The inspiration for this course came from a trip in January/February 2010, when my husband and I flew from Buenos Aires to El Calafate to see the magnificent glaciers in the area. From there we travelled by bus to Punta Arenas in order to fly to the Malvinas/Falkland Islands, where we spent a week on a sheep farm at Port Stephens on the Western Island. Returning on the weekly flight to Punta Arenas, we then boarded the Mare Australis for a 4-day cruise through the channels and alongside the glaciers of the Magellanic fiords, sounds and straits, including a landing at Cape Horn.
The stark magnificence of the landscape, the courage and hardiness of the people, and the fascination of so many strands of history coming together made me want to explore further.
Efforts to find botanists, zoologists and glaciologists who could contribute to the course were unsuccessful. Fortunately historian Nigel Worden and oceanographer Isabelle Ansorge agreed to participate. I look forward to their lectures very much, and am finding material in my own reading which is intriguing and enlightening.
Thank you for your interesting letter today.
I look forward to your photographs .
My father started the paper industry in the Argentine in the thirties and built the fitst Cellulosa Argentina paper mill in Rosario.
I toured the country very briefly in 1980 and found things very tense , but plan to go back next year for an extended tour. Looking forward to the rest of the course.Can you recommend a good book on Argentina ? regards frank raimondo.