When you think of Patagonia, you probably think of nature and adventure tourism, rather than art. However, its vast, sparse, landscapes have been inspiring art for over 9,000 years, as witnessed by the famous Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands).

Cueva de Las Manos (Photo by Nick Warner)

It probably shouldn’t be surprising that such a dramatic place, stretching windswept and flat to distant horizons in every direction, should inspire artistic expression. It’s often referred to as “the end of the world”, after all. The fantastic Maritime Art Museum (MAMU) in Ushuaia hosts a permanent collection of Argentine maritime paintings, both contemporary and dating back to the 1880s, while several Río Gallegos-based artists have been painting Patagonian landscapes for decades, including Alejandra Borrelli, Alejandra Harris, and Rosa Saissac.

The first reaction of many who visit Patagonia’s giant, almost hypnotic landscape, though, is to take a photo, unknowingly participating in the region’s most prolific artistic medium of the modern era.

In the late 19th century, explorers like Italian missionary Father Alberto de Agostini and Argentine academic Francisco ‘Perito’ Moreno were the first to photograph Patagonia, which had previously been considered inhospitable. European Pioneers soon followed them, establishing farms, with many bringing cameras and charting their new lives on film. The work of the Walter Roil in the 1930s is perhaps the apex of Patagonian photography from the age of the Pioneers. A meticulous German, he carefully archived all of his negatives, and his body of work is still considered an important contribution to Patagonian – and Argentine – art.

The tradition of Patagonian photography continues to thrive today. Notable contemporary Patagonian photographic artists include Alberto Cortés and Eduardo Frías, from Viedma, whose work depicts the absurdity and frailty of the human impact on the enormous Patagonian landscapes. Also Gustavo Groh, a native of Buenos Aires but resident of Ushuaia for over 25 years, who creates photographic montages that juxtapose the different aspects and eras of Patagonia – the land, the Pioneers, and the technology and architecture of the 21st century.

The Southern Renaissance

If Patagonia has experienced something of an art renaissance over the last 10 or 15 years, Río Gallegos, formerly a drab, windswept departure point for oil, coal and wool export, has emerged as the unlikely hub of the movement. Sonia Cortez, who creates conceptual art that combines photographs and drawings to portray an anthropological or social concept, has acted as a mentor to a new generation of local artists, since she began to connect and rally them in the late 1990s, encouraging them to exhibit. Río Gallegos’ artistic dawn has also been aided by the number and quality of art venues, notably the Museo de Arte Eduardo Minnicelli, and the spacious municipal exhibition rooms.

Patricia Viel and Marcela Mango at Vendabal

Patricia Viel meanwhile, a former Director of Culture for Río Gallegos, together with another local artist, Marcela Magno recently established Vendabal (meaning ‘gale’), an online community and exhibition space, and physical gallery by appointment.

As Director of Culture, Viel toured Santa Cruz province looking for interesting new artists to invite to exhibit in Río Gallegos, leaving her uniquely placed to bring the region’s artists together, develop and promote them. An artist herself, whose work explores the timeless Patagonian themes of the land, enormity, and solitude through the mediums of photo-collage and paintings, Viel describes the Vendabal project “as a platform to showcase the work of the growing number of talented young local artists, as well as a community to allow them to come together, inspire each other, and share ideas. Initially we are focusing on ten local artists, however we hope that this number will grow over time as more people come together and get involved.”

Besides Río Gallegos, the principal centres of art in Patagonia are Bariloche and Ushuaia. Each have distinct artistic communities and both public and private exhibition spaces. Situated hundreds of miles apart, the three cities’ different geographical settings are reflected in the character and content of their artistic endeavour: Ushuaia exposed to the Beagle Channel, Río Gallegos the gateway to the vast, flat southern farmlands, and Bariloche in the shade of the Andes.

Bariloche’s best known artist is perhaps Monica Giron, an installation artist who has spent much of her career in Europe, and who has won numerous awards, both Argentine and international. She describes her work as a commentary on the human condition and Patagonian and Argentine culture. Her recent installation, entitled ‘KOL (Homo Sapiens)’, is a good example, consisting of five stone blocks, three cubes with inscriptions (‘spirit’, ‘soul’, and ‘homo sapiens’), and two spheres that resemble eyes, draped down a grass bank beside a road in Bariloche.

KOL (Homo Sapiens) (Photo courtesy of Mónica Giron)

While Patagonia’s indigenous community is relatively artistically inactive beyond its traditional textile and jewellery crafting, a handful of individuals are beginning to emerge into the mainstream, such as the Mapuche painter and photographer Juan Carlos Carrilaf, who chronicles traditional Mapuche life, rituals and mythology. Another stand-out Mapuche artist is the actress Luisa Calcumil, who since winning the best actress award at the Argentine Film Festival in 1987 for her performance in Gerónima (which chronicles the story of an oppressed Mapuche women), has been touring the region performing in her own plays, while also continuing to appear in films.

