By: Magnus Ames, Carleton College
Ever heard of Chilean Thanksgiving? Maybe? No…? Me either, but our lamb-themed asado (lamb roast) decked out with sweet bread, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and much more almost fits the part.
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By: Magnus Ames, Carleton College
Ever heard of Chilean Thanksgiving? Maybe? No…? Me either, but our lamb-themed asado (lamb roast) decked out with sweet bread, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and much more almost fits the part.
By: Sophie Pentz, Duke University
I was halfway through my lunch when a small red head emerged from a hole above me, head turning, one yellow eye glancing curiously down at us far below. Then suddenly, in a flurry of feathers, it’s off, soaring through the trees with its majestic wings outstretched. We’ve found a woodpecker! Instantly, everyone is on their feet, research gear is being pulled out, and I turn on my GPS ready to follow the bird through the
forest.
By: Owen Smith, University of Vermont
This week at homestays has been the best part of the Round River program. Coming down to Chile, I was most definitely looking forward to homestays, but it has surpassed all my expectations […] The owners of Camping Aqualsol, Don Atilio and his son Julian, hosted us for the week at their estate, and it was a terrific chance to fully experience an authentic Gaucho rancho.
By: Sam Holmes, University of Vermont
At the beginning of October, we had the opportunity to participate in a replanting activity with a group called Escualos. They are a youth-led group out of Cochrane, working to protect the Cochrane River. This planting project aimed to transform the area around the water sports center into habitat that would have short and long-term impacts.
By: Nico Hochanadel, University of Vermont
Now that it’s 10:00 am, we can start walking. You are in charge of the compass and your job is to ensure that we continue to walk due north. A few minutes later we see our first guanaco! You mark the waypoint on the GPS and read out to me the distance and orientation of the guanaco while I record everything on the data sheet.
By: Noah Besemann, CSBSJU
Just two kilometers from the center of town, Camping Aquasol is the primary host of the Round River Conservation Studies Patagonia program. Located on the bank of the Rio (River) Cochrane, Aquasol also operates as a family ranch and homestead, with the sheep and chickens grazing through our campsite on rotation.
By: Margaret Lowell, Carleton College
In the Santiago airport, I was able to meet up with the group. As we all traded our names and long travel stories, I could tell everyone was exhausted but excited to be finally starting the trip we had all long awaited.
By: Kate Hanson, Colby College
I’ve come to know and love this place and I can’t wait to look back on my time here and think about how a remote little campground in Chilean Patagonia came to be my home for three months.
By: Tim Hayden, University of Vermont
Join Tim for a look into surveying for viscacha (a type of small rodent).
By: Jillian Downey, Sterling College
Follow along with Jillian to discover the world of aquatic macroinvertberates living in the River Cochrane.
By: Miles Al-Chokhachy, University of Vermont
The next day, we applied our new snorkeling knowledge during a river cleanup. We got all suited up and drove to a different section of the river, right in town. Twelve of us in wetsuits entered the water, and I think the only way to describe it is “controlled chaos”, as my instructor Ben said.
By: Margaret McCarthy, Colby College
Ever seen a real-life glacier? We have! This week, all thirteen of us, Lily, Clau, and Danny drove to the coastal town of Caleta Tortel to study bryophytes and lichens near Jorge Montt Glacier.
Kiera Burke – Colby College gives a run down of Round River’s mid-semester week-long homestay in Patagonia
That’s me milking one of Leo’s cows. This was the first time I ever milked a cow! I was only able to get a cup of milk in the same amount of time it took Leo to fill a whole bowl.
I do not know how I got to the point in my life where I watch a woodpecker family for 14 hours, but I had so much fun doing it.
The overall goals of this trip were to learn about the integral practices of “Leave No Trace” in the backcountry, the geomorphological features of San Lorenzo, and the natural environment of alpine zones in Chile.
Oliver Bunker, University of Vermont