In Patagonia Day 6
In Patagonia Day 6 Punta Arenas — Puerto Natales I was thinking today about the couple of pages Hemingway wrote on the craft of writing that were to be part of “Big Two-Hearted River.” As I recall, he wants to write the way Cezanne painted—daubs of paint invoking the scene (apples I think) rather than […]
In Patagonia Day 5
In Patagonia Day 5 Punta Arenas —Isla Magdalena—Punta Arenas Traveled to Tres Puentes and from there boarded the Melinka, an old car ferry, heading east from Punta Arenas to Isla Magdalena in the middle of the Magellan Strait. The voyage up the coast was sunny and smooth, passing fishing communities crowding the coast. The shore […]
In Patagonia Day 4
In Patagonia Day 4 Punta Arenas My hotel is a creaking structure that defines the term “ramshackle.” The upper story is clad with flaking exterior chipboard and my room is a lean-to off the lobby, so the slightest step or voice sounds as if it is directly beside me. The breakfast (included) included the worst […]
Patagonia Day 3
Patagonia Day 3 Santiago—Punta Arenas The primary activity of parenting is making decisions—constant, sometimes difficult, often consequential decisions. Many pass gently, others have lasting impact. One site of unintentional cruelty is naming. Distinctive names can help form a child’s sense of individuality, but names that must be explained, while perhaps endearing, end up causing a […]
In Patagonia Day 2
Day 2 Restless night, still adjusting to time change, then over coffee I finished reading Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, and after, a quest for a battery power brick. Unbeknownst to me, the Wellington airport baggage team removed my Anker power brick—one that had taken me around the world—as new airline regulations do not allow […]
In Patagonia Day 1
Patagonia Day 1 Left Wellington on the morning of the 18th, with a long layover in Aukland, then 10 hour flight that put me in Santiago early afternoon on the 18th. That dateline crossing thing is disconcerting, and my phone daily steps app parsed them oddly. Settled into a comfortable flat in the Lasterrria district— […]
A Tramp Abroad Redux—the Sound of Moss
A Tramp Abroad Redux—the Sound of Moss New Zealand: 2/8/18 Waikanae— Kapakapanui Hut, 2/9 Kapakapanui Hut—Renata Hut, 2/10 Renata Hut—Waikanae via Akatarawa saddle. The other day I overheard someone (probably American) say “I’ll walk, maybe take a short hike, but I won’t go tramping!” An offhand comment by a tourist that’s soon forgotten but which, […]
Some non-walking essays
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/t-hugh-crawford/
Walking with Ghosts
Walking with Ghosts 28 May, 1968 Henry David Thoreau wrote the first modern treatise on the philosophy of walking— On Walking —arguing that one of wandering’s primary values is the possibility of genuine solitude, something he prized perhaps more than most. Walking is seen as a way to be alone, but it might actually teach […]