Mollie, Perkinz
<3
Friday, April 5, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Back in Cochrane
After a four or five hour drive north from the Pascua, we arrived in Cochrane earlier this evening, eager to re-greet our host families. The trip down the Rio Baker was a huge success – we were grateful for gorgeous weather (an apparent anomaly this time of year); ongoing interesting conversations about ecology, activism, GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods), ownership of land and water, tourism, and conservation; new friendships forged through rapids and early morning wake-ups in the dark and the dew beside the river; and magnificent vistas of aquamarine waters and giant snow-capped granite peaks. The students will have many stories to share, and I hope to post pictures from our adventure soon. For now, all is well in Patagonia as we begin to prepare for our journey back to the northern hemisphere.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Musings
Kimbrell --- On Saturday we set out to see Roberto Roman, a solar energy professional. His house used only solar to heat his water and power his lights. He showed us a series of rotating mirrors which we rotated in different angles so they would concentrate the sun to one spot on a peice of wood in an atempt to set fire to the wood. This however did nothing more than make a hot and bright spot on the wood. Shortly after Roberto Roman showed us a massive rotating dome lined with mirrors in which he tilted so that it faced the sun. He then held out a 2 x 4 between the sun and the mirrored dome which instantly ignited the wood. Roberto explained that this was used by the Romans as a battle tactic to light their enemies on fire.
Katie --- Yesterday morning, over a breakfast of instant coffee, toast, sweetened condensed milk, and a fruity, unidentified orange-colored jam, we lamented having not made the time to watch Bear Grylls navigate the wilderness of southern Chile on Man vs. Wild: Patagonia before our spring break departure. Instead, from the urban comforts of Santiago, we were left to our own devices to imagine brilliant wilderness accoutrements to enhance our much anticipated river trip.
The circuitous route from hostel to airport - what was a series of subway transfers and a crowded bus - proved relatively easy to manage, as our inner-urban-Bear Grylls came to the fore. But it was clear upon arrival at the airport in Balmeceda, the gateway to our Patagonia travels, that our collective comfort zone lies soundly in a more rural, more alpine, and more temperate locale. The landscape as we traversed from Balmeceda to Coyhaique was a beautiful mix between African savannah and Swiss Alps, illuminated by crepuscular rays.
Cleo --- Last night, three local activists joined us for dinner. It was incredible to hear from those who live, work, and love the Aysen region, instead of the talking heads we met in Santiago. They were passionate about protecting the land and water of Patagonia, and we could feel this with every word. It was re-freshing to hear and focus on the humanistic side of this major project instead of the technicalities and numbers.
Katie --- Yesterday morning, over a breakfast of instant coffee, toast, sweetened condensed milk, and a fruity, unidentified orange-colored jam, we lamented having not made the time to watch Bear Grylls navigate the wilderness of southern Chile on Man vs. Wild: Patagonia before our spring break departure. Instead, from the urban comforts of Santiago, we were left to our own devices to imagine brilliant wilderness accoutrements to enhance our much anticipated river trip.
The circuitous route from hostel to airport - what was a series of subway transfers and a crowded bus - proved relatively easy to manage, as our inner-urban-Bear Grylls came to the fore. But it was clear upon arrival at the airport in Balmeceda, the gateway to our Patagonia travels, that our collective comfort zone lies soundly in a more rural, more alpine, and more temperate locale. The landscape as we traversed from Balmeceda to Coyhaique was a beautiful mix between African savannah and Swiss Alps, illuminated by crepuscular rays.
Cleo --- Last night, three local activists joined us for dinner. It was incredible to hear from those who live, work, and love the Aysen region, instead of the talking heads we met in Santiago. They were passionate about protecting the land and water of Patagonia, and we could feel this with every word. It was re-freshing to hear and focus on the humanistic side of this major project instead of the technicalities and numbers.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Patagonia
Today's entry was brought to you by Sophie Kornick ---
Today Emma, Skye, and Riley, joined by Jeff, Daniel, Weston and Susan, were lucky enough to get to wake up at five in the morning. Though they were not quite awake, the city of Santiago was in full swing! They made their way to the airport by bus, and boarded their flight to Coyhaique. While they were in transit, Nicole, Mollie, Cleo, Sophie, Alex, and Katie woke up at around 8 to get to the airport for a flight leaving in the late morning. This group got to the airport by Trains x2 and a bus. We checked our bags and got our tickets with translation help from Lipe-dog and Podmore. We boarded our flights and arrived at the hostel at about 6 o'clock. Both groups made trips to the town surrounding the hostel. Riley, Emma, and Skye went earlier bringing back matte, hats and braclets. Cleo, Mollie, Nicole, Sophie, and Katie went later and bought chocolate that they shared while looking at the beautiful views. Alex went on a run. When we were all back at the hostel, we gattered for a meeting with locals from the community. In this meeting we talked about the effect that the dam would have on the surrounding communites. We talked about the ways that the executives of Hidro Aysen (the dam builders) were influencing the locals to gain their support for the project. They talked about how, when doing the enviormental impact assesment, the government officials did not listen to the worries of the people, therefore making the Hidro Aysen people not responsible for much of the problems they felt building a dam would create. I (Sophie) found the fact that these people had seemingly not done their jobs correctly really frustrating. The meeting covered the social problems that bringing 5-6000 construction men would create for the town. This is somthing Nicole thought was an important point. She said it was an idea she had not thought of before, and helped to round out her concerns about the dam project. Cleo said "I realized that the 'not in my backyard syndrome' did not apply because the energy would not be going to the Aysen region. If they need energy in the futurr it has to be developed in a way that respects the land."
ps Hi MOM!! Hi DAD!
