Huge ice falls at glacier in Argentina stir awe and concern

For years, visitors traveled to Argentina to watch in awe as blocks of ice - some the size of a 20-story building - collapsed from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier. But recently, the size of the ice chunks breaking off - a process called "calving" - has started to alarm local guides and glaciologists. Kristy Kilburn explains.

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The Guardian

a day ago

• The Guardian

Amazon Indigenous peoples can benefit from ‘ayahuasca tourism'

Your article ('Ayahuasca tourism' is a blight on Indigenous peoples and our environment, 17 June) brings up important concerns but it looks at a complicated issue too narrowly. It is worth remembering that the word 'ayahuasca' itself is not a modern invention, but a Quechua term meaning 'vine of the soul'. It is just one of many names used for the ceremonial medicine across different Indigenous cultures – others include yagé, kamarampi, caapi, oasca and daime. Suggesting that only 'hayakwaska' is 'correct' erases the diversity of ancestral traditions across the Amazon basin. The claim that ayahuasca is marketed as a 'mystical shortcut' overlooks the reality: real work with this medicine is neither quick nor easy. True healing through ayahuasca involves deep inner effort, often accompanied by discomfort, surrender and courage – whether one is Indigenous or not. The criticism of cultural distortion and biodiversity loss is valid, especially that tourism encourages the illegal wildlife trade. But we must also acknowledge that many of the products sold to tourists (such as jaguar parts) are offered by local individuals. Given their cultural knowledge and connection to the forest, Indigenous communities can and should take leadership in educating both locals and visitors, promoting sustainable and ethical practices. To ask, 'How are 'ayahuasca tourists' giving back?' is fair. Yet tourism – when done responsibly – can be a vital source of income for rural areas, offering alternatives to logging, mining and drug trafficking. It provides jobs and preserves cultural relevance for younger MalatestaWanay Community Retreat Center, Mocoa, Colombia I agree wholeheartedly with Nina Gualinga and Eli Virkina that ayahuasca tourism takes the shaman away from their sacred work, which is the community and the land. I know that as a UK-based shamanic healer, my work is with this land. This is what brings harmony to the soul. The plants and trees of any country are the wisdom keepers and healing cannot happen anywhere unless the land is being tended and healed. This involves releasing the souls of war and empire-building, reinstating the guardians of the sacred sites and bringing ourselves back to reciprocity. Knowing our roots and tending them brings us back into relationship with ourselves. This land and our hearts need our ancestral tending right now. For our healing to involve going to Ecuador for spiritual tourism, when there is so much ancestral and earth tending to do on our soil, shows how disconnected we still are from land and mother. We cannot find that anywhere else. The plants of these sacred isles hold so much love and wisdom now in our return to the land as a mother, as a sentient loving source who holds us. The sacred plants of these isles are dandelions, thistles, dock and nettle – they support us and guide us. Our trees are oak, birch and rowan, hawthorn. It is our communication and relationship with the earth mother and the plant spirits. A sovereign connection between ourselves and our WebsterLancaster It's always fascinating to learn about such distant remote Indigenous communities, and yet find so much in common, such as their innate respect for nature. The onset of modern tourism – often appended with 'eco', 'sustainable' and 'responsible' by those exploiting Indigenous people – is a common phenomenon. However, is there a lesser of two evils? 'Ayahuasca' in Ecuador, as described in your piece, or the wholesale taking-over of Indigenous lands, livelihoods and cultures that we see in Cambodia? The forced assimilation in to the mainstream population was most violently imposed during the notorious 1970s Khmer Rouge regime but goes on insidiously ever LowrieTa Khmau, Cambodia

