Mourning the Torres del Paine

On New Year's Eve this was the kind of news I didn't want. I loved the few days I had trekking in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and still think of that spectacular landscape. But now the park is burning — already about 8500 hectares has been consumed. I suppose I could say I was lucky yet again to have enjoyed the park before this disaster, but in these circumstances I simply can't think that way.

These spectacular peaks are the Cuernos del Paine. They'll look the same after the fire, but the context will be entirely different.




[20 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 100, 1/125 at f16]


All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Oroua river, Ruahine range

Yesterday morning in the Oroua river at Iron Gate hut. A friend had wanted for some time to do a tramp in the Ruahine and we finally managed it, walking in on Tuesday afternoon. I'd expected the hut to be full so had packed the tent, but to our delight we found no one else there — we had the place to ourselves the whole time. In the evening we explored the river; I'd hoped we might see or at least hear a whio (blue duck), particularly because my friend had never seen them in the wild.

We saw two not far downstream from the hut, and watched them for some time, sharing the 10x42s, listening to the calls — the male's whistle, the female's rattle. Of all possible returns to the Ruahine after four and a half months overseas, this was right up there with the best.

[28 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 30 mm, ISO 100, 1/00 at f8]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni

A 4:30 a.m. start followed by a steep climb up the flanks of the volcano wasn't easy, but we arrived on time as the first sunlight touched the summit. We watched while the warm light crept down the mountain and thought ourselves lucky to have a guide like José, who knew how to persuade us to rise before dawn, knew how to time our arrival perfectly, and knew we'd appreciate the effort.

That's neither cloud nor water down there — it's salt.

[23 October 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 100 mm, ISO 400, 1/320 at f8]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Approaching Puerto Montt

Still a few hours from the end of the sea journey and the sun went down, the light began to fade, everything softened. The beat of the engines continued unabated. Everyone came on deck, unable to resist the last of the light.

Merry Christmas everyone. Thanks for calling in, even if you seldom or never leave a comment (but special thanks to those who do, and, in doing so, encourage me to keep posting). Be kind to each other; make the world an even better place.

[8 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 200, 1/6 at f11]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Dawn at Puerto Montt

Although the ferry berthed at about midnight, we stayed on board, had breakfast the next day, then disembarked. I wandered the deck at dawn, almost alone, watching the light grow, the colours change, a seal swimming.




All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Brujo glacier, Chilean fjords

As the ferry returned to its course north, the glacier began to slip behind a ridge. Weak sunlight touched the ice as if to say remember this moment.

Then the glacier vanished and the grey rain set in.

[6 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 100, 1/1250 at f11]

 

 

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Approaching the Brujo Glacier, Chilean fjords

During the journey through the fjords, the Evangelista detoured to take us close to the Brujo glacier. Rain threatened, and at times delivered on the threat; droplets driven by the wind spattered the lens, eventually forcing me to abandon the 14–45 and replace it with the 100–300. My fingers started to numb, my nose ran, but nothing could quell the compulsion to make the most of the short visit.

[6 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 100, 1/160 at f11]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Waterfall, Chilean fjords

As the Brujo Glacier passed out of sight, the spectacular views continued.

[6 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 269 mm, ISO 100, 1/30 at f16]

 

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Chilean fjords

Sometimes during the first two days of sailing from Puerto Natales, we were treated to sights like this.

[6 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 100 mm, ISO 100, 1/1600 at f11]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Approaching Puerto Montt

Dusk on the last day of the journey from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt, in southern Chile. We reached Puerto Montt shortly before midnight and disembarked yesterday morning; I caught a bus to Puerto Varas and this afternoon travel to Pucón. I fly from Santiago to Auckland late on the 15th. Time is relative to the amount left.

[8 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 45 mm, ISO 200, 1/30 at f5.6]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Dolphin gull, Ushuaia

Walking along the waterfront at Ushuaia, I noticed several gulls foraging in the stinking black ooze at the water's edge. They looked different from the gulls I already knew — what's usually white was grey, and the bills seemed bulkier and redder. I checked the book. Dolphin gulls are apparently uncommon, although in Ushuaia they were easy to find. Over several days I tried to photograph them, but found them difficult subjects. This detail, although straightforward, is probably the best of a large number of mediocre photographs.

Of all the things I liked about Ushuaia, the birds rate highly.




[30 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 200, 1/2000 at f5.6]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Beached boat, Puerto Natales

I could spend hours, days, maybe more, on the shore in front of Puerto Natales.

Having written that, I wonder why the sea is always in front of a coastal town, never behind it? How widespread is the compulsion to look out at the sea in preference to back towards the land? Thoughts appreciated (but I won't be able to reply until I'm on land again in a few days).

[4 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 100, 1/125 at f16]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Waterfront, Puerto Natales [2]

Another view of the coast directly in front of the main part of Pto. Natales. Just a few steps along from the site of the previous photo.

I board the ferry tonight, bound for Puerto Montt, so for the next several days I'll have no Internet access. I'll schedule some photos for posting, but won't be able to reply to comments.

When I disembark, I'll have less than a week left in South America.

[4 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 100, 1/80 at f16]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Waterfront, Puerto Natales

A beautiful day — warm, Spring-like, sunny — turned into a mild, partly overcast evening. I walked along the waterfront in the late afternoon, enjoying the birds, photographing, relaxing under the sightless gaze of the extinct giant ground sloth which Puerto Natales seems to have adopted as its emblem.

[3 December 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 100, 1/40 at f16]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Morning at Puerto Natales

Lapwings yell from a small, rocky mudbank a little way from shore; two black-necked swans cruise in the distance; a Magellanic oystercatcher probes among the stones; a few crested ducks float quietly. A cool but pleasant breeze wrinkles the water shortly before brief, light drizzle.

Voices in the distance; the continuous, deep hum of a boat engine; gently lapping water; the sulphurous smell of decaying sea lettuce. I walk back towards town along the waterfront past an almost collapsed fence — three thin rails on leaning pickets, what remains of the white paint now scaly and flaking, streaked with orange and red from the rusting nails — and cut up towards the centro under a hazy sky streaked with cloud and patches of blue. I love this beautiful, flawed, impermanent world.

[24 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 45 mm, ISO 200, 1/200 at f16]

 

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Beached boat, Puerto Natales

I like Puerto Natales. To me, it has a charm like that of a small coastal fishing town — once-bright colours weather-faded to lovely pastels, silvery-grey worn wooden fences no longer neatly upright, plenty of the wonderful colours of rust; in short, Puerto Natales seems scruffy but in that functional, full-of-life way. Yes, tourism now dominates, but the town's far from being ruined by it.

Perhaps I'd feel differently about Puerto Natales in the mad chaos of the tourist high season or in the bitter winter when perhaps everything closes in on itself. But when I visited, I ended up thinking this is the kind of place I could settle for a while; find a simple place to rent, somewhere I could write and work on my Spanish and enjoy the birds and maybe get to know a few people. The reality — particularly the financial expense — would be a different matter. But the thought intrigues me.

Back there in a few days.

[24 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 14–45 mm at 14 mm, ISO 200, 1/100 at f16]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

Cascada Río Pipo, Tierra del Fuego NP

The first place we visited in Tierra del Fuego National Park was the small waterfall and rapids on the Río Pipo, about ten minutes' stroll from the car park. As usual, I could have stayed there indefinitely photographing the flow of water.

[28 November 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 127 mm, ISO 100, 1/15 at f16]

 

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor