Non-Native Species

Degrees of Separation, Ushuaia (2/10)
Ushuaia, a city nestled by the Beagle Channel and the Feugian Andes. Its streets are small and laid out in a grid format. On nearly every block lies a fancy shop with marble penguin statues and postcards touting – “Southernmost City” & “End of the World”. At one street corner, early 90's Hip Hop music is playing. Two Bboys dance on the concrete. Even at the “end of the world” familiarity exists.

a hungry Ushuaia doggy





Non-Native Species, Tierra Del Fuego National Park (2/23)
The mini-bus deposits passengers, 12 kilometers west of town, near a small post office that sits on a thin boardwalk above Zaratiegui Bay. This marks a starting point for the coastal trail within Tierra Del Fuego National Park.




The wind cascades through the lenga forest, sporadically, like a strong wave. Small gold leaves glide past my face like confetti. The creaking of trees, the lapping of water on the shore, ferns and moss, and gnarled tree roots. Autumn-colored lichen stain rocks, white flowers dot green meadows. Silhouettes of clouds on the mountains, ripples of waves glinting in the sun. A flock of birds in the distance; the wind so strong, they seem suspended in one place.









met an Argentine biologist guide while hiking. She explains that the bulbous masses growing from trees are a lichen that feed on the small green of trees and grow until they become wood like. They do not harm the trees.


views from a tree hammock

Every once in a while couples are spotted picnicking in the grass. There’s also fresh horse doodoo on the path. And bunnies, lots of bunnies.



Compelled to pick up trash, I've collected a piece of glass, a candy wrapper, and a small blue sticker.

At a clearing, I notice a crumpled white mass. Hoping it's a squashed mushroom of some sort, I approach, though the evidence is clear - definitely a form of soft paper, the sort used to wipe one's bum. I continue to walk uphill, justifying the non-collection as a breach of terms to the limits of my trash-collection service. The image haunts and I turn back. While squatting and using broken branches like chopsticks, I manuever the dangling piece of toilet paper into the plastic trash-collection bag. Footsteps are heard. Four hikers emerge and exchange pleasantries, “hello”.

While waiting for the evening minibus, I learn about the Yamana, the native peoples of whom Tierra del Fuego is named after. Despite low temperatures and strong winds, they lived nude while constantly building fires, even in their canoes. When European explorers encountered them, they were introduced to clothes and diseases. Within three decades their race was near extinction.

Another introduced species – the bunny rabbit (brought on by Europeans for cash crop production in the early 1900's). It’s said that much ecological damage has been caused by these exotic species to the point that their removal from the area is necessary. And moving forward to present day, non-native species continue to be introduced, among them toilet paper.

... at the moment, Hostel Patagonia Aventure
It's past ten. I'm surrounded by backpacks, plastic bags, and the excited chatter of poeple preparing for their Torres Del Paine trek. I've just been invited to join them for dinner... hopefully will be able to finish another entry tonight.