People People Everywhere

A lot has changed since I last had time to sit down at a computer and write something. The day I ran out to the crossroads was the last quiet day until today. The day after that almost all of the interns arrived as well as the volunteers. This is the best explanation for why I haven't been particularly in communication... lots of people dropping in and out with a variety of distracting things to do. The interns (of which there are now 9 total) will all be here for at least 3 months, some for quite a lot longer. There are trail builders, landscapers, volunteer leaders, and an english teacher. The "volunteers" will be here for about a month and their main task is to remove fences and invasive species (my favorite code word for weeding). It's been a good change of pace to have a lot of people wandering around equally lost for words in Spanish and trying to sort out their job responsibilities.

We also had our first guests to the lodge, which threw my normal life schedule completely into the wind. Instead of late breakfasts and tromps in the woods, it was up at 6:30, work until 12:30 then back again at 3:30 until around 11:00pm... These guests only stayed 4 days before being whisked away in one of the private planes used in the area. They were a lovely group of travel agents though and it was nice to have Spanish speaking guests at the lodge. As soon as they left, a family from Britain showed up and they are absolutely delightful. They are pretty much self sufficient though as we just had to make them one dinner and one breakfast and they are taking care of themselves for the rest of the time.

I've still been going on some lovely walks and my spanish is improving... no complaints!

Running (read: Gringa Loca)

Today I went running.

Here was the plan:

1. Get out of bed where my stomach cramps had left me curled in a ball for an hour after lunch. Source yet unknown but seems to be plaguing both myself and Lilly.

2. Go find whoever was going to pick up the new landscaping intern at the crossroads and ask politely if they could please pick me up on their way back from the bus stop so I could run in one direction.

3. Leave my warm clothes behind, because CLEARLY, I was going running. No need for warm clothes.

4. Arrive back at my house in approximately 35 minutes refreshed, exercised, and warm.

Here is what actually happened:

1. Alarm goes off at 3:42pm at which I run to the bathroom for one last ditch effort to calm my stomach. (hopefully that isn't too much detail) Leave Lilly sitting in the chair in the corner in much worse shape stomach wise than I (hopefully she feels better soon!).

2. Trapse over to the office at ask Isabel, the office manager, who is going to pick up the new intern. She informs me that it is Paolo Martinez (do I know him?) and I just need to go find him. After asking around for him, turns out I DO know him and he is standing approximately 100 feet from me. Excellent. Now on to the spanish conversation in which I think I have worked everything out perfectly that I will leave in 10 minutes and then after he has picked up new intern boy at the crossroads, he will pick me up on the way back. I head back to my room to drop off my warm warm puffy down jacket (this will be significant later) and head out on my stomachstillslightlyflippingupsidedown run.

3. 13.5 minutes later I pass my usual 15 minute turn around spot... excellent... going well... stomach well in control and am starting to get used to the dry climate and fact that my nose is just not going to stop running no matter how good I get at snot rockets. I keep going. Hit the 30 minute mark. Great. I slow to a walk and start to feel a slight rain which feels nice on my hot skin. No worries because it's 5:00 and Paolo should be coming back soon from the crossroads since the bus is never later than 4:45. HAH.

4. 5:05... rain increasing. Figure I should probably start running again to stay warm since Paolo is probably around the nearest corner.

5. 5:10... still running. Rain seems to be subsiding? Get passed by 3 workers from the lodge (Juan Carlos, Pablo, and one more). Juan Carlos seems to think running is hilarious and has chosen this particular red faced, hat askew moment in my life to take pictures on his camera phone which I respond to by making silly faces... regretting later that this may be the only image of me that he takes away from my 4 months here. Crazy white girl image. Check. In a moment of insanity, I choose to decline a ride back to the estancia, convinced that Paolo is coming at any moment to continue running down the road to nowhere.

6. 5:15... ok. I have reached the 8 kilometer mark. Close to the crossroads (maybe 2 or 3 more kilometers?). It is now sleet raining and coming down hard. My choice of attire, capri running pants, a tank top, and a practically sheer long sleeve t-shirt are getting soaked through and I stop in my tracks contemplating that not only am I in the middle of Patagonia where there is probably a puma watching me from a tree close by (yay!) and a million guanacos on the constant brink of a stampede (away from you, of course) but I am now wet, it's close to dark time, I have been running AWAY from warm building for 45 minutes. This is the part where I turn around.

7. 5:20. Very wet. Very cold. Very much hoping that Pablo and Juan Carlos will find something calling them inside of their hearts and turn their car around to come back and get me. This does not happen. Where the heck is Paolo.

