dog days of summer

19.1.10

lulita is a tiny, terribly affectionate bichon. the old sheepdog has a limp in his back left leg. both of our hosts' canine friends-- other pets include a grey kitty, a cantankerous green parrot who I am determined to befriend, a stuffed blonde ex-ferret baring formerly fierce teeth, and a beaver who lives in the backyard with the chickens-- insist on following us each time we leave the house. the sheepdog grunts and warbles and frequently bumps into our legs as we walk. this time, as we head down the hill, he makes a point of sticking his head into a yard where a large brown-and-black pug-dog is napping, then flagrantly peeing on the gatepost. as we walk away, the pug gets up and sniffs the post, then walks a few steps after us, looking mildly indignant. earlier we were accosted by a rowdy litter of unrelated puppies, the most aggressive dragging a broken chain around his neck. the dog-gangs of Puerto Williams are extremely mild-mannered and the most visible social scene on the streets, from what I can tell.

and as you can tell, there is absolutely nothing to do here. just swim, eat, rest, wait. tomorrow we'll swim more, and then meet with the Argentinians who will be our crew for Thursday. it's the end of the world, so sparsely populated that there's really not much to worry about. I suspect that the caprices of the weather make the light that does get through far more rewarding, and the liminal space of a naval base halfway to Antarctica is very different from the weather-beaten city of Punta Arenas.

Patricia is uploading some photos! you can see them at www.cibbows.blogspot.com