[026] El Capitán
I'm travelling in South America. Here's what I'm up to, some photos and other bits
Last time I wrote I was heading to the island of Chiloé. I met my friend Ellie at Santiago airport and we took the short flight down to Puerto Montt, watching from the window the the band of lakes and volcanoes that signal the beginning of Northern Patagonia.
Only 2km of water separates Chiloé from the mainland, but it has a distinct feel created by its Palafitos (wooden houses on stilts), rolling hills and temperate rainforest. We camped for most of the trip and one day hiked over to Playa Cole Cole (Palmer?) which is only accessible by foot. We spent an evening pottering around the beach as the sun set beyond fierce waves which reared up on the shoreline. We combed for shells and seaweed which had washed up in hundreds of different forms, each with their own freaky characteristics.
One dark green seaweed fascinated me in particular. Hundreds of air pockets made it light and spongey, but its thick skin made it too sturdy to be punctured by hand. It had a sort of silicon type texture and I thought it would have made a great keyboard wrist rest. In fact, all these seaweeds must have many practical uses if only someone with imagination could think them up.
But there are straight-forward uses for seaweed too. Back in Concón I was reading about the potential of seaweed farms. It can be grown without the need for fertiliser, pesticides, fresh-water and (of course) land. And in the process of growing it takes carbon out of the atmosphere (at a faster rate than land forests) and nitrates out of the water, whilst returning vital habitat to wildlife.
I still think we are years away from people replacing their protein source with seaweed, but one thing we can do today is put it in livestock feed, as one study showed that supplementing feed with a small amount of seaweed can reduce methane output by more than half in cattle (which is huge given that animal agriculture contributes more carbon emissions than transport). What’s more, innovative businesses are using seaweed to make clothes, cat litter and bottles which replaces the use of harmful materials like plastic.
More of these farms are starting to pop-up which is super inspiring. This ten minute Patagonia Films video tells the story of one seaweed farm in Wales. I think it’s worth a watch, as are all the films in this brilliant Marine Life series.
Back in Concón I was prepping for an interview (which would take me to Paris for a week - not ideal, not great for the planet, but I did at least pay to offset my emissions) to become a Trip Leader for Backroads. As well as testing public speaking and problem solving in a team, part of the interview was bike mechanics, and so I spent dutiful hours on YouTube. But there is only so much you can learn through theory and so off I went in search for a place to get my hands dirty.
I was briskly shown the door by the workshops of Viña del Mar, but one Sunday I stumbled upon Simple Bike, a mobile workshop run by Tomas on Viña promenade every weekend. Tomas was wonderful and let me shadow him before quickly welcoming me into his business, and so I found myself donning an apron in no time. I spent afternoons in his home workshop, and even spent one afternoon fixing a fleet of bikes belonging to the security guards of a chain mall, working diligently in bowels of the mall as a speaker blasted recordings of squawking eagles to deter the rats from the area.
One Sunday afternoon I found myself installing new brakes and gears on a bloke’s pride and joy as he peered over my shoulder. After hesitating for a bit then fumbling to install them, he abruptly explained that I was putting them on the wrong way round. Feeling the heat I rearranged them and then was told that I was putting them on upside down. This bloke must have been wondering who was this mute clown (pressure, you see) who he was paying to fix his bike. It was a bit awkward, but after the moment one I tried to reflect and think - ‘yeah, stepping out of the comfort zone, probably a good thing for me’
So in March I found myself interviewing in Paris. Of course, they barely tested me on my bike mechanic skills and so it was all a massive waste of time. Even the interpretative talk I’d been preparing for weeks I decided to rewrite the night before. But perhaps the real value of this work was the confidence I had to go to the interview feeling prepped and able to relax and be myself. It was an exhausting day, where I felt I was being judged on everything I did from how I picked up my sandwiches to how long I spent in the toilets.
But I’m very happy to report I got the job, and so will be working from May to October leading cycling and hiking trips around Europe. This video gives some insight into the kind of stuff I’ll be up to.
I feel really good about it. I’m excited to get out into the field and learn a bunch of new skills whilst earning a bit of a crust doing something which seems exciting and fun. The job feels like the result of many serendipitous moments resulting from ‘fuck about and find out’, such as learning Spanish (which is one desired criteria for Backroads), heading to an easter asado one year ago (where I met Izzy), then doing some epic bike-packing with her when she tipped me off about this job because she had a friend doing it.
I’m trying to get more comfortable with the fact that life ain’t an engineering problem which we solve, plan, then accomplish and sit back happy. Rather that there are multiple lives out there and the exciting thing is choosing which to follow, building forward by pursuing things which interest us, probably failing a little bit, but then using this failure to learn something and have fun adjusting towards the next chapter. Anyway, that’s the theory. I guess this is what keeps life fresh up to the point when we die (and it seems we all will).
Anyway, after getting the interview out of the way, I was able to enjoy Paris which is one of my favourite cities. As a Hemingway fanboy, I love reading ‘A Moveable Feast’ in the lead up to a Paris trip. It’s a brilliant account of his time there in the 1920’s and you can’t fail to fall in love with the city after reading this book.
I sat one afternoon by Pont Neuf where the fisherman used to fish, but now it was just young people enjoying the Spring (a false one? IYKYK) during their lunch break. I unpeeled a blood orange in the sun before heading to the Musee D’Orsay where I mainly admired the draftsmanship of Joseph Pennell before reading his wikipedia and finding out he wasn’t a very nice bloke (racist, antisemite, etc.). I had a weirdly spiritual moment where a strong paternal feeling swept over me as I studied a beautiful sculpture of a young child, so I figured I was hungry and headed up to the Latin Quarter to get lunch.
I found myself in Place Saint-Sulpice where Hemingway sometimes sat. Lots had changed in the hundred years since Hem was here - Sylvia Plath’s bookshop is now a vintage clothes shop, a demi costs €6, and the Lime bikes have come and gone. But it felt reassuring that in the square the pigeons were still sat on the bishop’s heads.
And so a stop off in London and then back to Chile. Concón has been a generally wonderful place to spend a few months. I’ve loved having the ocean on my doorstep, cooking with the delicious Chilean produce, sometimes venturing to hike in the Andes, and everyday watching the birds in my garden. I’ve made new friends including the ancient blind street dog who sits outside my house. He waddles over to me every time I return with the shopping, so I give him a little head rub and mutter ‘perrito, mi perrito, como estás?’. Someone told me his name is ‘El Capitan’.
I’m excited to be back next week before starting two weeks of training in Provence at the start of May. Concón’s final gift to me has been a wonderful old cinema I stumbled across. The films start on the minute with no bullshit advertising, it’s £3 and they have these wonderfully comfy leather chairs. The only thing is they don’t sell popcorn, so I’m bringing my own - cooked on the hob then mixed with butter, salt and merken. This might be how I spend my last few days.
See you soon
George x
