The Patagonia Llamas Connection with the Ship Destiny's Dreams

In the 1800s, high on a volcanic island, the earth and the world shifted one day for three llamas and their human family members.

Over a century later their story would be found in a sailor’s journal when an old wooden box in the attic of a lighthouse on the Mystical Coast was opened.

It began with “I, Marco, was previously the keeper of books at the Biblioteca, the library, in Buenos Aires in 1850. Later my parrot Bonita and I became the library keepers on the clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams.

There we met Captain Alfonse Belanger, who kept his long beard in braids tied with narrow cords. His pet monkey, Rio, who rode on his shoulder and arm, used to play with those braids and the captain would laugh.

We met when the Captain’s parrot, Foresta, met my own parrot, Bonita, as I walked by the ship on the Buenos Aires waterfront one day. I write these words to record the story of the Isle of Volcan Dormido, translated into English as "Island of Sleeping Volcano."

A thirteen-year-old girl told me the story after she and her three Patagonia llamas joined our ship. Here is the story she told to me.

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Brisa the llama sensed a vibration in the ground of the volcano’s slope.

“Aaaah…Aaaa.” Her llama voice echoed across the ocean. Ciela, her daughter born this year, and Isla, the male llama who was her friend, froze at the sound of the alert.

Their names all had meanings. Brisa's name meant breeze, Ciela meant sky, and Isla meant island.

The red tassels on Brisa’s halter tossed in the wind. Her tall, long ears swiveled. Her nostrils flared. Then her dark, liquid eyes with long, thick eyelashes widened and she scanned the slopes of the sleeping volcano and the sea below.

Deep under the ocean waters in the undersea trench the earth shifted and began thrusting upward slightly.

Several miles away from the llama Brisa’s island the square, white sails of the clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams glided like wings of a bird swooping over the quiet ocean.

It was the 1800s off the southwestern coast of South America. Thousands of islands were created by volcanoes and the earth’s shifts caused earthquakes there.

“The wood is gone. We have only moss. All the trees on the island have been cut down. What will we do?”

Thirteen year old Ava’s mother spoke again of her concerns.

“Can we move to another island?” Ava asked.

Her grandmother joined in. “Start all over? Build a new house?”

“Everyone else has already left. We are the only family still here.” Ava knew her grandmother did not like change. But Ava felt someday they needed to leave.

“We do not know what might happen on another island. We know this place. It is our home.”

Grandmother thought for a moment and continued.

“The carved stone heads made by generations before us of our ancestors are here. They are so heavy and tall. We cannot move them. I cannot leave them.”

Then Ava’s mother, Juanita, spoke. “How much longer can we survive? No fuel but moss. The soil is worn out and tired. Crops are barely growing.”

The family sat outside their hut-like cottage on the slopes of the sleeping volcano and gazed out at the ocean below.

“But there are thousands of islands. We could leave in the boat, paddling, and look for a new island with trees, spring water, good soil.”

Ava’s youthful voice was still childlike and high pitched. The adults looked at her.

The expressions of the group showed their faces falling.

“How can we leave our home and traditions? Somewhere else would not be the same.” Grandmother’s voice was firm.

“No one would understand us. Our ways are different. Everyone would be strangers. We would not have a connection.”

Grandmother’s familiar approach did bring fingers of fear about meeting new people into the hearts of the family. But every day they wondered how long it would be before they left.

Somber faces reflected the feelings of the family. Should they stay or go?

Gliding over the ocean waves a mile away, the swift, sleek wooden ship Destiny’s Dreams appeared on the horizon. Ava and her family watched the white canvas sails coming closer.

“I know that ship. Last year they brought us supplies. Maybe they are stopping to check on us.” Ava spoke.

Up on the volcanic mountain, the llama called Brisa came to the clear stream of bubbling spring water and slurped. She enjoyed the feeling of the cold, wetness on her tongue and throat. It tasted so good. Her llama baby, Ciela, and her friend Isla drank too.

Then they lightly moved on their slender legs, stepping down the mountain to the village.

In front of the brown hut that was her house, Ava got water containers ready. When the llamas came down she would strap the containers onto carriers on both sides of their backs and they would all go bring fresh water to the house.

Years ago a ship stopped in the island’s jagged inlet for the sweet spring water. It carried tame llamas who were used to carrying packs on their backs. Ava’s father traded some goods for Brisa and Isla.

