{"id":5878,"date":"2026-01-24T21:08:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=5878"},"modified":"2026-01-26T13:28:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T19:28:25","slug":"walking-in-two-worlds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=5878","title":{"rendered":"Walking in Two Worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: The wildness of Antarctica, the Chilean Andes and the desert lands of the Atacama in Northern Chile had a deep impact on many of the travelers. Hopefully, you will feel the raw emotion in the poetry and the photos. One of the photographers, Jane Ball, has traveled around the world with her camera. To see more of her work go to:\u00a0 www.janeballphotography.com\/<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DSC_7539\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_6321\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A humpback dives right beside the Zodiac.
Photo by Robin Sanislo<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When in the Atacama desert, we walked across dry, heaved, hard dirt and made our way to a large, very old Carob Tree. The wind touched our faces and we discussed how being more authentic in ourselves and being more of who we are would allow more life to come to us. To touch us. We would be more available to the earth and to each other. Later that day, I sat with the question, Who am I?<\/p>\n

Betsy Nelson-Callahan<\/p>\n

Touching Life<\/h2>\n
\"Carob<\/a>

Carob Tree
Photo by Jane Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

I am the Water, the stone,
\nAnd the woman who swims.
\nLife will come to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am the song, the dance,
\nAnd the woman who sings.
\nLife will come to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am the flower, the rain,
\nAnd the woman whose hands
\nAre covered in dirt.
\nLife will come to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am the wind, the tree,
\nAnd the woman who walks
\nThe earth.
\nLife will come to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I am the tear, the prayer,
\nAnd the woman who cares.
\nLife will come to me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0And I will open my arms
\nAnd hold the truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Banc<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Flamingos<\/a>

Flamingos in Flight, Atacama Desert
Photograph by Robin Sanislo.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The poem below was inspired by Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins. They are a tough bunch of creatures. Living each day on the edge. In one of our discussions about the penguins someone asked, “What is their strength?” A fellow traveler answered:<\/p>\n

They are what they are<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lawrence Wade<\/p>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo Penguin colony<\/p><\/div>\n

I am the gentoo,
\nLife and death are constant companions
\nThe skua waits for my chick – to move out of reach
\nAn orca may eat me for a snack
\nIt is of no concern to me
\nInterwoven into the fabric of life
\nI am what I am.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gentoos<\/a>

Gentoos climbing ice floe
Photo by Rodrigo Moraga Zu\u00f1iga- Antarctica XXI<\/p><\/div>\n

I live between two worlds
\nLand and sea.
\nEveryday is an impossible journey
\nOn the ice floe.<\/em>
\nStep by Step.<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo Penguin Tracks<\/p><\/div>\n

Falling down \u2013 getting up.<\/em>
\nA trek towards freedom,<\/em>
\nThe ocean.<\/em>
\nThen slowly climb back up<\/em>
\nStep by step.<\/em>
\nMy chick is up there,<\/em>
\nAnd must be fed.<\/em>
\nI am what I am.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"P1110342\"<\/a>I am the human.<\/em>
\nRaw wildness of Antarctica,<\/em>
\nExposes false truths.<\/em>
\nOpportunity to see with fresh eyes<\/em>
\nUnexpressed pain<\/em>
\nOld patterns and beliefs die slowly<\/em>
\nAn unknown path to travel<\/em>
\nI am what I am<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Two steps forward \u2013 one step back<\/em>
\n Murky water<\/em>
\n Embrace abandoned self<\/em>
\n Reach out for help<\/em>
\n More oxygen<\/em>
\n More hope<\/em>
\n An impossible journey back to myself<\/em>
\nI am what I am
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Chinstrap<\/a>

Chinstrap Penguin<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DSC_5953\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Atacama Desert, in Northern Chile, is a desolate land filled with many wonders. Looking at the photo below, is a crack between the spires. Some of us were able to find our way up into the crack to a secret landing.\u00a0 It was here that the sounds reverberated off the walls.<\/p>\n

Lawrence Wade<\/p>\n

Sacred Spires
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Ken Brown<\/p><\/div>\n

Ancient spires of red volcanic ash
\nReach high into the sky
\nSeekers ask the enchanted land for entry
\nA steep scramble and a large boulder blocks the way
\nBut determination wins out
\nAt the foot of the cathedral walls is the sacred ground.
\nShoes must be removed,…. but weren\u2019t.
\nA falcon nest on a small bluff above.
\nBones and feathers litter the ground.
\nA woman’s primeval chant pulses into the mountain
\nAnd mixes with the mountain\u2019s song.
\nThe song drifts out across the land
\nWitnesses hear two voices
\nOne the mountain and the other a woman.
\nA blessing for Earth.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Natural<\/a>

Natural salt sculptures, valle de la luna, Atacama Desert, Chile
photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Atacama<\/a>

Atacama Desert
photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Be<\/a>

Be With the Earth
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: The wildness of Antarctica, the Chilean Andes and the desert lands of the Atacama in Northern Chile had a deep impact on many of the travelers. Hopefully, you will feel the raw emotion in the poetry and the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,18,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-guardians","category-nature-poetry","category-photography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5878"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12588,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5878\/revisions\/12588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}