Stepping off the plane in Balamecda it was obvious I wasn’t in Maine anymore. The hot wind swept across the arid valley and the rays of sun soaked into my vitamin D deprived skin. In the distance I could see the rolling hill give way to towering snow covered mountains and my heart practically exploded with the anticipation of the adventures in my future. As I followed the 11 other students out of the airport and into the (newly decaled) Round River trucks I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face – I was in PATAGONIA!
It seems crazy to me that we’ve spent less than 10 days in Chile. Our group is already so close and we’ve had so many incredible experiences. The first three days in Coyhaique were spent doing introductory school work, stocking up on food you can’t find further south and adjusting to the Chilean lifestyle. Everything moves much slower here, especially time. The sun sets at 10pm and it feels like we have infinite time in the day to do whatever we’d like. Slowly we’re all adjusted to a life style that doesn’t revolve around clocks.
After enjoying our last few days in a bigger town we piled in to the trucks and headed south. The road that runs from Coyhaique to Cochrane is part of the Carretera Austral, a road that runs throughout South America. As we climbed into the mountains the road turned to dirt and the views dramatically increased. Soon we were bumping our way along a winding road that was cut between glacial rivers and snow covered peaks. I can honestly say I’ve never been in a more astounding environment.
After a long, but beautiful day on the road we arrived in Cochrane, our home and base camp for the next 3 months. Cochrane is a sleepy town nestled in a valley right next to the future Patagonia National Park. A mile out of town east along the Cochrane River is the surprisingly spacious cement building and a beautiful hillside that we call home. We’ve set our tents up scattered along the side of the hill.
Our first day at basecamp passed quickly in a blur of getting organized and doing academic, and before I knew it we were headed off on a one night backpacking trip near San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo is the second tallest mountain in Patagonia and home to a few incredible glaciers. Our hike was stunning and we spent lots of time identifying all the new and exciting plants native to this area and gapping open-mouthed at the phenomenal glaciers and mountains spread out in front of us.
Identifying plants during the San Lorenzo hike.
As I sit here now, writing this blog post, base camp is alive with activity. We’ve spent the last two days doing lots of homework and class and now we’re busy preparing for our multi week adventure in the fiords. As the piles of food increase and the gear gets sorted you can see the anticipation in everyone’s eyes. We’re all so excited to be heading into the fiords!