The Guardian

4 days ago

• The Guardian

Kicking off Lions tour against Argentina in Ireland is profitable for everyone

This is about the game-time and the cash. In the first place, Andy Farrell has 38 players he needs to use in the first three games of the British and Irish Lions tour and the first instalment will be before a less-than capacity crowd at the Aviva Stadium against Argentina on Friday night. In the second place, it is about filling the coffers of the Lions machine and the four home unions who are part of the caravan. Gate receipts from this game will yield in the region of €3m (£2.55m) after costs, which goes towards the Lions' bottom line, with a dividend to come to the unions involved. Unlike the last time the tourists opened an adventure to Australia – with the crazy cash-grabber in sweltering Hong Kong in 2013 – this has a less manufactured look to it. Certainly, it suits the Argentinians and the Irish. The away team will pick up circa €1m (£850,000) for their efforts – double their take-home from the pre-New Zealand tour game against the Lions in Cardiff in 2005 – and the Irish Rugby Football Union will collect the wedge for the hire of the dancehall, plus the honour of a first Lions game on its soil: a fitting way to round off a season celebrating its 150th anniversary. So you see why the Pumas would love to set the Lions off to a bad start. Their chances are not great given this Test is outside the international window and Felipe Contepomi, their coach, is relying heavily on their Super Rugby Americas contingent for what is their opening game of the season. Meantime, the noises coming from the Lions camp are all very positive. England's Tommy Freeman, for example, sounds as if he is straining at the leash to get started. And what can we expect? 'Without giving away too much, hopefully a lot of tries,' he says. 'Instinctive playing; we're not going to be there to set stuff up and go through phases for the sake of going through phases. We want to score off the back of anything we can. The guys we've got in the backline, there are threats people have to offer and the ballplayers can put us in those spaces. It's going to be a lot of fun and dangerous, I think. 'It's the best of the best, isn't it? You're all there for a reason. It's how quick everyone is learning the plays, learning the calls. It's how quick everyone is learning that and getting on board with it. 'I've played around Fin [Smith], Mitch [Alex Mitchell] and the Saints lads, but with the others, we've got to know each other and the way they move the ball and do things. You pick up cues here and there so it's all about adapting and how quick we've learned off each other in the past few weeks.' According to the attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, his own working relationship with Johnny Sexton is developing in the same vein of learning. For the group he is confident about the end result. 'I think the Lions way will find itself to ultimately go and try and win a Test series,' he says. 'You can have: 'Oh, this is what we want it to look like,' but if it's all on the line in the third Test and it's raining, it's going to look different. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'The Lions way is us being the best prepared we can, whatever the circumstances, whatever the context of that game. Because we want to come out with a successful tour, both on and off the field.' The target then is for everyone to be richer from the experience.

Reuters

7 days ago

• Reuters

Ocean Race anchors in Itajai again with two stopovers secured

June 16 (Reuters) - Ocean racing diehards have reason to cheer with Monday's announcement that Itajai is back on the map for both 2027 and 2031 when the Brazilian port will host the finish of the Southern Ocean leg, organisers of The Ocean Race confirmed. The coastal hotspot in Santa Catarina has become a firm favourite on the round-the-world route, drawing more than a million fans to past stopovers as shattered sailors limp in from the world's wildest waters. "Itajai is always a very welcome stopover for The Ocean Race and our sailors, not least because it usually comes after the longest leg at sea," said Johan Salen, Director of The Ocean Race. "The passion the people in Itajai have for the Race and the leadership the team in Itajai has demonstrated in sustainable event excellence makes it a natural fit for a fifth consecutive stopover." The city made a sustainability mark during the 2023 edition by eliminating over 300,000 single-use plastics and was Brazil's first to join the UN #CleanSeas campaign. Race officials confirmed the 2027 edition will again feature the cutting-edge foiling IMOCA yachts known for their record-breaking speeds. "This is a partnership between this great event and the governments of Itajai and the state of Santa Catarina," said Robison Coelho, Mayor of Itajai. "Now planning begins to make this the biggest edition of The Ocean Race that Itajai has ​​ever had." The stopover's legacy extends beyond racing, with a donated fleet of small training boats now operating as a sailing school where The Ocean Race teams engage with local children during each visit, fostering ocean literacy and connection to the sea. The Ocean Race is one of the world's most gruelling and prestigious offshore sailing events, taking crews on a months-long, round-the-world journey that tests the limits of endurance, teamwork and seamanship. First held in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, it has evolved into a high-tech contest of cutting-edge yachts racing across treacherous oceans, from the Southern Ocean to the North Atlantic. The race features professional sailors competing in legs between global ports.