“Over the last decade new technologies have allowed Patagonian artists to create, connect and promote themselves and their work in ways not previously possible,” says Patricia Viel, summing up Patagonia’s young, vibrant art scene. “This in turn has provided inspiration to more people, so that now the movement has taken on a life of its own.

“Our future is bright.”

Hugo Lesser is based in Salta in north west Argentina. He is the founder of Estados (www.estados.co.uk), which offers beautiful handmade Argentine leather goods in the UK.

Diego Libkind taking samples (photo courtesy of Diego Libkind)

Strolling through the cool, humid Patagonian woods it occurred to Argentine Conicet biologist and researcher Diego Libkind that the scenic wonderland outside of Bariloche might be a ripe wilderness for wild yeasts. Driven by curiosity and knowledge into the world of microbiology Libkind scraped samples from the local natural environment and returned to the laboratory. Libkind and his samples would later help in the discovery of what may be the birthplace of the missing component in the hybrid yeast used to make the world’s most popular beer: lager.

Libkind’s discovery came to fruition with the help of a team of international biologists and molecular geneticists from Portugal and the United States, and finally helped give both scientists and brewers some clues into the 500-year-old mystery of the identity and origin of the yeast used in lager. Researchers were previously able to identify the lager yeast Saccharomyces as a combination of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and one other unknown compound, which allowed Bavarian brewers to ferment beer at low temperatures and create lager.

After several years of research into the origin of the mysterious yeast in Europe and North America, it wasn’t until Libkind, from the University of Comahue’s institute for Biodiversity and Environment in Bariloche, decided to focus on the different types of Saccharomyces yeasts used in bread, alcohol, wine and beer in Patagonia that the pieces of the puzzle come together.

The project began in 2004. Libkind relates that he and a couple of fellow researchers, including Dr. Jose Paulo Sampaio from Portugal (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), conducted a preliminary study and found Saccharomyces yeasts in Patagonia’s Andean forests that fermented at a lower adapted temperature than others. He then continued the study and obtained this unique Patagonia yeast from distinct locations, trees, and other soils, barks, and fungi. Once all of the samples had been identified, Libkind found two principal yeasts: Saccharomyces uvarum and another, previously unknown, yeast – later dubbed by him and co-workers as Saccharomyces eubayanus – that had never been seen before in the wild. He collaborated with a laboratory in the United States and found that this second Patagonian yeast had a DNA identical (99.56%) to the yeast hybrid typically known as the lager yeast. As result of his discovery, researchers highlighted how the combination of an ale and Patagonian yeast genes could produce a hybrid yeast perfect for low temperature fermentation.

However, with the lager process known to have existed for some 500 years in Europe, Libkind’s discovery generates some doubt as to how a Patagonian yeast could have fallen into the hands of Bavarian beer masters on the other side of the world. These early brewers used the cold fermentation process when storing beer to ferment in caves, allowing them to preserve the beer and give it an agreeable taste during the summer months. Over time, says Libkind, the yeast hybrid developed into the perfect mix of genes, which, through continued practice and reutilization helped to generate a better lager beer.

But when did it come from in the first place? “The possibility that another species of yeast may still exist in another part of the world apart from Patagonia is still valid,” explains Libkind.

Patagonian yeast samples (photo courtesy of Diego Libkind)

Studies still haven’t found a yeast species 100 percent identical to that used in lager, yet researchers continue their search for yeast structures in their natural habitat in order to gather more information about the original population. What is known is that the lager yeast of Saccharomyces Eubayanus has been present within the Patagonian forests for anywhere from 1,000 to one million years.

Libkind believes that the distance between the wild source and its domesticated used isn’t as far-fetched as many believe. He notes that a wild yeast’s ability to survive adverse nutritional and environmental conditions over long periods of time (such as transatlantic voyages) has been proven possible. As a result, Libkind doesn’t discount out the possibility that yeasts could have been unwittingly transported in wood barrels, fermented foods and drinks, or even in humans as natural microbiologic carriers. He cites one example of a European yeast which made its way to New Zealand by way of some oak nuts, and which harvested a yeast population in the new world. “If yeast could have survived a trip from the old to new world,” explains Libkind, “why couldn’t it have been the other way around.”

In spite of the yeast’s still ambiguous history, Libkind says that the international discovery offers a better understanding into the creation of the world’s most popular beer, and becomes a first step in understanding the genetic changes taken in yeast’s domestication. At a local level, the new discovery of the Saccharomyces Eubayanus yeast signifies an opportunity for brewers both on a micro and industrial scale to explore the use of wild yeast for domestication by way of artificial adaptation or making a hybrid with other beer yeasts. In fact, Libkind admits that since his groundbreaking investigation results, he has become more involved in the local brewery process, and spends time helping brewers in the Bariloche area with yeast quality control, its manipulation and its rapid dissemination.

