A Season in Patagonia is angler, naturalist, and outdoor conservation author Steve Ramirez’s newest collection of fly fishing, nature trekking, and exploration stories that are intended to entertain and enlighten his readers while focusing on “Nature and the Best of Human Nature.” In A Season in Patagonia, Ramirez takes us on an epic journey retracing the westward expansion of Euro-American conquistadors while exploring the legacy and lessons offered by the indigenous peoples of Mexico, Central, and South America. Traveling thousands of miles by bush planes, drift boats, pangas, four-wheel-drive vehicles, horseback, and on foot, we experience the waters, landscapes, cultures, and histories of each place and its people. Along the way we explore rainforests and cloud forests, mountains and mangroves, rushing rivers and rolling seas. And we encounter incredible fish and other wildlife that reflect the peoples and places of “The Americas”—south of the Rio Grande.
It has been said that while history may not repeat itself, it often rhymes. And while many humans may individually learn, adapt, evolve, and gain wisdom along the way, collectively we seem determined to demonstrate a cycle of insanity—repeating the same self-destructive and unwise choices and behaviors while somehow expecting different outcomes. While these choices bring about a seemingly unending series of wars, famines, and environmental degradations, this book provides us with reasons for hope and potential pathways to creating a healthier more vibrant world.
A Season in Patagonia is an adventure of discovery, wonder, gratitude, and joy. It is a call to action and a reason for hope. With the turning of each page our journey of self-exploration seeks to honestly and accurately illuminate the stark realities we face, while calling us to make wiser, kinder, healthier choices for ourselves, our families and communities, and our imperiled living planet. In a time when so much of the world feels hopeless, A Season in Patagonia is a story of creating our own hope and choosing our own future.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Foreword
Prologue: Terra Incognita—Unknown Worlds, Sagres, Portugal
Part I: The Bay of Campeche and Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Chapter 1: Babel’s Walls Falling
Chapter 2: The Tao of Friendship
Chapter 3: A Poetry Lesson
Chapter 4: Good Hombres
Chapter 5: The Brotherhood of Fishy Motherfu*kers
Part II: The Central American Rainforest, Peruvian Cloud Forests, and the Brazilian Amazon
Chapter 6: Pura Vida—The Good Life
Chapter 7: The River at First Light—O Rio na Primeiria Luz
Chapter 8: People of the River—Povo do Rio
Chapter 9: Embracing the Forest—Abracando a Floresta
Chapter 10: Farewell to a River—Adeus ao Rio
Chapter 11: On the Edges of Eternity
Part III: The Argentine Pampas and Patagonia
Chapter 12: When Things Come Apart
Chapter 13: Huaca Mamuil
Chapter 14: Los Vientos—The Winds
Chapter 15: Resuena en el Tiempo—Echoes in Time
Chapter 16: When Things Come Together
Chapter 17: A Predator’s Journey
Chapter 18: Eterno—Timeless
Chapter 19: El Laguna—The Lagoon
Chapter 20: El Lago—The Lake
Chapter 21: El Rio—The River
Epilogue: Terra Nova—A New World, Rio Guadalupe, Tejas