Today Emma, Skye, and Riley, joined by Jeff, Daniel, Weston and Susan, were lucky enough to get to wake up at five in the morning. Though they were not quite awake, the city of Santiago was in full swing! They made their way to the airport by bus, and boarded their flight to Coyhaique. While they were in transit, Nicole, Mollie, Cleo, Sophie, Alex, and Katie woke up at around 8 to get to the airport for a flight leaving in the late morning. This group got to the airport by Trains x2 and a bus. We checked our bags and got our tickets with translation help from Lipe-dog and Podmore. We boarded our flights and arrived at the hostel at about 6 o'clock. Both groups made trips to the town surrounding the hostel. Riley, Emma, and Skye went earlier bringing back matte, hats and braclets. Cleo, Mollie, Nicole, Sophie, and Katie went later and bought chocolate that they shared while looking at the beautiful views. Alex went on a run. When we were all back at the hostel, we gattered for a meeting with locals from the community. In this meeting we talked about the effect that the dam would have on the surrounding communites. We talked about the ways that the executives of Hidro Aysen (the dam builders) were influencing the locals to gain their support for the project. They talked about how, when doing the enviormental impact assesment, the government officials did not listen to the worries of the people, therefore making the Hidro Aysen people not responsible for much of the problems they felt building a dam would create. I (Sophie) found the fact that these people had seemingly not done their jobs correctly really frustrating. The meeting covered the social problems that bringing 5-6000 construction men would create for the town. This is somthing Nicole thought was an important point. She said it was an idea she had not thought of before, and helped to round out her concerns about the dam project. Cleo said "I realized that the 'not in my backyard syndrome' did not apply because the energy would not be going to the Aysen region. If they need energy in the futurr it has to be developed in a way that respects the land."
ps Hi MOM!! Hi DAD!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Coyhaique bound!
On Wednesday morning, we left Carbondale and began our journey to the Southern Hemisphere. Roughly 24 hours later, having followed the tan spine of the Andes from their northern-most point toward their southern terminus, we arrived in Chile. After customs, money exchange, and baggage claim, we were greeted by Daniel's Santagino sister and brother-in-law who kindly accompanied us to the bus stop and transported some of our luggage into the city to our hostel. Pushing through our jet-lag, we dropped our bags off at our hostel and promptly found ourselves indulging in a lunch of Peruvian sandwiches. Mollie charged through the ordering process, demonstrating her nuanced and elegant understanding and command of Spanish. After lunch, the group met with Weston and Susan, our Rios to Rivers companions, gurus, videographers, etc., and headed to the headquarters of HidroAysen for our first meeting of the trip. We were lucky to meet with the CEO of HidroAysen, Daniel Fernandez, and hear his explanation for the impetus and necessity for the five mega dams planned for the Baker and Pascua Rivers. Riley posed a few incisive questions regarding projected issues of sedimentation in reservoirs above the proposed dams as well as the potential for loss of electricity along the transmission lines that would span from Patagonia to Santiago (over 2,000 KM).
After the meeting, we returned to the hostel and went grocery shopping to sustain ourselves while in Santiago. Sophie, Mollie, and Alex cooked up a delicious, fresh meal, after which, the students retreated to their rooms for some much-needed, much-appreciated sleep.
On Friday, we crisscrossed Santiago to meet with several outspoken pro and anti-dam voices. We began the day at the Chilean Congress with Senator Horvath from Aysen, followed shortly thereafter by a meeting with Sara Larraine who articulated some of the ecological, social, and economical concerns posed by the dams. To round out the day, we met with Hugh Rudnick, one of Chile's preeminent, pro-hydro engineers. Cleo inquired about the flood zone that would be created by dam projects.
As I write this, Cleo informs me that the parents don't necessarily want to hear about these meetings, and that I should move on to more interesting anecdotes. First off, the group is collectively addicted to Mo's Gellato just caddy corner to our hostel; we've officially become 'regulars' as we've sampled all of their fresh fruit smoothie flavors. Skye has been dominating at the pool table, though Kimbrell is certainly giving Skye a run for his money. Nicole is donning her new Chilean national football team jersey, and Emma might be the team's new number one fan! As they fans say: "Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le... CHILE!"
It's getting late, and we'll be up early tomorrow to head to the airport - hoping to get a chance to share some pictures before we get on the river Wednesday. For now, check out Susan and Weston's Twitter (@riostorivers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RiosToRivers). Ciao!
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