The two llamas were very social.

“Aaaaah…Aaaa.” Brisa made happy noises when Ava rubbed the llama’s fuzzy neck and fed her treats.

Isla like to nudge Ava with his nose while his round, long lashed eyes looked deeply into Ava’s eyes.

The llamas wore bright decorations made of red tassels so they could be easily sighted when they were roaming free. Otherwise their soft, beige hair blended into their surroundings.

They were used to wandering in the open without fences or being tied. When they saw Ava or her family they crowded around, begging for attention. They were family too. Llamas made strong connections.

In the worst of the winter storms lashing the island, the llamas lived inside of an empty hut next to Ava’s house. At night Ava used to sneak over to cuddle up next to Brisa where she was curled up and Ava liked the llama’s warm fur.

Now the llama called Brisa paused. There it was again. Something. A tiny vibration in the ground. It ran up her slender legs.

Ciela and Isla scampered skittishly. Something was wrong.

Down below the ocean water, in a deep trench, the earth was moving again, sending tremors that rippled through the ground and up to the islands and the coast.

Rocking over the waves, the wooden hull of the ship Destiny’s Dreams also felt the tiny vibrations coming through the ocean.

But Captain Alfonse Belanger, striding on the deck with his parrot nearby and his monkey playing in the rigging of the sails, did not notice anything yet.

Inside the sleeping volcano on the island, far down in the depths, the volcano began to wake up.

The basalt rock began to grow cracks thinner than hairs. Then they got wider.

From deep in the earth red hot, bubbling lava began to creep upward. Some of it seeped through the shifting bottom of the sea.

An earthquake began growing and it released lava into the volcano.

Time was running out for the islanders.

At the house, Ava scratched Brisa’s neck. She and her family watched the Destiny’s Dreams tie up a the rough wharf in the rocky inlet.

Grandmother wanted to make herself very clear in case anyone was thinking about leaving on the ship.

“I will never leave. Never.”

Ava knew it might be hopeless to argue with her grandmother but she spoke.

“What if someday we have no choice?”

“No. No. No. I will not leave the land of my ancestors.” Grandmother was firm.

People climbed off the boat and began walking up the slope toward them. Captain Alfonse spoke to the others. “Feels good, walking on land again. But my sea legs are still rocking.”

Adelberto, the First Mate, and his wife, Isabella, looked up toward Ava.

“Llamas. A baby too.” Isabella pointed.

Then a soft roaring sound filled the air. Everyone looked at the ocean.

“Is that a storm approaching? What was that?” Adelberto’s voice rose with concern.

The ground beneath their feet began to shake.

“Earthquake.” Captain Alfonse’s voice boomed out “Everyone. Get back on the ship.”

Isabella and Adelberto turned and rushed toward the Destiny’s Dreams.

Ava felt the shaking too and she grabbed Brisa’s red tasseled halter.

“Smoke. At the volcano. Run. RUN. It is going to erupt.” Juanita, Ava’s mother hollered.

Emilio, Ava’s father, picked up Grandmother. Juanita grabbed Isla’s halter.

The people and llamas rushed downhill with baby llama Ciela following.

Orange sparks flew out of the volcano and rose high into the sky.

“Get on the ship. Untie the lines.” Alfonse hollered to Adelberto.

Then Captain Alfonse ran up the slope to help Ava’s family.

“I know you. We have stopped here before.” Ava felt reassured at his words.

Over the edge of the volcano red lava began pouring down the rim and flowing down the slopes.

“”Run. RUN.” Ava’s voice was shrill. They had to move faster than the lava.

She saw it overtake their house.

Her father was still carrying Grandmother. Ava could hear the woman’s voice. “I don’t know these strangers. No. I will not go.” She did not seem to understand the situation.

Beneath the sea, the lava spouting upward through the thrusting earth began building up into a mountain miles away from Ava. It broke through the ocean’s surface and a new volcanic island was born.

Ava and her family, with the llamas, ran to the ship sitting at the wharf.

Ocean waves were rocking the ship. The big square, white sails fluttered in the wind and snapped with booming sounds.

Sailors on the deck were pulling on lines to change the angle of the sails so they would catch the wind better.

Supporting lines from each of the three wood masts connected to the sides of the ship. Lines were tied horizontally to those to make rope ladders.