“Thanks to the research publication I began to become involved in the world of beer, and I simply fell in love,” says Libkind. “I found a very fertile field where I could apply my knowledge and that of the group investigation which I am a part of.”

Yeast is one of the key ingredients in beer; are the origins from Patagonia? (Photo: Brian Funk)

Warning: this article contains graphic images that may disturb some readers.

The photograph shows two men kneeling in the back of a white pickup truck, surrounded by the unspoiled darkness of nightfall in Patagonia. One poses happily, an Indiana Jones-style fedora on his head, rifle propped up behind him against the cab of the truck. The other wears an expression of tired satisfaction. Four more pairs of lifeless eyes stare out from the photo, lit up eerily by the flash of the camera – four dead pumas, their tongues and muzzles covered in blood, lay like sphinxes in the bed of the pickup. They are held by the scruffs of their necks by their grinning killers, paws dangling over the edge of the open tailgate.

This and similar photos sparked outrage this past August when they began making the rounds on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. For the most part, they consist of the same elements: pumas strung up by their ankles or sprawled out in the grass, dismembered heads and paws on display alongside the rifles that dispatched them, smiling men and women in baseball caps and camouflage. In one, a young man hugs one of the creatures like a giant stuffed animal – it is nearly twice his size.

Four pumas were killed for sport in Patagonia sparking outrage across the various social networks. (Photo via Facebook)

The photos, often uploaded to social networking profiles by the hunters themselves, have been appropriated and circulated throughout the internet by animal rights activists as a sort of online escrache, or public shaming. Comments towards the images range from impassioned, eloquent defences of animal rights, to angry, violent calls for retribution against the hunters.

“Outrageous and demoralising” says one  internet forum user.

“Why is there no legal intervention?” asks another. “He’s a murderer and deserves to be condemned.”

Much of the initial outcry surrounding the controversial photographs came from Chile, where the puma population is protected and hunting them is punishable by law – hence the calls for legal justice. The two hunters from the photograph, however, are Argentine citizens and most likely committed the acts in Argentine Patagonia. On this side of the Andes, the indiscriminate killing of pumas is not only legal, but encouraged by various provincial governments.

Law 763: Combat Against Wild Animal Species 

In August 2010, almost exactly two years before the incendiary photos sparked such criticism online, the provincial government of Río Negro announced that it would begin paying $500 for every puma killed in the province, citing the animal as a “plague” for farmers and ranchers in the area.

The controversial decision to compensate hunters was simply an extension of a law which has been in existence in the province for the last 40 years. Law E 763 “of combat against wild animal species harmful to livestock and agriculture” was passed in Río Negro in 1972. Similar legislation exists throughout Patagonia – control hunting (caza de control) is permitted in Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Neuquén, with economic incentives offered by the Chubut and Santa Cruz governments (Santa Cruz, with the country’s greatest sheep population, offers the greatest payoff). Sport hunting (caza deportiva) is permitted in Río Negro and Neuquén.

Sport hunting of pumas was banned in La Pampa in 2007 when it was discovered that many of the animals were being captured in other provinces and sold to game preserves. They were often drugged for hunters from Argentina and abroad, some of whom would pay up to US$10,000 for hunting trips in which a kill was guaranteed. The ban remains in place as scientists continue studying the sustainability of the province’s puma population.

“An effective fight against the puma requires systematic organisation,” says Martín Oscos, general director of livestock for the Ministry of Production, which provided ranchers and hunters with metal traps for capturing the animal. Funds to compensate hunters come out of taxes paid by producers, who benefit most from the practice in the primarily agricultural province.

Río Negro’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, specifically fruit production. In those areas of the province too dry and infertile to support this endeavour, the main economic activity is cattle or sheep ranching. Thirteen percent of all wool and sheep meat consumed in Argentina comes from Río Negro, third in the country after the other Patagonian provinces of Santa Cruz and Chubut.

In 2010, Argentines consumed 66,000 tonnes of lamb (taking into account both meat and bones), about 8,500 of which came from Río Negro, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC).

The law is meant to “provide a legal framework that allows producers to defend their property from predatory animals, which is their source of work and family support,” according to Luís Sacco, president of the Federation of Rural Societies. Pumas are known to occasionally attack livestock.

Sheep on Cerro Cazador with Cerro Castillo and Cerro Tenerife in the background. (Photo: Brian Romans)

“The problem is that there is improper management of livestock”, Daniel Ramadori, then National Director of Wildlife, told newspaper Página/12 after the announcement. “There are very large fields with very little care for the livestock, and every so often they [pumas] encounter them. So we cannot expect that they will not eat sheep.”

