Oh, Patagonia, to leave you we shall weep

Posted on: 6 January 2021

Brilliant Poem by Michelle Wakeley about her time spent on our 2010 Southern Patagonian Icecap Expedition

Finally, in El Chalten we arrive

To face this southern cap of ice

Our team of six come from far & wide

Would we achieve her illusive prize?

On the vast icecap below Paso Marconi

The Patagonian gods mocked us with a sunny display

Only to veil Cerro Fitzroy & Torre for days

But with better reports, a little patience,

We were on our way.

Across tangled forests & boulders

Condors welcomed us in full view

Held by icy winds, La Playita became our refuge

And so, the resident mouse did too!

A short delay, we tiptoed our way up the Marconi

Grumbling avalanches & spin drift ahead

Onward & upward we battled to her icy bowels

Sure signs the gods weren't dead!

Buried alive, but we survived

A night of force & fury from the west

Sunburnt & smiling we reinforced our wall

To find the gods had held their breath

Two perfect days we trod this mythical place

The circus of Altares in full show

Sunrise kisses, our trophy now found

But here, no man can stay, we must go!

So with dark clouds brewing from the north

The Patagonian gods veil our prize

Faring us well, us intrepid few,

With heartfelt memories we say our goodbyes

There our journey doesn't end

Down glaciers, rivers & meadows of wild flowers, we descend

Under shooting stars & starry skies, we sleep

Oh, Patagonia, to leave you we shall weep!

And the poem entered into the Visitors books at the El Cerveceria in El Chaltén

Tagged with:

• Patagonia

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