Allerce Strength

One Allerce, laid across a river, is a bridge for more than 50 years. This strength amazed me as my feet moved a couple meters above the rivers in Cochamo. Maybe it is the granite walls that catch the sun and throw it back down, or the trees that cloak the valley in green, or the warmth of the people that pulled me back; maybe it is all three. I found my heart being called into the heart of the valley. I carried my climbing harness and shoes down to south america, I could only hope the universe would put me on the rock. Three days after class ended, I found myself flexing my muscle fibers on the comfortable six mile hike in. The weather was phenomenal in contrast to the pouring rain that permeated my heart and soul the previous visit. I landed in paradise on earth. 

As you can tell, there were an incredible number of people. It was strange to see such a pristine place covered with tents and noise. I myself, was one of them of course and understand the draw. However, it is a seemingly constant battle to keep beautiful places free from people. Luckily, it only takes ten minutes to get deep into the forest where the Chucaos and rayaditos reign the world of sound, and the trees envelop you in their arms. Emilce and I cooked dinner and plopped down for sleepy conversations and rest. In the morning I awoke to what I would learn is her ritual; chocolate to sweeten that first breath of the day.

My favorite part of the trip was spending time with Emilce in the morning and before bed where I would have to practice my Spanish with this native spanish speaker. Laughter was found as we flailed through incorrect sentences and resorted to facial expressions to say what we couldn´t with words. I am unbelievably grateful for this woman and have a feeling I will be returning to her soon.

The walls are large and relatively unclimbed. I found the wookie below deep in the jungle and hoped he would carry me up the granite. Luck was on my side and I found my hands in a beautiful fissura, with my heart pounding, and exhiliration bouncing through the walls of my being. 

Aside from climbing, my experience was filled with the happiness of being. There are a few places I have found that melt my heart and hold me. The way the river flows so surely through the valley, flashing turquoise, and deep green, with red tannins is unbelievably perfect. And the brilliance of the greens and granite is impossible to put into words.

La niña adentro yo es llena de vida. The child inside me is never far and was found painting running swimming and cuddling daily. A young member of this community, Zen, Carved a spoon for one of the women who works in the Refugio. The tenderness of the gesture appeared in her peripheral tears as the gift was presented.

Then there were the goofy Americans who live for the rocks. The backcountry for them became a home, comfortable and reliable. Empanadas, donuts and coffee were only some of the treats they chose to splurge on. It was a brave and worthy endeavor that I hope to repeat in the future.

Patterns also fall on the people just as often as they do in nature. It made me wonder if we attract certain people by what we wear. How important are our own visual cues? Look at the next picture and Think about it.

One thing I am learning to do here is to say my goodbyes. Normally, I fear them and sneak out with no words. However, A tradition here is to greet and leave with a kiss, no matter how many times you encounter each other in a day. The closeness that this cultivates is deep and wholesome. In the super sanitized USA, a hand is offered while greeting new people. When I offered my hand here, puzzlement reigned over the face above the hand followed by "how cold." It is cold and I hope to change my own custom in the future.

The birthday girl above was treated to the birthday sheep below. She is one of the women I felt inspired by. Her being exudes warmth, and she had a tremendous amount of patience and openness with my Spanish.

The whole asado reminded me of iron chef. There were teams manning their tiny camp stoves and each group was making culinary masterpieces which then were carried around the camp with two spoons to eat directly from the pot. If any of you know me, you probably know how I feel about germs. Spoons and straws make me shiver when I think about the germs... But! Alas South America has hardened me and I can drink mates and share food in peace. 

Music is a part of my life that I have had to let happen when it should and listen to the birds when it's not around. At the asado, the deep bump of the djembe rattled my bones and set dancing into my system. The way a bass drum moves through the human body will always be a wonder to me.

The next morning I hiked out behind this mountain vogue girl who sported her best heels for the 5 hour hike. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I saw this and I wasn't sure if I respected her or thought her a fool. Maybe both. I will never know if she made it...

