Valdivia Day 3

On this day, I went back and visited the boat for a couple of hours. I wanted to photograph Anna Rotander, the Swedish environmental scientist from the MTM Research Center in Orebro University. She was processing some of the water samples from the trip. "Anna is part of a team at Orebro University, that studies human and environmental exposure to fluorinated, chlorinated and brominated chemicals. Her lab does research on where the chemicals are found and documents methodologies on how to record them accurately.

The chemicals we are looking for are, 'extremely strong, they don't break down and it gives them these unique properties. They are used in gortex clothing, teflon pans, ski wax products, surfers use them. They're also found in cleaning products and firefighting foam,' Anna said. 'We want to see if we can find them in the plastic accumulation zones." These persistent organic pollutants - or POPs - are everywhere but in larger density in the Northern Hemisphere where there is a larger human population and more industry. Anna noted that because of the ocean's currents these chemicals could be found anywhere in the world - even in a place like the Magellan Strait in Chile, where the population is tiny. By studying the presence of the chemicals in different areas the lab can help to map the plastic, where it comes from and how the ocean's currents distribute it around the world." (quote from Brit Liggett's post)

I'll keep you updated on what Anna finds once she gets all the processed samples back to her lab in Sweden.


After I took these photos, I popped up on deck to say hi to Jeff and Clive. I looked out over the beautiful ocean and what did I see? Yup, a plastic water bottle floating about 40 feet from the boat. I'm sure it blew off of one of the docked vessels. It made me sigh…

Jeff and I then went back to the hotel to meet up with Alfred and Robert. We all had lunch in Valdivia. There were many boats parked in the dock making for a great photo…

Robert and Alfred cooked up a scheme to buy fresh seafood at the port and then have the kitchen at the hotel make it for us for dinner. It was great, the crab was my fav…

We also ordered stuffed mushrooms. These were amazing! They were stuffed with tomato, basil and mozzarella. So simple, but so yummy, I'm going to make these…

Is it Tuesday already? Teresa