He also added “It is believed that pumas are expanding, and they are appearing in places where not long ago there were none, like Iberá [in Corrientes].”

Necessity vs. Sport 

Pumas, also known as cougars, mountain lions, or catamounts, are one of the most widely found animals in both North and South America, inhabiting an area stretching from the Yukon to Patagonia. They form six distinct subspecies, five of which are found only in Latin America. 

The species in question, Puma concolor puma, or the southern South American puma, exists from as far north as Coquimbo in Chile to the Strait of Magellan in southern Argentina. Its conservation status varies from province to province and from organisation to organisation. For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists the puma as a threatened species, and its hunting is prohibited in Buenos Aires province, Corrientes, Santa Fe, and Entre Ríos, as well as throughout Chile. The World Conservation Union (IUCN), on the other hand, lists the puma as a species of “least concern,” and this seems to be the stance the Patagonian provinces have taken, as well.

“Each province has ownership over its natural resources and each province has a distinct view regarding its wildlife”, says Andrea Michelson, Coordinator of the Protected Areas Program for Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina. “At the national level they are not classified as an endangered species, and even less so at the world level. But they are threatened in the sense that if the hunting continues in certain areas, it will ultimately reduce the population.”

Puma hunting has been a reality for ranchers in the area for as long as ranching has existed in Argentina. Most estancias even traditionally employed someone known as a ‘leonero; whose sole job was to hunt and kill the wild felines. The government’s decision to monetarily reward the killing, however, caused many to worry that the line between killing out of necessity and killing for pleasure would be blurred to the point of nonexistence.

“Imagine that any hunter can go to the south to hunt, and that by killing a few pumas he has all his expenses covered”, writes Ricardo Antoniotti, founder of the Facebook group ‘For the creation of a puma preserve in Patagonia’. “It’s paradise for the hunter with no sense of right or wrong.”

Reaching a Consensus 

Some environmentalists and animal rights activists point to the role that deforestation and the advance of the agricultural frontier plays in causing puma populations to seek prey closer to human centres of activity, although no recent studies have conclusively linked the two phenomena. What is generally agreed upon among those opposed to the legislation, however, is that the incidents involving pumas and livestock do not warrant the methods being taken in Río Negro and other provinces.

Puma tracks towards the Cerro Torre. (Photo: Simone Capretti)

A study conducted in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park revealed that the average puma’s diet consists of about 8% domestic livestock, such as cows or sheep, 41% wild hare, and 20% guanaco, the llama-like animal indigenous to South America.

“It’s true that sometimes pumas attack domestic livestock, but it doesn’t happen often”, environmentalist Álvaro Meza told Chilean newspaper La Segunda. “It happens when the mother teaches their young to hunt, but that’s natural. You might lose ten sheep, but it’s the learning process for the pups.”

He added “What the ranchers don’t understand is that they [pumas] are an important part of the food chain. For example, in Magallanes the condor population would not exist and not be as healthy if not for the puma, which attacks the guanaco, whose remains the condors eat.”

Ranchers, on the other hand, have pointed out that those hypothetical ten sheep, or 8% that forms part of the average puma’s diet, represent a portion of their livelihood that they are not so willing to part with. When provincial legislator Beatriz Contreras proposed, in 2011, that hunting should be limited only to adult males and females that are demonstrably causing damage, the Federation of Rural Societies expressed its opposition. In a signed letter, President Luís Sacco invited legislators to “inform themselves of the reality of provincial producers, with points of view necessary to modify the existing legislation.”

Environmentalists like Michelson agree that in order to come to a rational agreement, all parties’ opinions must be taken into account.

“It’s not all black and white”, she says. When an individual puma “is too accustomed to hunting in excess, and for many days or months is attacking livestock, obviously that individual is a problem, and a spot check should be done on that individual. But if a law is established where they pay for each puma hide, then I can deliver the hide of a puma that didn’t necessarily kill many sheep.”

She also notes that, similar to Chilean law, a mechanism exists in the province whereby ranchers can request authorisation from the Wildlife Office to eliminate a specific, problematic puma. “But that’s a process that takes a couple of days, and generally, the producers do not take that route.

“Solutions exist,” she says, “there can be a compromise, and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Next Steps for Río Negro

A new opportunity for compromise came on Tuesday 23^rd October, when regional lawmakers, scientists, and specialists convened in Choele Choel, Río Negro, to discuss alternatives that would curb the indiscriminate killing of pumas while taking into consideration the producers’ needs to protect their livestock. Neighbouring Chubut also sent representatives; the province’s ‘Puma Management Plan’, while it does not outright ban hunting, has been suggested as a template for Río Negro lawmakers to work from.