Once again my post is scattered, but as always I thank you for sharing my journey with me. Wishing you the best on your journeys and always Take care of your feet!

Amor

Hannah

Peregrin Took

Dearest Perrigrin,

It has been a mere couple of hours since I last was graced with your presence, and already I feel the loss. You were a huge piece of my experience down here in Chile, and now I am realligning myself with myself to see where to go next. I hope you travel well on your future journeys, and I look forward to the day we meet again. Thank you for being the best comrade out there, and may your Poncho carry you to the ends of the earth, and warm you where you lay.

These past few days with you have been some of the best. You´ve got a spirit made of gold and a heart of fire. I will miss the sweet canter of your voice bouncing off of every mountain top. You are wonderful. Drink coffee for me back in the real world. This post is for you.

Salud,
Merry

This was my treat today in honor of you

Senda Darwin; Penguins, Biologists, and Big Dinners

AaThis time we hired a private bus to transport us to the small town of Piñihuil, which is a bustling ecotourism center for penguins. The irony of conserving an area for a species that is exploited for tourist purposes made me laugh almost as hard as the way the tours are run. There must be some burgeouise people who go on these tours, because you begin them in a cart. It would be a shame to get your feet wet, so Chileans have come up with an ingeneous human cart that they push 10 passengers at a time up to the boats which are parked in the sand.

Notice that the boat is named titanic...

The tour takes you up close to the penguins.We saw a plethora of other birds, including the flightless steamer duck and the red-legged cormorant. The penguins don´t do much other than sit there absorbing sunshine on the rocks. Some of them are mottled grays and browns, caught in the midst of molting, while others display distinct lines across their chests. Twenty minutes later we were shuttled off of the boats and back onto the beach where we had a plethora of dining and tourist opportunities. I declined, and boarded our bus.

Shopping for 15 people for 3 dinners was the next order of business, and the hyper-organized grocery stores threw me for a loop. An hour later, I stood in line with a shopping cart full to the brim exhibiting the epitome of American consumption. Granted, the majority of the food was fresh veggies that we had been lacking while backpacking, but still I had to laugh at the quantity of food we were about to consume.

Carrying the three full boxes with our overly filled backpacks on an unanticipated mile long hike was a challenge we met with grace, and arriving at the research center to smiling faces and warm showers and beds filled me with another kind of joy. We unpacked and sprawled out for class. Dinner for the first night was pasta and Salad. Our salad exhibited more vegetables than we could eat, and the extras went to the researchers. It felt like a good first step to cultivating friendship.

The next couple days we spent exploring this wonderful land, finishing up our school work, and taking our final. At nights we would eat dinner with the whole group like a family, and then I would try to talk with the people of the place and laugh our way through the language barriers. Sunshine, science, and friendship pulsed happiness through me. The grattitude I feel for being able to be a part of this program in immense and the self-learning is occuring constantly.

One of the most special experiences I got a chance to experience was going out with the biologists to the Monito Del Monte study site. The site is set up like a clock, with a center point from which 12 lines stretch out and along each of the lines are 12 traps. They are monitoring the habits, diets, home-ranges... etc of a near-threatened marsupial. The thought of seeing one thrilled me as I jumped up, over, and through the tangled jungle."We got one!" I hurried up to see the little creature in the cage, with big bulbous eyes and a tail which stores fat for hibernation. Woohoo! Again, I was met with reverence and respect for the secrets of this forest, and felt honored to be in the knowing presence of such a special creature.

This visit was wrapped up by an invitation to a wedding. The wedding had lasted for 3 days, and was practiced in a very ancient traditional style. Fifteen gringos were crashing this wedding. At first, the crowd tried to comprehend what was happening, but soon we were welcomed. The dish, Curranto, was obtained by crawling on your hands and knees to a pile of seafood that had been steamed under Nalca leaves. Boy oh boy, I ate more seafood than I knew I could handle that night, followed by melon wine and pisco sours. My spanish took an entirely new form, and I felt confident conversing with these strangers.