8. 5:25. Sadness sets in. I start to run very fast back towards the estancia. I figure the quicker I get it over with, the faster I'll be warm again and sitting wrapped up in my very much missed down jacket. Then, miracle of all miracles... Sebastian, an estancia worker who passed me what feels like many moons ago for what I thought was a trip into town, comes careening down the road, gravel flying in all directions. Knight in shining armor? Hardly. But couldn't have been happier to spend the next 20 minutes driving back to the estancias learning that not only did the landscaping intern not show up on the bus but that I am a "gringa loca" and that his hysterical (and granted, appropriate) laughter seems to be adding to steaming up the car's interior on top of my steaming clothing.

Dramatic moment closed. Now I am sitting here showered, warm, looking out on the valley... maybe everyone will show up tomorrow?

Dinner time!

The Headlines

Things I (in the nicest way ever) got in trouble for today:

1. Doing my laundry. Who knew that you had to start the dryer at midnight. Whoops. Sorry everyone. Thank goodness I didn't cut the lights/power to the entire estancia (which apparently I almost did). My alarm is set for 12am at which time I will drag my sorry butt out of bed to start the dryer. Lesson learned. Do laundry as infrequently as possible.

2. Not making my bed properly. Dang. I promise to, from this day forward, tuck in the sheets on the side instead of just pulling them up. It's going to take some time to get used to making my bed every day!

Other than that, things have been going swimmingly. I've always thought that when anything goes wrong, there must be a million other things going right. So, here is a list of things that have gone exceptionally right in the last week.

1. Hiking el sendero de las lagunas altas (High Lakes Trail) with Lilly, the new volunteer coordinator intern (whew, what a title!). We hiked approximately 22 kilometers around the spectacular mountain called Tamanguito that lives right behind the estancia's headquarters. Huffing and puffing our way up for a few kilometers, we chugged along the backside of the mountain for a while, passing through a variety of different landscapes (forest, grasslands) before arriving on what can best be described as a snow field. Fun if you are in your backyard and have a cup of hot cocoa waiting close by. Slightly less fun when your only option moving forward is to plow through waist deep snow. Still fun because each step that plummeted either Lilly or I into a full on face plant into the snow induced raucous laughter and the need to take pictures. After surviving a few kilometers of ankle to waist deep snow (mostly ankle dearest parents) we began our descent looking out on spectacular views. We spent the next couple of days recovering.

2. Making sopapillas with Monica. Sopapillas are a fry bread (oh boy, more bread!) that are ridiculously delicious and ridiculously bad for you especially when combined with manjar (milk caramel) or honey and butter. Monica is the cook for the workers and the volunteers at the headquarters and she is not only one of the sweetest people here, but also provides solid amusing commentary on life at the estancia and teaches us all sort of fun things to say in Chilean spanish, cachai? Best of all on the sopapillas is that we made one in the shape of a heart and then put it on top of the pile that we gave to the workers. They then proceeded to pass it around and laugh hysterically. At least we can provide some amusement. Hopefully not too much at our own expense.

3. Picking up Lilly, the lovely volunteer coordinator. She is from Brooklyn, studied in Vermont, just finished working in San Francisco and is eager to get started on her work. I've been helping her get ready for volunteers that are coming this Friday. This involves organizing a lot of food and supplies.

4. Going to visit Don Daniel at Lago Cochrane, a 3 hour hike from the estancia, where Matt and I camped for 2 days. The lake is beautiful and Daniel and his family are incredibly welcoming and friendly folks. We drank a ton of mate (translated: I had to get up to pee 4 times in the middle of the night) and learned ALL about huemuel (deer) and puma tracking. FINALLY I'm on my way to seeing a puma. When Lilly and I hiked the High Lakes Trail we definitely saw a paw print as well as puma poo. We took pictures of both.

5. Sitting on the porch of Casa Butler for 2 hours reading one of my favorite books... "The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allende and looking out on the Andes.

6. Finding 3 new possible projects for Broadreach's new Guatemala/Costa Rica Non Profit Studies program.

7. Brainstorming food outside of the Chilean box with Lilly so she doesn't have to live on fried dough bread for the next 7 months!

Breathtaking (in many senses) views... whew!