“The idea is that we can work upon the existing approach, improving or modifying it, taking everyone’s opinions into account”, Contreras said in September upon the meeting’s proposal.

“Since 2010 we have been proposing alternatives to the poor and unsustainable policy of indiscriminate puma hunting in our province, encouraged by paying farmers and lack of state control,” she added. “Now we see with gratification that the technical teams of the Environment and Wildlife Departments are concerned with finding a real solution to the problem and the protection of native species.”

Present at the meeting were Río Negro Secretary of the Environment Laura del Valle Juárez, as well as representatives from the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations (CONICET). It is hoped among environmentalists and animal rights activists that this most recent round of dialogues will make Law E 763’s repeal a real possibility, although Juárez had previously stated that it would remain in place until all alternatives were discussed thoroughly.

Although opposition to the anti-puma legislation has existed for some time, it could be argued that the most recent wave of public outcry, sparked by the uploading, posting, sharing, and retweeting of the hunter’s “trophy” photographs, is what motivated lawmakers to revisit the issue. By sharing their exploits online, those who took advantage of Río Negro’s hunting laws may have unintentionally initiated the process of repealing them.

Lead image by Vyacheslav Bondaruk

China plans to build an antenna for deep space observation in Neuquén province in the southern Patagonia region, Argentina’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.

Argentina has a long history of space exploration- the country’s National Space Activities Commission (CONAE), was founded in 1960 by Teofilo Tabanera. It has been concentrated on Earth Observation satellites since the 1990′s until more recent international partnerships.

A quiet branch of government, usually far from the public eye, is making international headlines due to this and other international space partnerships. CONAE is already working with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), but this partnership opens a new avenue for Argentine space exploration.

The agreement – between Argentina’s space agency and China’s Agency for the Control and Tracking of Satellites – also defines more general “parameters for establishing earth-based installations,” and creates a basis for future cooperation, the ministry said.

As reported in Clarin, Chinese scientists were in Argentina last month preforming preliminary studies in Neuquén, Río Negro, Mendoza, Catamarca, and La Rioja for the proposed antenna.

China is evolving rapidly as a world leader in space exploration. In 2011, it conducted 19 space launches, only 12 less than Russia that year and one more than the United States.

Chinese spacecraft have already orbited the moon, and the country has declared its intent to land an unmanned probe and possibly astronauts on the lunar surface.

In late June, China captured headlines across the world when three Chinese astronauts manually docked their Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with the orbiting Tiangong-1 module. In doing so, China became only the third nation besides the United States and Russia to accomplish this complex maneuver.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry emphasised the antenna is “a project of tremendous importance,” which will permit Argentina “to develop interplanetary exploration activities, to study deep space and celestial bodies, to monitor and control satellites, and to acquire scientific data.”

In 2003 China became the third country to send a man into space with the Shenzhou-5 mission.

Argentina’s space programme is one of the most advanced in Latin America- Argentina being the first Latin American country to launch an indigenously built satellite.

In addition to the recent development with China, The ESA is now finishing construction of an antenna in Mendoza province, to support deep space exploration.

The 600-tonne dish, will complete the 360-degree deep space coverage needed to ensure full telecommunications during ESA missions and enhance the return of scientific data.

Tourist Boat and commersons dolphin (Photo: Marc Rogers)

As we leave the harbour, I can’t help but think our boat is a little on the small side.

The feeling is only reinforced when I hear one, sighing from somewhere – it sounds like everywhere – beneath us. Soon afterwards, I’m looking it right in the eye, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s looking right back at me.

Aesthetically speaking, Argentina’s Patagonian coastline can’t compete with the enchanting lagoons and snow-capped scenery of the Andes. But the real draw is found offshore, feeding and breeding in the churning South Atlantic.

Every year, the UNESCO World Heritage site Península Valdés draws over 100,000 visitors looking for a glimpse of the exotic marine wildlife that migrates to this part of the world in the Southern Hemisphere spring. Immediately south of the peninsula, which protrudes like a kidney from Argentina’s eastern flank, Golfo Nuevo is a sheltered natural bay that holds one of the largest populations of Southern Right Whales in the world.

The whales are undoubtedly the main attraction, but our day trip from nearby Puerto Madryn begins with smaller, more manageable creatures. As our minibus bounces along dusty dirt tracks, we see some of the guanacos (think llamas) and rheas (think ostriches) that stalk the reserve’s 3,500kms. Sheep reared on local estancias graze where they can. It’s not long since breakfast, but the sight of our woolly friends gets me thinking about dinner – barbecued lamb is a local speciality and tender cuts are served in most Patagonian restaurants.

It’s when we get to Punta Cantor, on the east coast of the peninsula, that things take a turn for the bigger. They may not be quite as large as whales, but four-tonne elephant seals are nothing to sniff at – not that you’d want to with the pungent odour these beasts give off.

