Patagonia, a land of Giants.
By aaron schnobrich
18 Dec 2008
With a trek through Patagonia via the Carretera Austral realizing in front of me I landed at the airport in Balmaceda, Chile. The fields and mountains whipped by my window seat and any preconceived notions about the place I now was slowly began to melt away. The one idea that I clung to and walked away with is that Patagonia is a place of wonder and mystery with beautiful contradictions around every corner.
I was filming an episode of a PBS adventure series and would soon discover the reality of a place I could only imagine for a very long time. Shooting the landscape in diverse lighting conditions proved to be a challenge and a pleasure. Rotating polarizing filters were the only addition used to help control water and sky light amplitudes, reflections and color. Many times a clean lens is all I needed and let the beauty of my surroundings do the rest.
The region's name was adopted after Fernao de Magalhae named the native Tehuelche hunters Patagonians, loosely translated as big-footed giants. The only giants I saw were the Andes Mountains that began towering around me as I traveled to my first stop in Coihaique.
Coihaique became a place that felt like home as I traveled South and then North on the Carretera Austral. Coihaique is the capital of the Aysen region of Patagnoia with a population of fifty thousand. I geared up and set out on Carretera Austral headed south towards the Northern ice fields. This main highway is mostly unpaved and the dust and rocks added a sense of exploration as I weaved through Puerto Ibanez and Tranquilo, Bertrand and the Northern Ice Cap. Cerro Castillo and the Exploradores glacier were two of the most impressive natural phenomenon that I witnessed on my adventure.
The beautiful contradiction can be seen where the exploding green valleys merge with desolate, craggy ice covered peaks. I envy the Condors that soar over the Pampas and Steppe, the only ones who can glide through the canyons and rivers unencumbered by gravity and its' rules.
My human advantage over the birds was realized when I touched the blue ice of the Exploradores Glacier and drank the freezing water, my emotion and wonder soaring higher than those bird's wings could ever carry me. The storied unpredictable Patagonian weather parted and the sun shone for two weeks straight over me as I traversed the rivers and towns.
Over the Carretera I drove and each new turn revealed a new mountain, a new lake and a new sense of awe that was constantly redoubling. North, in the Fjord of Raul Marin Balmaceda the dolphins jumping around my boat in the shadow of a dormant volcano's ice cap confirmed that this land of wonder and mystery is one of those frontiers the cowboys of yesterday and explorers of yore dreamt about.
Responsible development of these beautiful contradictions and protection of the mysteries of Patagonia are the only way to keep this land unspoiled for posterity and more importantly, the preservation of our world. With a trek through Patagonia via the Carretera Austral behind me and the mysterious valleys and ice capped Andes silently gliding below my window seat I sat back and took a sip of my water, con gas.
1 response
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adniloj gave props (18 Dec 2008):
Wonderfully written & presented!
