by Sophia Gillies, of University of Vermont
Team Coigüe’s, Week 1
After a long day of travel, we all filed off of the plane eyeing each other, the other fellow gringos we would be sharing the semester of adventures with. We were greeted with warm hugs and smiles from the instructors as we collected our bags; it felt nice to feel so welcome within minutes of entering a new country. With a beautiful new landscape, farms, and faces all I could do was ponder the wonders of modern-day travel and try to comprehend that anticipated adventures were about to begin.
Little did many of us know, we had arrived on the eve of Chilean Independence Day – Fiestas Patrias – a week of holiday filled with festivities and time taken off by many Chileans. On our second night in Chile, we began to immerse ourselves in local culture and practice some Spanish as we went off to a fair for the night. We split off to poke around food stalls – I certainly ate my fair share of fried food! Eventually, many of us found our way to the dance floor where I certainly made a fool of myself with my clumsy feet. A jolly night full of smiles, new experiences, and full bellies.
The next morning, we packed our bags and started the beautiful drive to Cochrane. With eight hours of driving ahead of us, I was sure I would doze off. Surprisingly, the incredible views made it impossible to remove my gaze from the window. We drove by stunning lakes and snowcapped mountains as the hours flew by and the paved roads soon turned to dirt.
We stopped at a confluence of two rivers and marveled at the power of the water. Its constant motion danced with the rocks, each wave unique yet cyclic. Only after dancing around and marveling at the power and mass of water being washed over the rocks as these two rivers connected, we learned that conservationists had fought to keep that confluence protected from constant dam proposals. Sitting in that moment, we understood that this was just the first of many where we would learn of the battles happening within this precious landscape.
After arriving in Cochrane, we spent the next few days settling in and starting our classes, the ecology of the landscape our focus and the land our classroom. One example: the Calluqueo Glacier. We sat on a glacial moraine and looked at the receding glacier in the valley, the snowcapped mountains surrounding us while we pondered Aldo Leopold’s Round River.
Our days at base camp, Aqua Sol, were spent cooking in our quincho, exploring town, going for runs, doing readings, and having classes. We soon began to prep for our first backpacking trip in Parque Patagonia, Sector Tamango. An introductory trip to get to know our group, familiarize ourselves with our gear, and begin to recognize and identify the many species that surround us.
The next morning, we drove across the river to the park. Here the focal species is the Huemul deer. At the entrance we met Daniel Velasquez, a park ranger who has been surveying and working in the national park system with his father since he was knee high. Now nineteen, he is in charge of the park entrance and has a deep understanding of the Huemul deer and the many other species in the park. Daniels passion for conservation and knowledge of the ecosystem that is his home was an inspiring start to our trip.
We hiked through Xerophytic scrub and IDed plants for the rest of the afternoon with a nice break for lunch. The sun was out and the skies blue, it felt easy to want to walk all day.
As the sun lowered in the sky, we reached camp on the banks of the lake under the tall Coigüe trees. The water clear and a deep brilliant blue, I couldn’t resist going for a chilly dip. After a warm dinner and chat we all crawled into our sleeping bags and listened to the waves lap at the rocks.
Morning arrived with the beep-beep of my watch alarm as the brisk morning air snaked its way into my sleeping bag with every attempt to wiggle deeper. The morning was beautiful as the sun rose over the snowcapped mountains and the water, still.
After finishing up our readings and eating breakfast we gathered to discuss some of the history of Patagonian land and the Pristine myth.
With our eyes out for Huemul when we were quiet and our ears listening to conversation of one another as we walked, we reached our camp for the night in time to fit in a lecture about the Grinell System – a method of taking notes when in the field we will soon become very familiar with. The sun began to set, and we could see the valley beneath us, the layers of cloud cover lighting up, each color complementing the next.
Dinner was filled with giggles as we all tried to outsmart the blackflies while eating our bowls of spaghetti. One by one we retreated to our tents – full bellies and remnant smiles made for a lovely night’s rest.
As we woke, the rain pattered on our tent flies. But rain is nothing once a pot of water is boiled and a cup of tea is in hand. One by one we awoke, with no rush to get going we nibbled on oats and discussed the dream world. As we packed up camp, the weather cleared, and we began our short walk down to the vans.
A trip of beautiful weather, spectacular views, great conversation, acquired knowledge and sense of place it was hard to ask for a better two three days to get to know team Coigüe.