Ainsworth Bay (plus, the garage!)

Postcard Paradigms
Mar 1
2 min read

Updated: Apr 13

In the afternoon on Jan 31, we landed at Ainsworth Bay for a peaceful nature walk.

But first, we see the ship's garage -- which was very cool! From all of our other posts, you can see the output of how well the fleet of ancillary boats is managed. This glimpse shows just how much space is needed and how organized they must be in order to offer the extensive excursions. The boatsmen maintained a fleet of 16 Zodiac rafts and 30 two-person kayaks deployed as needed for excursions. The space and handling equipment to quickly deploy the smaller crafts were a key design element of the National Geographic Resolution.

Since the passengers were very curious about the process, the crew offered to dispatch through the garage to Ainsworth Bay.

A walk through the ship's garage.

Back to Ainsworth Bay...

We had a long walk in the forest and bog, on gravel, boardwalk, and mud, where we saw many species of plants, lichens, and birds.

Sorry to be a downer again but have to share what we saw. For the second time today, we observed detrimental effects on this region from human interventions. In the 19th and 20th centuries, humans introduced North American beavers to the Patagonian landscape. The aim, at the time, was to install a fur industry in the region. The attempt backfired. The economic impact never developed and there is no natural predator in the area. The beavers have flourished but sadly have disrupted the ecosystem. Beavers have destroyed acres of natural woodlands to build dams. Dams have created wetlands that would otherwise not exist, flooding areas of the region and disrupting other wildlife.

This example demonstrates why it is important to be mindful to avoid transferring invasive species. In our travels, we have to recognize the very strict monitoring of declarations into and out of Chile regarding agricultural products to prevent any other bio cross-contaminations. Lindblad was also outstanding in contamination prevention and cleanliness as we moved from biosphere to biosphere. Thank you to NatGeo for the education on this issue.

Now back to the native Patagonian species... For those of you who don't know, a lichen is a hybrid colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among filaments of multiple fungi species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin," in a mutualistic relationship. (That was a PhD level sentence 😁) Lichens are the lifeform that first brought the term symbiosis under biological context. Often the unsung heroes of nature, but an incredible lifeform with very distinctive architecture.

One of the naturalists on the ship, Dennis Cornejo, was an expert on lichen -- and shared his love and appreciation of lichen with all of us any chance that he could. This might not sound like a "rockin'" party, but Dennis delivered his lessons in equal parts biology lesson and stand-up comedy routine.