The deckhands climbed up the rope ladders to the sails to unfurl them and adjust them. They could see the smoke, fiery sparks in the sky, and the red, burning lava swiftly pouring down the mountain.

When Ava and her family arrived at the ship with the llamas, Ava called out, “They are coming too.”

She could be as stubborn as her Grandmother.

Captain Alfonse’s kind eyes met Ava’s eyes.

“That is alright. They are welcome here.”

Ava’s thoughts whirled. The captain understood. He was not like Grandmother’s warnings. There was a connection. He was a stranger yet somehow familiar.

After the isolated life on the island, thirteen year old Ava realized that other people who seemed different might still share common interests.

Strangers might become friends if they, too, understood and cared.

Ava and Captain Alfonse guided the llamas onto the ship.

Then Ava turned to look at the place where her home used to stand.

A sea of orange lava flowed there now. She caught her breath.

Emilio, Ava’s father, still carried Grandmother and now he set her down on the deck.

“My home. Gone.” Her voice sounded weak.

“I understand,” Captain Alfonse said to her, and his eyes and face held great empathy.

Grandmother heard empathy in his voice and she saw it in his face. He meant what he said. She felt a sense of trust and safety. With that feeling growing inside of her she felt calmer. There was a connection. He was a friend.

The llama, Brisa, felt the wooden planks beneath her feet rock back and forth. Her forked feet with the soft pads were surefooted and she leaned back and forth with the ship’s movement.

Ciela, her llama baby, huddled against her. Isla, the male llama, nestled close. The three llamas turned their wide, dark, long lashed eyes toward the people whom they knew.

“Push off. Now.” Captain Alfonse’s voice carried over the wind to the First Mate, Adelberto, and the other sailors.

The red liquid lava moved faster down the mountain toward them.

The sails were trimmed by the crew, who pulled on the lines attached to the canvas squares.

Captain Alfonse spun the ship’s wheel and the rudder on her stern turned.

A gust of wind hit the sails. The sleek ship under the clouds of sails seemed to leap forward across the waves.

Tall ocean swells lifted the ship high into the air and then into deep ocean valleys between swells.

The underwater earthquake kept shaking.

Ava turned toward the island. There was a red cloud that hid everything. The wind blew some of it away. Ava gasped. The island was gone. Disappeared into the ocean.

The sails of the long pole of the bowsprit of the ship billowed with wind, pulling the ship faster.The water at the stern left a bubbling, churning wake.

Ava buried her face in Brisa’s neck, trying to catch her breath. The llama, calm by nature, nuzzled her back. Ava ran her hand over Brisa’s face to stroke the llama’s nose. Together they felt comforted.

The ship flew between other islands as swiftly as a bird. The place where Ava’s island use to be was soon far away.

Captain Alfonse showed Ava where the three llamas could rest and bed down for the night in a three sided shed next to the wheelhouse on the deck.

The wind and waves began to become quieter. As the sun went down the sea became tranquil.

The llama Brisa, and her baby Ciela, and the male llama Isla, rested lying down. They were exhausted. The rocking of the ship made them sleepy. Their long lashed eyes closed and they went to sleep.

In the wheelhouse Ava’s family gathered around Captain Alfonse Belanger.

“I know an uninhabited island where you can settle. Lots of trees, fresh water from a spring, vegetation, good soil, plenty of fish. We have stopped there before for fresh water. I can show it to you tomorrow.”

The family’s shocked faces began to show hope.

 “Your llamas will like it.”

At those words from Captain Alfonse the family felt they were with a friend and they had a connection. They knew he understood.

Their llamas were family.

“I have animal companions too.” Alfonse continued. “Come and meet my parrot and my monkey.”

After meeting Foresta, the parrot , and Rio, the monkey, Ava felt anticipation. She wanted to see the new island.

Ava hurried to to see her llama Brisa. When there was no one to talk to she told her thoughts and feelings to Brisa.

The flickers of light in Brisa’s eyes told Ava that Brisa could sense what Ava was feeling. Words were only words. But the llama Brisa and Ava shared something that went beyond words.

“We will begin again. A new life. A new island. You will love it.”

Ava’s tone reached something inside Brisa. The llama felt reassured in the strange ship. Her normally calm nature surfaced again.

 Aaaa…Aaaah.” Brisa made her happy, friendship sound.

Ava cuddled up against the furry llama that night, sharing the warmth of a new life.

They both slept well through a serene night, dreaming together.