¡Bienvenidos!
The students all arrived at the Balmaceda airport over a week ago, tired from travel but buzzing with excitement about the weeks ahead. After meeting the three trip leaders, Fernando, Kari and Ryan, everyone piled into the trucks and drove to the Geosur lodge in Monreal, where we have stayed for the last week. Here we have been helping our host, Cristián, with projects around the lodge: clearing paths, planting trees, working in the greenhouse, and building fences.
The students have finished going through the program orientation and started the first lectures for the courses and working in our Grinnell field journals.
During the middle of our stay in Monreal we drove North to Coyhaique to resupply, and we spent the day sending emails and exploring the city. We were all happy to eat dinner in Coyhaique at Mamma Gaucha’s, and got back late to Monreal. Just a few days later we returned to Coyhaique for a surprise guest lecture with Daniella Castro, a founder of Patagonia ¡Sin Represas!, a non-profit organization working to stop dam development in the region. While poking around after the talk, we met Don Arturo, a local guitarist recently featured in a regional magazine, and Fernando was lucky enough to play a few songs with him. Before heading back to the lodge, we treated ourselves to another dinner at Mamma Gaucha’s.
While we all have definitely enjoyed Cristin’s hospitality and the luxury of the Geosur lodge, we are anxious to get to the Chacabuco Valley. Today is our last day in Coyhaique and Monrreal, and tomorrow we will begin our trip to Chacabuco, stopping at Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo and near Lago General Carrerra as we drive South on the Careterra Austral. Until the next post, here are some more photos from this last week.
By Matt Jaquette, Carleton College ’14
