When
（パタゴニアという地域の風景と特徴の一ヵ月の付き合い）
Last year I travelled to Patagonia. I went mainly because it was Patagonia. Both Chile and Argentina lay claim to Patagonia, but the majority of us know it as a region. A region on the southern tip of South America, battered by fierce storms and their chaotic winds. A region with endless pampas and towering granite spires. A region people enjoy talking about more than going to. Patagonia appears often (as far as regions go) in literature. The books are typically by transients who stay at most a couple seasons before moving on. I stayed less that most would-be authors, the better part of a month.
Where
（パタゴニアのソーラ渓谷に住んでいるパタゴニア人）
I spent that month on the Chilean side of Patagonia at 47 degrees south latitude ferrying between the regional capital of Cohaique and the rugged countryside of a glacial valley. The people I met in Cohaique described themselves as Chileans and besides their somewhat obscure location and necessary provincialism were difficult to distinguish from their cousins in Santiago. The people I met in the glacial valley were Patagonians. Their valley is only accessible by boat and that after a 6 hour bus ride from Cohaique. Presently three families live in the valley. Two at the confluence of the river which runs the 40 kilometer length of the valley and the other one about 20 kilometers up the same river. The river is fed from two glaciers, the Nef and the Soler and assumes the same name as the latter.
Who
（パタゴニア人のアルフォンゾ・ゴメズの紹介）
Gomez is the name of the family halfway up the river. Of the four remaining Gomez family members in the valley I spent almost one week with its backbone, 54 year old Alfonso. Backbone because his uncle is almost 80, his nephew only 4 and his aunt in charge of both of them. Considering the integral role Alfonso plays in his family, he had a lot of time. He doesnﾕt spend his time working, playing a sport, or furthering a hobby.
What
（アルフォンゾの生活）
He just lives. Life for Alfonso revolves around Nature in the valley. In Spring he assists the newly born calves and foals. In Summer he guides the occasional foreinger venturing in the valley and mends whatever Nature disassembled. In Fall he prepares for the snows, stocking his woodpile. In Winter he digs deep into his hut. All seasons find him imbibing heavily of Mate. Mate, a tea made of Holly, is the beverage of choice for many Patagonians due to its high vitamin C content. Alfosnso spends two to three hours everyday drinking Mate and discussing the vagaries of life.
Why
（アルフォンゾの生活意味論）
He lives in the valley because he was born there and more importantly because he likes it. He has spent considerable time in one of the regional villages, where his immediate family now lives, and even Santiago but he inevitably returns to the valley. He found the cities exciting but polluted in every sense of the word. He told me that the sounds were too foreign. He couldnﾕt accustom himself to the constant drone of the Chileans and their horns, bells, whistles and sirens. Rather, he prefers the cry of his horses, the gurgle of the rivers and the thunderous roar of the glaciers when they calve.
How
(アルフォンゾの生活様式）
His knowledge was not garnered from books or television but from experience and common sense. ﾒExpertsﾓ with expensive gadgets and scientific method often come the valley. They procure samples from the earth, take them back to their labs and use the latest technologies to date and interpret the history of the region. Alfonso relies on intuition and observation, his time in the valley has taught him Natureﾕs pace. He can approximate the age and history of forests, rock formations, rivers and ecosystems just as reliably as the ﾒexpertsﾕﾓ machines. Instead of lures and a fishing pole, he uses his sense of smell and a bully whip to garner a fish dinner. First to determine whether fish might be at the headwaters of a certain stream by tasting the water, and second to stun three 40 to 60 cm. salmon within 10 minutes.
Conclusion
My week with Alfonso was the most memorable aspect of my stay in Patagonia. I was often treated to incredible vistas and spectacular natural phenomena, yet without Alfonsoﾕs presence as an intermediary I feel that a large part of Patagoniaﾕs mystique would have been lost on me. Nature reaches itﾕs apogee when people are part of its wheel.
