El Terreno

Since the conference ended last week in Valpo, I've touring field sites up and down the coast of Chile having a blast along the way. First was Pichilemu...... a world-renowned surf spot and very flat rocky intertidal bench. This is where I got my first close-up look at a fascinating kelp that is widely harvested and used in soups and salads here in Chile. Here's what it looks like in it's natural state:

The video is a little dark, but all of the rocks are covered in this rope-like kelp and it's hard to imagine how the algae can actually withstand the waves and stay attached to the rock! The video ends as I run for safety AWAY from those waves! Also worth noting, this was the field site at Punta Curuamilla that I was unwilling to climb down to and work at! The waves could easily sweep you off of the rock to a 20ft fall to more rocks and breaking waves. Should you survive the fall and get past the giant sets, then you have a 2km swim to the next cove. Yikes!

So people trim the kelp back pretty far, down to the holdfast (the structure that cements the kelp to the rock)...

...then they dry it out and bundle it up to sell. I haven't tried the dried version, but the fresh variety tasty but EXTREMELY chewy!

Over the last few days I've been north and south and seen lots of interesting things...

...giant limpets boring holes in the kelp for food and shelter...

...the way Chileans make mussel cages in the intertidal (note - fewer screws!)...

...beautiful plant life on the treks between the truck and the actual field site...

...and even Eomer found something new that he likes! Rather than chasing sea stars, he now fetches and eats tunicates (sea squirts). Weird dog, what can I say?

Overall, it was a pretty great way to spend the holidays, even though I missed my friends and family back home A LOT! What really made it fun though are all of my new friends...

Here is La Famosa Randefinke (aka Randy Finke). A german who grew up in Agoura, CA, used to live in Santa Cruz, but has been living in Chile for the last 10 years. One of my few English-speaking buddies! For xmas dinner we made Kung Pao chicken -Yum!
Next is Fabian Tapia, another postdoc working at ECIM. Fabian has been my de facto tour guide since I have arrived, since he has a car and appetite to match mine. Also an English speaking buddy due to spending several years in the states at school, Fabian keeps threatening to "take off the training wheels" and speak to me only in spanish!

This is Elliott Ramos, a new addition to the lab at the same time I arrived. We're both learning the ropes together, but in terribly broken Spanglish. We just made an agreement to practice learning each other's languages together everyday for one hour. Given that we both speak MUCH better after a beer, that could become an expensive proposition!

And lastly, Maya Pfaff, my friend from South Africa. She's gone now, but we had a lot of wine and a lot of laughs together over the last couple of weeks. I'm sad she's gone, but the good news is, she and her adviser in S. Africa are going to pay for me to come visit them and start so research over there very soon!
There are many many others, but I just don't pictures of them all yet. And by the way, I'm officially Chilean now (sort of). I've been fingerprinted, given a ID card, a tax ID, a signed contract, and most importantly a CELL PHONE, so maybe I'll even get a paycheck one day! I'm keeping my inky fingers crossed on that one! Up next, my search for housing and a car...Ciao!