Elephant seals sprawled out along the sandy beach. (Photo: Marc Rogers)

On the beach, three males are sprawled out along the sandy beach, each accompanied by up to a dozen females. These harems are the trophies for winning fierce territorial battles, and some alpha bulls can enjoy the services of over fifty concubines at a time.

“They are arranged like a buffet,” quips Valerie, our guide for the day, “for the orcas”. Península Valdés is one of the few places in the world where intelligent killer whales have learned how to pick off unsuspecting seal pups right from the beach. Photographers from all over the world camp out for months hoping to capture one of nature’s rarest predators in action. We’ve only got an hour, and despite spending it all willing the appearance of a dorsal fin, nothing happens.

The seals on the beach certainly don’t seem too worried as they scratch and yawn their way into the late afternoon. We find out later that this apathy is actually critical for survival: conserving energy is vital during the breeding season, when the fasting seals can lose up to a third of their body weight.

Whale Business

The highlight of the tour is saved for last, and the sun is dipping as we wait for our speedboat in Puerto Piramedes, the peninsula’s only inhabited town. We are briefed in disconcerting right whale dimensions: adult females can weigh up to 60 tonnes and reach over 15 metres in length, while males have the largest testicles in the animal kingdom (around 500kg each). Fortunately, we are assured, these are gentle giants, who almost never try to mate the boat.

We soon find out the whales are also curious: sightseeing boats are forbidden from getting too close to the whales, but no one can stop them approaching us. Out in the gulf, a pair glides by nonchalantly, taking a good look at us while spraying V-shaped fountains through their twin blowholes.

Whale's tail (Photo: Marc Rogers)

Their inquisitive nature is charming, but it didn’t always serve the right whales well. They are endangered animals, historically victims of extensive whaling due to their slow speed and generous blubber content (the name was given because this was the ‘right’ whale to be harpooning). In modern Argentina, they are considered a natural monument, and protected by law from the moment they enter the country’s territorial waters. The only attacks they face now come from flocks of seagulls jealously guarding the local fish supply.

Today’s whales seem to enjoy their privileged status, showing off with spectacular jumps and photogenic tail splashes. It’s chaos on the boat, as everyone tries to look in every direction at once, desperate not to miss any action.

It is only when one gets really close that a respectful silence falls over the group. Faced with such grandeur it’s impossible to think of anything to say, and those who try only spoil the magical moment. After 90 minutes, the captain turns us around and takes us back to port, accompanied for much of the way by one particularly playful whale.

Penguins (Photo: Marc Rogers)

Size Isn’t Everything

Peninsula Valdés is the obvious starting point for any trip to these parts, but it’s just a tiny patch on a rugged coastline full of wildlife watching opportunities. Our next stop is Rawson, the capital of Chubut Province and the first town to be established by 19th century Welsh pioneers. Here we board another boat, this time searching for Commerson’s dolphins. A patchwork of black and white, Commerson’s look a bit like small Orcas, and are the closest we get to the elusive beast. A fierce wind swirls and ominous rain clouds threaten, but the dolphins are delightful, ducking and weaving around the boats and surfing the bow wave.

Another 120km along the coast is the Punta Tombo reserve, home to the largest colony of Magellanic Penguins on the continent. Upwards of one million knee-high penguins nest here from September to April, braying like donkeys and filling the air thick with the smell of regurgitated fish. With their innocent faces and awkward Charlie Chaplin walk, these penguins are endlessly entertaining, though the park rangers warn that there is nothing funny about their sharp beaks.

On the way back to the car, we stop to allow a penguin to cross the path ahead. It pauses too, gives us a look, and then preens itself for several minutes while we wait.

Not for the first time this trip, it’s obvious who’s in charge here.

Prize of a 'Micro D' lightweight, warn and fast-drying fleece by Patagonia

Congratulations and many thanks to everyone who participated in the Patagonia photography competition! We had many beautiful entries, but had to narrow it down to the top ten images. These stunning captures of Argentine and Chilean Patagonia have been uploaded to our Facebook page where you can vote for your favourites by liking the photos until the end of May when voting will be tallied.

The winner’s image will appear in our first print edition, due out in June. This competition has been generously sponsored by Patagonia Outdoor Clothing with a prize of a ‘Micro D’ lightweight, warm and fast-drying fleece, that works as either insulation or an outer layer – perfect for the cold months ahead! And, as an extra bonus, it is also environmentally friendly – made from 85% recycled fleece – Patagonia recycle used soda bottles, unusable second-hand quality fabrics and worn out garments into polyester fibres to produce many of their clothes.

The ten finalists will be invited to join our professional team of photographers in showing their photos at our next gallery night, due to take place in San Telmo mid-June.

