Oh wild Pacific, how you smell like home...

I no longer care for cameloids; enough alpacas, llamas and vicunas! No more condors, foxes or barren landscapes of the altiplano; give me the sea!!! I want wild salty waves that crash against black rocks, whipping winds and white sea spray, I want sea animals with their round soft bodies and leathery skin, give me pelicans and albatrosses, crying sea gulls and hardened sands that crunch under foot. Give me trees, wild and green, their trunks warped by wild ocean winds, give me green mountains and skies peppered with clouds... arouse in me emotions of home as I walk this final road...

And on a dark winter's day in the Punta de Choros this is just what I found...

In a persistent but gentle rain our small dinghy pounded through Pacific surf, heading into the ocean toward Islas Damas and Choros - the waves crashing over the bow of the boat, dousing me with cold salty water. I huddled under a sheet of plastic tarpaulin to keep dry, the barrage of water from above, and from below, seeping in at every opportunity and running down the sleeves of my jacket as I held the tarpaulin above my head... as the boat heaved and crashed into the sea and my jeans clung against the skin of my legs in a cold wet embrace I felt my spirits drop... what am I doing out here in the ocean, in a tiny boat, in the middle of winter?! After a rough 40 minute journey our boat pulled into a calm bay in the Isla de Choros and, as if by some arrangement with God, the rain ceased and three seals surfaced by our boat, swimming out to sea, their bodies cresting and descending into the waves, and to the left, three swimming penguins, so small, only their heads visible above the water, but what a magical sight!

As we pulled into the cove, we looked up and laying all over the rocks were sea lions, their bodies huge with leathery wet skin, the adult males bearing huge whiskers and emitting loud calls that seemed to come from the very depths of the earth and reverberate through the cold air. Pups and mothers lounged together on the rocks, not interested at the boat of visitors, their strong and swift bodies more than capable of defence or escape. Seals joined them, smaller and lighter, with sweet, gentle faces. To see these beautiful creatures, at home in this wild clime, made all the discomfort of the journey worthwhile and how my spirits soared! Our boat continued around the bays, greeted by families of Humboldt penguins, small and rotund, nesting in the rocks to protect their eggs and chicks, small and grey and fluffy. Their little bodies waddle as they walk around, heads bobbing as if in continual greetings, but in the water what grace they possess, what speed! Rubbing on rocks in the middle of the ocean we found sea otters, cats of the sea, with beautiful long whiskers, and bodies sleek and quick. They have faces with such expressions and groom themselves, rubbing against the rough rock, like cats on carpet in the sunshine - darting into the water and catching small fish with such agility! They are nervous of humans and allow us only a few minutes to observe them before retreating to the sea where they camouflage in the brown floating sea weeds.

Pelicans grace the skies - what amazing creatures! Their beaks huge and long, capable of carrying big fish from the sea. Albatrosses with their immense white bodies and smaller sea birds with red marking who nest in the cliffs, their droppings creating coloured patterns on the dark rocks. The smell of the salt air, the animals and the wind refreshed me, blowing all the sandy dust of the desert clean away and, after a hot shower, wearing pyjamas and big wooley socks, I felt renewed and prepared for the southwards journey down Chile's narrow coast... the final piece of this journey and the first piece of my journey home...