Fossil Hunting...

Last night we agreed upon go biking along the southern coastal road in search of fossils. Gabi and I had been left with this desire after the lecture of Marcelo Lebbe, from the National Institute of Chilean Antarctis, about the recent fossil findings in our region. For almost 2 hours he entertained us with stories of dinosaur bones found close by. Our region is virgin archeologically speaking as great part of the territory never has been manipulated by anything – at all. At the end he finished off by promoting a stroll/ bike ride along the southern coastal road as if emphasizing the closeness with history.  So we went. The entire month of august I had been recovering and nursing the knee, now it was time to require something in return, and to check out the physical state as I was retaking my fitness regime. The day was spectacular presenting no wind at all, sun and comfortable temperatures.

What a delight. What a treat. I enjoyed been out there, using my body as engine, using my own energy once again. The scenery shifted as the mountains repositioned themselves as we pushed on. The water was still, the wind was still so we could hear the Black Necked Swans, the Chimangos and the Austral Oystercatchers playing and feeding along the shore.

We stopped a few times to check out the washed-over rocks on the shore and the erratic rocks on the side of the road, but nothing like the perfect print we both imagined didn’t show up. Its fair to say that mostly we were chatting or appreciating the surroundings. It wasn’t until the very end we really put in the effort. And by then we were distracted by signs of bird nesting in the exposed and very vertical hill that completely led us off trail to ascent this little formation. I was having serious doubts about it, as it might be a little too mucha t this stage, but I went ahead, searching for a decent accesspoint, not too steep. It was a strange feeling walking up hill, as I needed full extension and strength/ stability around the knee. Definitely a good exercise and preparation for what I am training for. It may have been some 30 meters, or less, but I was thrilled, excited and proud to be standing up there looking out over the Fiordo Monnt towards the different mountain ranges on the other side.

Coming back down didn’t prove to difficult either. The pressure on the knee down hill could make me regret the decision, but cautiousness and  concentration had me down before I knew it. We celebrated with a cup of ginger tee before heading back home. We biked some 25 kms  in about 6 hours out in the pleasant weather.

I am looking forward to the rest of September…

A vertebrae?