A small cascade winds through the thick Patagonia woods just outside of El Bolsón, Rio Negro. (Photo: Brain Funk)

We are calling for entries for our new photography competition, with the winner’s image appearing in our first print edition, due out in June. Sponsored by Patagonia Outdoor Clothing, we are asking contestants to send us their best shot of Patagonia by 20th May.

Beatrice Murch, The Indy’s head of photography, will then select the ten best images and the final judgement will go over to you, our readers, to vote via facebook during a two-week period.

The ten finalists will be invited to join our professional team of photographers in showing their photos at our next gallery night, due to take place in San Telmo mid-June.

Photographs may be taken on any type of camera but must have been taken in Argentine or Chilean Patagonia.

Prize of a 'Micro D' lightweight, warn and fast-drying fleece by Patagonia

The prize, courtesy of Patagonia Outdoor Clothing, is a ‘Micro D’ lightweight, warm and fast-drying fleece, that works as either insulation or an outer layer – perfect for the cold months ahead! And, as an extra bonus, it is also environmentally friendly – made from 85% recycled fleece – Patagonia recycle used soda bottles, unusable second-hand quality fabrics and worn out garments into polyester fibres to produce many of their clothes.

Only one entry may be submitted per person and it must be accompanied by your full name and one line caption, giving background on the image – where and when it was taken, and what is being captured.

To enter, please email your photograph to competitions@argentinaindependent.com by 20th May.

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Mobilised representatives of the Chilean commune of Aysén sparked controversy yesterday by appealing to the Argentine government to “adopt” them.

Social representatives from the commune of Comodoro Rivadavia in Chubut province have been campaigning for social and economic improvements for the past week. The cost of living in the remote Patagonian region is far higher than in other parts of the country.

Around 2,000 people from the town of Aysén, representing a coalition of 25 groups, took to the streets to campaign for the reduction of the price of fuel in the region. This tenet is the first part of a 11-point petition which will be drafted by the activists.

“Argentina, adopt us” and “Aysén is also Chile” were displayed on their banners.

Soliciting annexation by Argentina has been considered a provocative act. It was aimed at raising the profile of their campaign and prompting a reaction from the Chilean state.

Local leaders continue to come to blows with the police in the city of Coyhaique. The health minster Jaime Mañalich and transport minister Pedro Pablo Errazuriz were sent as delegates to the area on Monday.

Protesters were disappointed by the low weight political officials they received. “The mobilisation will continue,” they said, until they are sent “people who are in charge of making official decisions.”

President Sebastián Piñera’s delegation also came under internal criticism.

“These people have grounds to be restless and we propose a more authoritative trip,” said senator Victor Perez, the secretary general of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI).

The comment was backed by a statement from the bishop of Aysén, Luis Infanti.

“These people are crying out for justice,” he said. “All the issues raised in the appeal is a reflection of the lack of attention from the state.”

The conflict, redolent of the uprising in the southern region of Aysén last year, has escalated to unprecedented levels.

As the most accessible glacier inside Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park, the Perito Moreno glacier has become a big pull for the small town of El Calafate.

Many who visit do so expressly to see it, opting for a boat cruise which brings them face to face with the glacier where they can admire impressive ice formations and witness the occasional, magnificent shedding of huge chunks from the safety of the deck. The more adventurous choose to get up close and personal on the ice.

A stable ice mass, 5km wide and 60m tall, Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world to be still advancing in spite of global warming and one of few where ice trekking is a safe and viable option.

Perito Moreno at sunset. (Photo: Trey Ratcliff)

Between the months of September and April, Hielo y Aventura, the only company authorised to step foot on the ice, offers guided treks atop the glacier.

With no prior on ice trekking experience and no specialist equipment required besides a pair of crampons, ice trekking becomes a surprisingly accessible activity.

Demanding only a moderate level of fitness, the Mini Trekking and Big Ice excursions are open to everyone aged ten and upwards, with a maximum age of 65 years reduced to 50 for the longer trek.

The Mini Trekking option allows for a little over one and a half hours on the ice, and like the Big Ice and the Lago Rico sailing excursions, leaves El Calafate by bus and transports trekkers across Lago Argentina.

Once besides the ice, bilingual guides offer an introduction to the trek, explaining a little about the glacier and how the walk will be conducted, and then, two enthusiastic experts, followed by a group of up to 20 adventurous amateurs, take their first tentative steps on the ice.

Trekking on Perito Moreno can be a daunting task. (Photo: nanalahoz)

From the outside, the glacier’s dagger-like edges make walking inside it appear impossible, but what the glacier opens up is a beautiful landscape of streams, small lagoons, gullies and bright blue crevasses where every ridge reveals an unexpected detail and a different view.

Once on the ice, a marked out trail steers clear of the trickier, steeper ice terrain so that hostile jagged cliffs turn to the safe gentle slopes ideal for novice ice-trekkers.