The warmth I felt that night from the welcome of strangers to their wedding gave me hope for humanity. We are all the same, and love is the ultimate form of friendship. I was sad to leave the Senda Darwin, but grateful for the new friendships and experiences. We parted with hugs to our final goodbye to each other in Puerto Varas. The safety net of the group was about to be lifted, and the excitement and anciousness began to settle in as we drove away on the bus.

The workload was finished, and relief flooded through me. A new adventure awaits.

Amor y Feliz,
Hannah

Chiloe Island; Sol y Pudu Pudas

After a week of staving off the rain, dread danced along the edge of our physches in the fear of doing a coastal backpacking trip with more storms. The last post I posted was followed by an enjoyable stay in Castro, and an entertaining bus ride. We had reserved 15 tickets in advance, yet some entitled Chileans sat proudly,with no signs of moving, in our seats. We obliged and stuffed ourselves, along with our 17 backpacks on the bus. Yes, there were 15 of us, but we had 17 backpacks. Our instructors´son required a backpack to be carried in, along with an additional bag for all of his ammenities. Squished like sardines, I buckled down next to a very kind Chilean woman and proceeded to try to talk about her job as a dentist, and the rain, and that I study while travelling and have no classroom. 

We landed in the National Park of Cucao, and were treated to a camping site with flush toilets, paved paths, and a cafe with wifi. It was an absurd feeling to be tucked into nature with so much access to the front country. I had no complaints, however, and even treated myself to an empanada sold by one of 3 portly Chilean woman who were blasting music throughout the camp. 

It was a challenge to hear the birds, but we had class anyway and wandered through this camp, stopping at the visitors center to learn about the history. Sunshine slowly stretched her limbs and shyly came into view, filling up the sky with a blue so bright I could barely believe it! The elation that comes from sun after days of a storm is unprecedented and wonderfully exciting. I felt ready for our final hike.

That was topped with the excitement I had for getting into field quarter, which I discovered, via e-mail. 

Morning rattled life back into our bones, and we packed up hurriedly, then threw our too heavy packs on our bodies and got to moving. My legs questioned my intention as I pushed them down a rocky road where cars drove past us, and then they accepted my movement, and fell into a rhythm. We walked down onto the beach where you can see for miles, and set ourselves north for a 25 km. hike. The sand is hard packed, the land is flat, and the walk was incredible. My eyes filled with tears at the sight of the Pacific Ocean. One month is the longest I have gone in my life without seeing the ocean! 

After our lunch break, we reluctantly beganto walk again. Our stomachs complained, but not for long. Perri exclaimed  "look!" and the entire group fell silent and hurried up to the edge. To our complete disbelief, a Pudu Puda, Chiles tiny deer, was swimming towards us. People come from around the world to see this animal, and here we were with a full view. I felt honored to be blessed with the sight of this animal and amazed at the power it held over our group. We have never been that quiet. 

A bowl of coffee with my cup of breakfast.

We ended up in a local persons front yard, where they essentially rent out their lawn to campers, and offer a toilet. It was a bizarre setting, and I felt like an intruder. It was a way for the rural people to make profits, yet I have a feeling that it isn´t their primary choice. Luckily, the next day we jumped up and over a hill to drop down into the Cole Cole National park. Blue skies, green trees, warm wind, pacific ocean; I had reached paradise!

Tents were assembled, and I swiftly stripped down to my bathing suit and ran to the water. OCEAN! EL MAR! OLAS! Ahhh salty water is one of the most essential things in life for me. I imagined my ripples riding the Humboldt Current all the way up to my friends and family who get to see this beautiful body of water every day. Staying here for a week recharged my batteries and got me ready for the final week of the program. I felt enthusiastic to be learning the secrets of this place. Chile is a puzzle, slowly revealing his mysteries to me.

Con Amor,

Hannah