It's been a week here in Patagonia and so far my main mission has been to get to know the park. This essentially means that I get to play around until we have guests so that when they decide they want to go somewhere, I'll be able to give them first hand advice. Pretty sweet deal! A couple of days ago, Matt and I borrowed mountain bikes from the lodge and rode 15km or so down to the road where we got dropped off on the first day to hike down and check out the famous Baker river first hand. Our adventure led us down to the banks of the river, which tempted us to hop in. Matt went first and spent about 5 minutes whining about how cold it was before he finally jumped in. I went in and just quickly got it over with and came screaming back out of the river to dry off in the sun. Essentially like jumping into a bucket of water that has almost turned to ice. Whew. Chilly Chile.

Once we were nice and dry though, everything was lovely again. It was a really warm day, which makes me think summer here is going to be quite toasty (I wasn't sure I believe them when they told me that)Yesterday, I hiked up to Cerro Tamanguito. The trail is part of a loop trail that isn't quite finished yet. I think I did about 18 kilometers round trip (out and back). Took a LOT longer to hike UP UP UP than to scramble down, but I was rewarded with some really pretty views!

When I arrived back at the park headquarters, some of the staff had started an asado and immediately insisted that I eat a whole lot of meat (with some lettuce on the side). It was a welcome sight after 6 hours of tramping through the park. They definitely know how to grill some meat here for sure.

We have our first guests arriving on Thursday, a group with a former volunteer and a bunch of North American surfers. Should be interesting! I should probably start looking up some surfer lingo so I can totally fit in. Yeah right.

Arrival Photos

The view from my window. Somewhere in those clouds are snowy mountains that show up when it's clear.

My lovely bedroom at Casa Aysen. I have the bottom bunk and am theoretically sharing the room with the volunteer coordinator, who should be here in the next couple of weeks. Apparently she'll only be around a couple of days a week.

Casa Aysen

Casa Butler - where Kris and Doug stay when they are here.

How did YOU learn to drink Mate?

Day two in the Chacabuco Valley. It's so much prettier than I could have ever anticipated. Before leaving to come here, I had a nice introduction to Paula, the woman who helps organize the intern/volunteer program, and to Matt, the volunteer chef. Matt is fresh off of 10 months of travel in South America, including a 6 month NOLS course in Chile. We had an epic bus adventure together, driving past one of the most beautiful lakes (and notably the second largest in S. America) that I've ever seen in my life.

We got dropped off right at the confluence of the Baker river and the Chacabuco river. The Baker is an insane blue color that is impossible to describe but so pretty.

The dusty spot on the road where we got dropped off was our uncertain home for the 15 minutes before Flavion, one of the guys from the estancia, flew down the road in a truck, apologizing for almost forgetting us (WHAT!!??). Neither Matt nor I were fussed and it only took 10 minutes or so to reach the valley that will be our home for the next 4 months. After this begins the oooohhh-ing and ahhhhhh-ing in which both of us realized we'd be sleeping with down comforters and washing up with fluffy white towels and staring out from our all wood decorated rooms onto the snowy Andes. These people really know how to take care of their volunteers. My attempt at low expectations was useless since they were far exceeded by the beauty and kindness of this place.

Waking up early in the morning, Matt and I were shown around the lodge, just a couple hundred yards from our staff housing, where Matt will be cooking and I will be doing still to be discovered tasks. So far, all I've got is that I get to drink a lot of Mate (a type of tea best if shared) with Matt and the two women who help run the lodge (Silvia and Nino)... which we did 3 times today... and that I'll eventually be bar tending this beautiful little bar that has several cow rugs and lots of couches with leather and sheep skins in front of it for the lounging pleasure of the people who come to stay. So far everyone has been super friendly. I helped out with the ironing today just for a chance to hang out with Silvia and Nino who are pretty hilarious and definitely have the potential to be funnier as soon as I get a grasp on this Chilean spanish, cachai?

This afternoon, we rambled up the road to the house of Doug and Kris Thompkins who run Conservacion Patagonica, and while being shown around their house, I came across pictures of Tom Brokaw, Yvon Chouinard, and countless others who have also visited this valley. Definitely get the idea that I'm part of something that is pretty spectacular... and I'm so happy to be here.

Tomorrow's task is to help Matt prepare lunch for everyone since the cook at the staff "casino" (mess hall) has gone to town for something to do with her son's school. After that, Matt and I are both free and so are planning to head off on a backpacking adventure for a couple of days. We have to be back for Saturday when Paula comes to the lodge from Coyhaique (and we might have our first guests??!!). Other volunteers don't arrive for another couple of weeks - so hopefully I'll get some Spanish down and get settled in before they all get here! It's pretty dang cold, but I've been told it'll start warming up in October.

I should probably go drink some more Mate.

Hasta luego.

Mere Travel Photos

View from the apartment in Santiago

Santiago Airport! Looking a little sleepy.