Blessings for the New Year 2010

Every year brings new opportunities to learn something new. I am starting this blog with the hope that it will allow me to share more of what I am involved in here in Chile. I hope that as I go along, I will learn more about writing a blog and that way I can keep people at home more informed.

Life on the missions is not all work.TGIF is a favorite slogan of mine during the year. It means Thank God it's February. February in the vacation month in Chile. Last summer, (February 2009) I travelled to the Laguna San Rafael in the south of Chile with another Columban priest and veteran missionary in Chile, Fr. John McLaughlin. The Laguna San Rafael is a huge glaciar which is located in southern Chile. The easiest way to get there is by boat. We set off from the city of Puerto Montt in a cargo ship which ferries cargo and trucks to the cities of Puerto Aysen and Coyhaique. It is also equipped to carry about 120 passengers in frugal comfort. There were other passengers but of the four-legged variety:cattle and sheep. The ship was MV Los Puerto Eden. John and I shared a cabin with a French couple. Each cabin had two bunk beds. I went on the top closer to the window. My French is a bit rusty but we managed to communicate and got a long quite well. Each cabin has access to a bathroom which is located down the corridor. There is also a dining room and a community room. There are no waiters on board. The food is served cafeteria style. Each passenger carries his/her tray and is served by the cooks. The food was plentiful and good. Because the dining room is not that big, the passengers are assigned a time to come to eat their meals.

On the first leg of the trip, the boat sailed through the waters that separate the island of Chiloe from the continent. We could see the smoke coming out of the Volcano Chaiten which had erupted for the first time and had destroyed the town of Chaiten in 2008. As the boat moved south, the scenery is magnificent: forests, rivers, volcanos and the Andes mountains always in the background. The only time when we were in open seas was during the night when we passed through the Gulf of Corcovado. If there were any rough seas, we slept through it. On Sunday morning, John and I celebrated Mass and we were surprised by the good turn out. We should have taken up a collection!

Around two o'clock in the afternoon, the ship arrived to Puerto Aysen. A bus took us on a trip to the town of Puerto Aysen and then on to a waterfall. This part of Chile is best accessed by boat. The other alternatives are taking a ferry to the island of Chiloe and then another ferry to what was once the town of Chaiten. The final alternative is to travel by land from Argentina. Much of this territory was not settled until the beginning of the twentieth century when the Chilean government offered land to the "colonos" colonists. The colonists cut wood and raised cattle. For most of the 20th Century life was very primitive here. The Church was established here by Italian missionaries, Servite priests,brothers and sisters. We spent the afternoon sightseeing and got back to the ship in time for supper. The trucks were gone and the ship would now only carry tourists. While we were enjoying supper, the ship set sail again. That night there was a party on board. A karoake machine played songs in Spanish, French and English. Various people got up to sing and later on there was a dance. I headed to bed when the dancing started. I did not want to embarrass myself.

Fr. John McLaughlin and myself

When I awoke the next morning, I realized that the ship had stopped moving. I dressed quickly and went outside. I could see in the distance, the glaciar San Rafael. Words from the book of Daniel came to my lips spontaneously: "Ice and snow, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever." It was wonderful sight and I spent about twenty minutes just looking at this marvel of nature. Our guides told us that it is only half the size it was in 1920. Chile is a country with many glaciars and global warming is taking its toll on them.

After breakfast, we were put on our life vests and stepped into rubber rafts to get a closer glimpse of the glaciar. The day was cold but the water was calm and there was no wind. Still we were told not to stand up in the boat. The rafts would get as close as possible but we still had to be careful as huge slabs of ice break off from the glaciar and come crashing down into the sea. We were able to witness that happening several times. Our driver brought us as close as safety allowed. Of course, the cameras came out and photos were taken galore. Eventually, the driver of the boat pulled up to a drifing block of ice and proceeded to take a chunk on board. Eventually, we made our way back to the ship, where we all served a drink of whiskey with cubes of ice taken from the floating block of ice.

Before noon, the ship started on its way back to Puerto Aysen. We arrived about seven in the evening in time for supper. After supper there was another party. This time, it was different. All the passengers were divided into alliances which had to compete for prizes. The younger passengers had made costumes and worked out skits. Fr. John and I were in the same alliance and our job was to cheer on the others. We were relieved to be given that task and did plenty of shouting. The atmosphere was very friendly and everyone enjoyed themselves. As the party was going on, the ship was being loaded again with cargo, mostly cattle being shipped to Puerto Montt. The loading had not stopped when we went to bed. Our roommates, the French couple, always went to bed early. The wife would give the husband who slept on the top bunk a shove whenever he started snoring. One night she wanted to do the same to Fr. John. "Mais non, madame", I told her. Priests are not used to getting a shove when we snore!

In the morning, we set off from Puerto Aysen and headed north back to Puerto Montt. The crew on board were always very friendly and passengers were allowed to go into the pilot room any time that they wanted. They were always willing to answer questions. The captain had promised that we would see dolphins and whales on the way back to Puerto Montt. We saw plenty of dolphins but for most of the day there were no whales in sight. Some of the passengers began to complain in a friendly way to the captain about the failure of the whales to show up. He told them that he had called ahead to the woman who took care of the whales and told her to send them our way. But in the late afternoon, the whales appeared to everyone's delight. I spent most of the day on the deck reading and taking in the scenery. Several people came up to me and talked about their lives. Most memorable was a man who shared his grief at having lost his eldest son. He and his wife had made every effort to save his life even taking him to a hospital in Houston. Fortunately, they have four more children. Everyone went to bed early that night because the next morning we would arrive in Puerto Montt and leave the ship early.

The south of Chile is a wonderful place to visit and I never tire of discovering new places there. Remember that you are always welcome to visit. May the Lord bless you. Love always,

Michael