Chil'in in Chile #2
Chil’in in Chile #2. A week on the northern coastal desert. North Central Chilean Coastal Desert. A lonely place with big wave, and lots of rocky intertidal zones. About 800 Km (500 miles) north of our house (central Chile), or about 1,000 Km from Peru, I spent a week surveying intertidal zones. No showers, fires being the preferred method of cooking dinner, cold at night and hot in the sun--I had a great time. Everyday we would survey 1 to 3 intertidal sites, wearing wet suits and trying to avoid the waves. Putting on a wet suit to walk and climb down to the intertidal can be hot work when the sun is out. Yet, with a 12°C ocean, working with waves requires staying warm—thus the wet suits. They also provide protection if you have to flatten yourself against the rocks when a wave comes rolling in. To protect the suits, we wear short (so when you are sitting on a barnacle bed you don’t “chew” up the suits. Climbing down to the intertidal in wetsuit in the desert in th
