Los Patagones: First week in Chile!

Greetings from Chile!

Our 8 students arrived on January 17th and we all have finally settled in to life in Patagonia. For the first few days we camped at the Coyaique National Reserve and enjoyed the warm weather and a nice hike to the top of the ridge. It was tough adjusting to the heat, but the hike was well worth it. The views from the top were incredible, and Ben and Mike made the journey across the barren ridge to touch a lone patch of snow on the mountainside.

On Saturday we packed up camp and headed into Coyaique (Coyaique is the largest town this far South in the world!) for the day. Despite the heat wave we enjoyed pizza with lamb at Mama Gauchos (as well as some awesome mint lemonade) and other various dishes at Café Ricer. We also successfully temporarily adopted one of the many stray dogs that roam the streets, and were able to get some ice cream to cool off. The entire trip into town, we had been on the lookout for sunhats (the traditional guacho style) and couldn’t remember the name for hat in Spanish. After miming out hat to the people at the ice cream shop, we were met with confused looks and a questioning “sombrero?” Needless to say our Spanish really needs some work. After a quick trip to the supermarket to stock up on supplies, we headed towards Monreal in the two Round River trucks – our bags just barely fit. The road was so dusty, and the temperature so hot that we took a quick swim break on one of the rivers. Many other Chilean families were also taking advantage of the cool water and we got some great music from a car with the doors open and the radio blasting.

For the past four days we have been staying with Trace and Christian at their eco-tourism center in Monreal. Their property has a great deal of a plant called Quila – a cane plant that looks a lot like bamboo. The Quila flowers every 60 years, and at that time, when it seeds, it attracts mice by the thousands. Because these mice spread disease, it was our project to clear the Quila from their property to help prevent mice from coming near their house. It was hard work and required a lot of cutting the Quila using hand saws, then carrying it down the hill to the fire pit where it will be burned. We also cleaned the leaves and seeds from a few of the Quilla stalks and used them to build a fence by our bunkhouse, called the Condererra, to prevent erosion. During the heat of the day, we walk down the road to a nearby lake to go swimming, and once again adopted a stray dog which we named “Sid”. On most of our nights during our stay in Monreal, we have watched the sunset over the mountains while enjoying a fire, using a slackline, drinking mate, or simply chatting.

Also in our spare time, we have begun introductions to our courses in Conservation Biology, Humans and the Environment, and Restoration Ecology. We also have begun journaling in our Grinnell notebooks. On a hike up the ridge behind Trace’s house, we documented the plants and birds that we saw. Some of the most interesting include an Andean Condor and Austral Parakeets. Trace and Christian’s property is up on a hill overlooking rolling hills and a lake surrounded by enormous snow topped peaks. We are currently in the process of cleaning up in preparation for heading to the Chacabucco Valley!