¡Estamos aquí!

We are here! Finally, after 17 hours at 30,000 feet in the air, we have arrived in Puerto Williams, Chile. This area is on Navarino Island which is between Tierra del Feugo and Cape Horn. This is the Southern most populated city in the world. This area is truly unique and the landscape is beautiful. As we flew into this city on a 20 passenger plane, we were all in awe. The landing strip was directly off of the water and surrounded by mountains. The temperature is very comparable to an Iowa fall, but there is a lot of precipitation throughout the day. Another difference that we immediately learned of was the length of the days. The sun sets around 11 PM and rises only 4 hours later, at 3 AM. Little did we know, we would get to know the land a lot better within the next few days.

Upon arrival, we met the group we would be staying with for the next couple of weeks. We were welcomed at our new home, the field house, by many graduate students and others who are a part of the program. Once everyone was present, we went to Omora Park, where we will spend a majority of our time during ths trip. Omora Park is a land reserve aimed to increase public and scientific knowledge of the Sub-Antarctic region.

The next morning at 5:30 AM we woke up to venture through this park even more. We began mist netting around 7:00 AM. Mist netting is a process of catching birds in a small, fine net for research. We caught a variety of small birds in multiple nets throughout Omora Park. After mist netting we returned to the field house for supper and group activities.

Today we ventured back into Omora Park to be educated about aquatic insects in Robalo River. We used magnifying glasses to identify and observe many insects found in the river. These insects are responsible for maintaining the remarkably clean water that serves as the drinking water source for Puerto Williams. This water is also used as a standard for clean water throughout the world.

Our internet usage will be limited substantially for the next week. We will post again soon!

¡Hasta Luego!