Filled with impressive photo opportunities, the route taken by the trek showcases the glacier in various shades of blue, and every so often a profound roar breaks a heavy silence as chunks of the glacier fall to meet their end in Lago Argentino.

The guides are eager to share their knowledge of glacial landforms, and happy to help out in the more difficult parts although the trek itself is moderate. Whilst the crampons are a little tricky to get used to, going uphill becomes easier than going down and being prepared with sunglasses, sun cream, waterproof clothing, removable layers, and some comfortable footwear will all help maintain comfort throughout the trek.

Along with the priceless panoramas, a complimentary alfajor and a glass of whisky, enjoyed literally “on ice”, can’t fail to top it off.

With the unexpected aroma of melting ice caps filling my nostrils, I inhale deeply. Frozen mountains exhale an earthy scent, and in the distance, Andean condors fly.

“Can you feel that?” he asks, taking the sample away so that I open my eyes. “That’s our ‘Lago Del Desierto’ fragrance. We’ve recreated the smell of the glaciers and the surrounding countryside of Argentine Patagonia.”

Instead of Patagonia, I find myself in a cosy plush room in Buenos Aires, with high black walls and velvet curtains, in the company of Julian Bedel, one of the creators of Fueguia perfume laboratory.

Julian Bedel of Fueguia (Photo courtesy of Fueguia)

Filled with dozens of perfume bottles, scented candles and room essences, Fueguia feels mystic and mysterious. Located on the second floor of a beautiful 19th century building in Palermo Viejo, there are no signs, no logos; no indication at all that something special lies behind the door. The only one of its kind in the whole of America, Fueguia creates custom-blended fragrances from a growing range of over 600 individual ingredients.

A never-ending palette of scents awaits; from the more common mint, nutmeg and rosemary, to more obscure aromas like birch, juniper berries and tuberose, Fueguia also has a range of 18 ready-made blends, which just like ‘Lago Del Desierto’, are already utterly unique. ‘Corvina Negra’ with its animalistic and sub marine notes, translates the smells of the under water world so successfully it’s as though you’ve just eaten raw, live fish.

Another ready-made blend, ‘El Mono De La Tinta’, captures the smell of the ink used by 18th century Chinese calligraphers, which had such an alluring smell their pet monkeys would try to drink it. And the stories behind endless intricate fragrances keep flowing.

“The challenge is to go out of your comfort zone and blend scents that you would not expect, like that of coal and fish, and make it into something interesting,” says Julian. “It’s too easy to just mix floral scents.”

A musician and an artist as well as a perfumer, Julian talks about smells much like he would music or paintings. “I don’t imagine who’s going to be wearing it when I create a perfume”, he says. “I imagine scenery and I paint the landscape.” And with an aquiline nose and nostrils like caves, you’re assured his olfactory senses will recognise every subtlety of a fragrance.

Fragrances by Fueguia (Photo courtesy of Fueguia)

With 1kg of rose centifolia extract costing a minimum of US$8,000, maintaining a laboratory with US$250,000 worth of ingredients requires some fine training and must be done by a connoisseur.

As just that, Julian travels all over the world to source the best extracts, which change every year depending on natural conditions. A particularly sunny or wet summer can affect ingredients, and the atoms of the essence expand or shrink according to the mixtures and solvents used, producing different results with every combination. It’s a balanced blend of science and art, all in one.

When I asked him if he ever felt like producing a fragrance that would make the whole world attracted to him, like the character Jean-Baptiste Grenuille did in Patrick Süskind’s novel ‘Perfume’, he shrugged and said: “No. He was essentially stealing young women’s scents, whereas I want to do the opposite – give a scent to people.”

So if you know someone who already has everything but lacks a unique scent, Fueguia can create the perfect personalised gift. Ready-made candles cost US$45 and perfumes US$75, with prices for customised fragrances starting from US$180 and reaching US$1,800, depending on the combination of ingredients used.

Scented candles in the Fueguia showroom (Photo courtesy of Fueguia)

But why would anyone want to spend so much on a perfume? “Each perfume is made so that their owner feels emotionally connected to their scent,” explains Julian. It’s a creative and artistic process, far from the standardised processes of mass-producing high street perfume, and where the blend is complex it may take anything up to a month.

Offering more than just a unique smell, Fueguia’s wooden presentation boxes are made from fallen trees rather than felled, and a portion of their profits go to ‘Help Argentina’, an NGO that finances social development, education and recycling projects.

Fueguia’s products are so exquisite that their clients come to them by word of mouth. Remarkably, nothing has been spent on advertising since they opened in April this year, but apparently none was needed. A second Fueguia store, selling their range of delectable ready-made scents, is scheduled to open soon on Alvear 1680.