Since the last report we have had so many experiences to fill a book!
First, it was my 3rd birthday on the expedition. Ramon from Switzerland and living in Valdivia is an expert of what you all can eat. He joined us to visit Curinanco national park and the remote Bonifacio bay. Both locations are pretty close to the mooring of Pachamama. There we were able to put up our tent. We found a death dolphin already met by vultures. An old fisherman told me that climate conditions were changing a lot in the last few years and that makes his work even harder. He will contact the teacher above the bay so that we can do once a presentation.
Back on Pachamama another surprise! We all enjoyed the cake of Sabine and removed the sweat of this 2-days hike.
Second, we went on tour to Temuco, Victoria and Traiguen:
In Temuco it was perfectly organized by the board of the Swiss Club: Sergio Conus, Heidi Gruebler and Ximena Hoffstaetter. We also have had interviews on TV and newspapers. Here some pictures:
- school in Temuco with more than 250 children
- University Frontera in Temuco
- Salina gives her first interview
El Liceo Agricola y Forestal La Providencia in Traiguen was till now the most efficient school we have seen in Chile. The director Armando Dufey together with his wife and 25 teachers do an excellent job to prepare 450 young people for life with a good mixture of theory lessons, craftsmanship and sport.
- Sabine in action
- students building their own sports grounds
- collecting firewood for their class rooms
- school needs money for a renovation => donors please contact: contact@toptotop.org
In Freire we were invited by family Gruebler . They have La Casona Suiza, a wonderful holiday house; contact: casonasuiza@ctrnet.cl
Fascinating was the water pump system = 100 % renewable!
Peter Gruebler organized a TOPtoTOP - presentation in front of the Rotary Club in Pitrufquen. The next day he guided us to the Conguillio national park by the volcano Llaima, - famous for its Araucarias. There we have had an interesting exchange with the park rangers. Finally Peter helped us to transport the school material - we got from the Swiss embassy - to Pachamama.
Today we worked again on the boat. We also went into the forest and encountered puma tracks and spiders and learnt some Knicke rules.
After another exciting day we are very tired! -Sorry, but we have to tell you more about...
- climate change experiences in the Pacific from Dawn and Mike on White Princess
- our bike and canoe expedition
- the climb of volcano Osorno to get an ice core to study climate change
...all that and more in the next report.
ice core from volcano osorno:
Begin of November we climbed volcano Osorno with a lot of equipment, 2665 m over sea level. The volcano has big crevasses: since 1970 57 persons disappeared and/or died.
Together with the team of the CECS, under the leadership of Gino Casasa, we have had the following objectives:
- to measure the ice cover on the top
- to drill 10 m deep into the ice on the top to get ice cores for analyzing climate change
- to get more data so that researcher Shiro Kohshima from Japan can improve his methods
- and also to climb and to ski :-)
Largest earthquake:
We also went with Salina on a canoe trip with researchers from the CECS. We paddled the whole day till late at night down the river to Valdiva.
Salina enjoyed this trip very much and explained us all their experiences in baby language... but this beautiful landscape from today has a very sad history:
There are still many signs of the earthquake from 1960. A lot of the land is now deeper than sea level. Here some figures of the Largest Earthquake in the World:
Chile, 1960 May 22 19:11:14 UTC, Magnitude 9.5, more than 2,000 killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
Donation:
Today our friend and doctor Patricio Hermosilla donated us medicine for the trip to Antarctica.
Program with Swiss Ambassador:
17./18.11.2005 - Villarica
clean up on volcano Villarica
19.11.2005 - Valdivia
10 - 12 h CECS invites Swiss Ambassador
12.30 - 13.30 h cocktail in Alwoplast
15 - 18 h school visit on island Mansera
19 h - 22 h dinner on Pachamama