Friday, February 10, 2012

Darwin in Patagonia

"Why then, and this is not only my particular case - does this barren land possess my mind? I find it hard to explain... But it might partly be because it enhances the horizons of imagination." 

- Charles Darwin

True wealth is space and time and silence.  Here you have all three in abundance. I love the fact that we are far from anywhere, with nothing to buy, nothing to do, just things to experience. The days here are incredibly rich.

And it's a naturalist paradise. No wonder that Charles Darwin was captivated by this place. School in Patagonia for us revolves around Darwin, Magellan and the Techuelque indigenous people, all marvellously represented in tableaux set into Tierra Patagonia's walls like cabinets of curiousities or treasure chests.

With such abundant teaching materials, and the stones and bones outside (traces of a puma ambush?), school is a joy for all of us. And that's before we start a catalog of all the animals we've seen - horses, of course, but also guanaco llamas, foxes, falcons, steer, and of course condors. Massive, beautiful birds in flight, swirling above Lago Sarmiento and swooping past the panoramic windows of this extraordinary place hidden in its shores.




Iris is intent on bringing something back from Patagonia for Darwin, to place on his tomb in Westminster Abbey, and having a framed portrait in her room. 





At one point Flo remarks that staying here is a bit like being on a ship, drifting happily in a sea of brush and stone. In certain light this could be a settlement on Tatooine. The building looks like something that may have grown out of the prairie floor, it's so well integrated into the landscape. Aesthetically, there's nothing to fault in this citadel by architect Cazu' Zegers. The tableaux are wonderful, but so is the mural illustrated map of Patagonia, the exceptional library, the furs and rugs, the nuanced lighting that complements the fireplace when the sun finally sets. It's an inspiration.  


And functionally it's something of a marvel. The logistics of an hotel are complex enough. But here you are at world's edge, and although it's as remote as an Antarctic installations further South, it's similarly self-sufficient with its own generator, water supply, and presumably a storehouse for provisions. The construction workers who, remarkably, completed this architectural gem within a year, the have all gone, but their encampment has been taken over by the staff, who come and live here for a time in the barracks not too far away. We're all here for a time, most of us far from home. This lends the place a feel of an outpost or a settlement in the wilderness, and creates a kind of solidarity among travellers and workers alike.  




We're delighted to meet Santiago, Claudia, Maria & Matteo, Columbian family enjoying the quality of life in Santiago - thank you for the many travel tips. Somehow we manage to make ourselves understood in Spitalian, or is it Italish? And thank you Chris Purcell for the very professional welcome, and the many staff - Juan, Pamela, Nicolas, MJ, Marcela, Tabata and others - for being such good company to the Girls.  





It's sad to leave Patagonia but the desert beckons. By now the border formalities are a familiar routine, and we make good time heading back to Calafate to catch our flight. But I watch in alarm as the half tank of gas which was sufficient to get us to Torres del Paine evaporates before my eyes. The wind has picked up dramatically in the last 48hrs, and travelling uphill against the wind to reach the Calafate plains consumes twice as much diesel as our approach. There isn't a service station for another 117km, and the guage is flashing red. 


We pull up alongside a fellow pickup to ask advice. The gaucho Roberto and his son Jose say they know where we can get diesel, and lead us to their Estancia Rio Bota, 5km distant, to decant 30L of diesel from their own storage tank in the shed. And to our astonishment they refuse any payment in return. A parting gift from Patagonia. A genuinely wealthy land, and truly generous people. Thank you for making us welcome here.





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