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Nature reflects our nature
My memorable trip to the southern end of South
America: To the world’s end
Famous American essayist, lecturer, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Do not go where the path
may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”. My trip to the world’s end on “Navarino Island”
(Southern end of South America) Southern Chile actually fits close to what Emerson’s said. The Chilean city,
Puerto Williams is considered “the world’s end”. Puerto Williams is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Prov-
ince, and the world’s southernmost town. At 550 latitude, it represents the extreme southern end of the world
and is home to the world’s southernmost rainforest.
I was always kind of wondering and lacking some memorable experience in camping, hiking and backpack-
ing which was profoundly resolved after my mesmerizing trip in the most pristine wilderness at the UNESCO
Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve on Navarino Island. It was on December 27, 2014 that I took an overnight
flight with a student group from the University of North Texas (UNT) from Dallas-Fort Worth International
Airport to Santiago, Chile. Then a connecting flight of about 3-1/2 hours onto Punta Arenas, we viewed the
most awesome beauty of nature, and landscapes, along with the area’s beautiful architecture. Two days of
amazing experiences in Punta Arenas kicked off the trip with us full of enthusiasm, excitement and an ad-
venturous spirit. Within two days, we visited University of Magallanes (UMAG), Reserva de Magallanes, the
Otway Penguin Colony and attended a series of seminars at the Hain Hostel.
Our next destination was Puerto Williams, the main
port town on Navarino Island. More than half of the
students and some faculty travelled by Ferry, navi-
gating along the Darwin Cordillera. Along this route,
they experienced the beauty of the glaciers, water-
falls, and rainforest that dotted the fjords. They were
accompanied by penguins, albatrosses, and a host of
other inhabitants who call this amazing place home.
I had an opportunity to fly in a small plane which car-
ries 14 passengers at a time, and takes 1-1/2 to two
hours depending upon wind velocity and weather at
flight time. While flying you have the perspective of
where the glaciers, the mountains, the rivers, lakes,
and forest meet to create a beautiful landscape.
During this journey, I imagined how these experienc-
es might be similar to a mountain flight in Nepal, my
homeland.
Photo 1: Penguin Colony at Otway (north of Punta
Arenas).
Tracing Darwin’s Path (TDP) study abroad field course is one of UNT’s most successful among many study
abroad field courses. The course took place from December 29, 2014 to Jan 18, 2015. The field course,
“TDP” has been co-taught by UNT and UMAG for the last 9 years. A total of 30 students from three U.S. uni-
versities and three Chilean universities participated with my group; University of North Texas (UNT), Buena
Vista University (BVU), University of Connecticut (UConn), and the three Chilean universities were University
of Magallanes (UMAG), Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with 8 faculty mem-
bers and 1 visiting faculty from Rikkyo University in Japan. The goals of the course were to provide students
with an interdisciplinary research, conservation, and educational experience at one of the most pristine wil-
derness areas remaining in the world. The course explored ways of defining, studying, communicating, and-
conserving biocultural diversity. These goals were achieved by exposing students to a first-hand experience
in the Omora Ethnobotanical Park (OEP), a long-term socio-ecological study site that serves to link society
and development with biodiversity, history, and ecosystems in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR).
Nature and Social Concern Society
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