It has been snowing here in Ushuaia, but today was sunny, and melted the snow on the rocky beach. Sunny but obviously still cold and windy. I got a bit sad today thinking that when I go home to Vermont in December it will be winter, meaning that I missed fall and the last bits of warmth in September. As I write the air is fresh, again it smells like nothing even though I am by the sea.* I had a class the other day at a national atmospheric station where I learned the air here is considered ‘puro’ when it’s blowing from certain directions where there’s no human presence, namely Antarctica. This serves as a useful baseline for other stations around the world, which I found very interesting, though I wonder if Antarctic air is really free from human pollution. Regardless, I guess it’s the best we have.
Today at the beach, I unsurprisingly hear similar sounds. Seagulls, waves, a dog barking far away. The relationships with pets here are quite different than in the US, as many people let their dogs roam free all hours of the day. Dogs will often walk us to class, hang out in stores or dance clubs, roll around in the roads and run across the fields together, or fiercely defend the outside of their owner’s houses (which has resulted in a couple instances of me threatening to kick stranger’s dogs, but really there’s nothing else to be done in these situations).
Today there’s two seagulls hanging around me, the same bright red feet and darker gray feathers. They look softer here, more beautiful somehow, though I know that’s an unfair judgment of North American seagulls on my part. I open my eyes early from my 5 minute meditation, because a woman just walked by and threw them bread, which they fought over until one managed to shove the entire thing down its throat. Feeding birds is something I don’t particularly approve of, but I also understand it in some ways. We humans get snacks all the time, doesn’t a poor cold and hungry bird deserve a snack too? Bird scientists would be inclined to think it’s bad for their health. I’ve decided not to have an opinion.
Another thing I notice today in the lower tide is more striped rocks, various types of macroalgae (red, green, brown), oysters and limpets of varying species, and even teeny fish. The rocks are mostly dark and smooth, though some are striped and quite striking. I’ve also decided not to have an opinion on people taking rocks from the beach. But if someone wants to share their opinion I would love to hear it. I’m not a big geology person, but the rocks here are still a curiosity to me. We learned that the glaciers, though smaller now in the area, once created the mountains and valleys and lakes that define the biome. I wonder if these big processes created the little things too.
The light right now is beautiful. The sun sets over the mountains, though I’m not sure how high it really rises. My writing always feels so full of questions, no matter where I am. There are fewer clouds, and it feels warm and soft (though of course it is actually still cold). Today I mostly feel happy to be here. I’m feeling happy with my family, more settled, and enjoying the ups and downs of joining a new place. And I’m happy that today is sunny! Maybe real spring is coming soon.
*but as I type up my journal entry, I’m sitting in the living area of my family’s house, where it smells like fresh buttery toast, and the tarta de verduras that’s in the oven.
