It was originally going to begin with a slightly tangential mention of Guyana, a country not on the agenda for this trip but one that was on the agenda almost a year ago (how time flies when you get older, I mean, when you're having fun). I was reading John Gimlette's 'Wild Coast' on the 'plane to Buenos Aires you see, the early Guyana pages, mostly about the politics of the country and Georgetown. Now I've hardly spent any time in Georgetown but my first, quick impressions of it weren't exactly endearing, I thought it run-down, uncared for with an air of self-importance no longer justified by it now being a disintegrating shadow if its former self. It has traditionally been known as the 'Garden City of the Caribbean'; even our city guide told us it's now more like the 'Garbage City of the Caribbean' - nice use of the enforced English language there. But after only a few pages of 'Wild Coast' I began to feel a little softer towards the city, having a better understanding of it's history and where it's pride comes from and what its inhabitants are about. I've not had time to move much further on in the book (the lack of time thing again) but I'm looking forward to when I do and I'd recommend it for anyone interested in the Guianas or that part of the world. Listen to him talking about it on Radio 4's "Excess Baggage" with John McCarthy, from Jan 2011.
Then, after I realised I'd maybe lost the moment for a Guyana digression (although it seems not), I thought I'd better get a move on and mention the must-do other-world experience of visiting Recoleta's cemetery in Buenos Aires before its impact was overtaken by the awesome, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word, Argentina's Los Glaciars National Park near El Calafate in Patagonia. You simply can't stop looking at the glaciers and the various sized, shaped and coloured icebergs floating in the channels around them, you just can't help yourself, and in the age of digital, well, I'll need a week to go through all the photos I took there. But it was standing in front of Perito Moreno glacier with all of its creaks and groans and splashes of falling, carving ice, when I realised that this was real, proper, 'living' natural history, going on right in front of my eyes. I've seen and appreciated ancient things before but never felt the age or incredible passages of time involved quite like this before. Nature's an awesome thing.
And that brings us on to the reason I am now actually putting pen to paper at last; I couldn't not, given the devastating events in Japan, an altogether more punishing side of the planet's natural forces and something that is reverberating here in Chile, with the Pacific tsunami warning being taken very seriously. Whilst its potential impact here won't be anywhere near the devastation or disruption of that in Japan, Chile's tragically had it's fingers burnt by earthquakes and tsunami of its own all too recently and doesn't want a repeat to even the slightest degree. There is continuous coverage on the news of the evacuations of the populated areas right on the coast up and down the country and even here in Punta Arenas we're on alert for evacuation in the morning (Sat 12th). This port city isn't even on the Pacific coast but the possible wave effects are reportedly due here around 2pm tomorrow - what happens will probably depend on how the other, actual Pacific coast areas fare. Anyway, my heart goes out to everyone affected by the events in Japan. In this case, better never.
This first post wasn't supposed to be so long....see why I need time......'ta luego. Our Von
The entrance to the 'other world' of Recoleta
A huge chunk of ice carves off Perito Moreno glacier - if only there were sound with the image
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