Philippe in Patagonia - page 1

Huinay, the small fishing village where Philippe went sponging, is situated in Chilean Patagonia, to the west of the Andes Mountains. Patagonia probably got its name from Spanish colonials. They called the indigenous people, who must have been very large and sturdy, 'Patagones' after the giant Patagón, a popular fictional character of the time.

The hamlet is situated south of one of the several distinctive regions of Chilean Patagonia: Los Lagos (the lakes). This area took its name from the deeply indented coast, with fjords, islands and limpid lakes, adjacent to the jagged Andes Mountains. To the south lays Aysen, a region with vast forests, swamps and snow-clad mountains, and finally, in the extreme south, Magallanes, a harsh area, to which belong Tierra del Fuego, the town of Ushuaia, and the Magellan Strait.

Huinay is a great spot to study the marine fauna and flora: there is not only a brand new multifunctional research centre, but the area also hosts a very rich and characteristic coastal life, thanks to an exceptional combination of climatic, geographical and oceanographical factors.

In the southern hemisphere winter started: a misty and rainy season.