Subscribe to this blog29 December 2008
December in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album picture below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of December while traveling to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Central Chile.
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| Easter Island and Central Chile |
Older monthly reviews:
November 2008: New Zealand
October 2008: Australia, Principality of Hutt
September 2008: Laos
August 2008: Cambodia, Bangkok
July 2008: China's East, Uzbekistan reloaded
June 2008: China's West, Central China
May 2008: Siberia, Gobi desert, Beijing/Pingyao/Xi'an
April 2008: Moscow, Uzbekistan
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
01:00
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24 December 2008
Happy Holidays from Valdivia, Puerto Varas and Frutillar
The Lakes District in Chile is located in the Southern Chile. Here, many National Parks and volcanoes tend to slow down tourists on their journey down to Patagonia further south. The sights and small towns are sometimes spectacular and are begging for a nights' stop. One of these places is Valdivia where I arrived after a short bus ride from Pucón. Located at the confluence of the rivers Cau- Cau and Calle-Calle, Valdivia features a lot of riverside promenades. It also has one of the nicer downtown areas I've encountered so far in Chile. Maybe the University students are a reason why walking the downtown streets is both relaxing and picturesque at times.
Again, like in Pucón, street names like "Schmidt" or the local beer "Kunstmann" are some of the indications of German settlement history. To my surprise, a lot of Hebrew is spoken as well. The hostel I actually stayed with, is owned by a Hebrew speaking couple. They are descendants of the second wave of settlers that occurred when the Jewish Germans did migrate to Chile after leaving their home country during the second world war. The third wave of colonization is more known: When some of the Nazi's fled after the war - to Chile as well. Quite an interesting mix of culture.Over the past weeks, I grew accustomed to Chilean beer, which decidedly has the taste and consistency of ice tea. One night, I went out with two Israeli tourists - I met at the hostel - to the local hangout, called the "Pub en el Cavo". My hostility towards the local beer was mitigated, when I found out that the town's brand, "Kunstmann", is as good and strong as I expect a beer to be. Moreover, since it was a long time ago, since I last felt the urge to discover a city's nightlife, I was expecting to have some fun. And I wasn't disappointed: Chileans (and us tourists) know how to create a good atmosphere. And since the Christmas holidays approached, it seemed that large parts of the town were in a mood to party until the morning.
However, I did rather learn Hebrew than Spanish that night. I did almost give up in a seemingly fruitless exercise to learn the talk of the locals. But rescue was on its way: Upon returning to the dorm, we discovered our new roommate from Argentina. By coincidence, he was traveling on the same bus later that day to my next stop, Puerto Varas. Moreover, he had booked the same hostel there. During the small talk during the bus trip, I told him that I would understand quite a bit of Spanish. Adding to this, that my lack of practice would make me scramble for words when talking. To my surprise, he instantaneously switched from English to his native language. I should have kept my mouth shut about this - I was thinking. While his initiative to force me speaking a very, very broken Spanish (to the general amusement of the other passengers on the bus) was certainly full of good intentions, my brain was ragged until our arrival Puerto Natales. Hungover, plus the constant concentration on a new language had its toll on me. While I haven't had seen much of Valdivia (for the obvious reasons), I had - after a good night's rest - a much healthier mind to explore Puerto Natales. Here as well, "Germanismos" are ubiquitous to a much higher degree than in the towns before. Probably, I'd have gained the habit ordering "Strudel" (apple pie) for breakfast in the "Hotel Weisser Haus" (which is actually a red building) - if it wasn't for my Argentinan shadow. Having had a good start acquiring some very basic Spanish stuff and being keen on continuing to lear the local language, I still tend to mix Italian and Spanish words. "Molto bien" or "Mucho bene" are my spontaneous answers, whenever locals ask me how I am.
Another advantage having a native speaker at hand is the ease of getting around. Therefore, we explored the surrounding areas of Puerto Varas extensively. One side trip to the neighboring town of Frutillar was quite interesting: The town is separated into an "Alto"(Upper) and a "Bajo" (Lower) Frutillar - being 2km apart of each other. The scenic, lower part feels like a lakeside town in the German Black Forest. This cute place to visit is dominated by Lutheran churches. On the other hand, the upper part of Frutillar is looking like any Chilean, Roman Catholic town - featuring shops and a functional bus terminal. Such a harsh segregation of cultures and their religions isn't that visible in Puerto Varas, to where we returned after our day trip. Here, we were celebrating Christmas - Chilean style: Shops close early on the 24th of December (and remain closed during the 25th). We would hear Christmas carols wandering around town, being supported by the local church chiming in using their carillons. Although I always strongly believed in the fact that I would need snow and dark, cold days to put me into a Christmas spirit, Puerto Varas definitely proved me wrong. It was a wonderful and memorable holiday period for me.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
20:57
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20 December 2008
Bend it like Beckenbauer in Pucón
Driving on the overnight bus to the touristy town of Pucón was so far the most luxurious moment during my journey. Whew, the spacious seats in this double-decker bus recline almost like the ones in an airplane´s First Class compartment. But how would I know about flying First Class - right...Anyhow, I made it to Pucón within ten hours after leaving Santiago. Arriving completely relaxed and with a good night's sleep, I did set out to explore the city. Chileans love to come here and relax, hike or do some other outdoor adventure activities, ranging from hard-core kayaking to paintball shooting for nerdy couch-potatoes. It seems that running around with a rifle does mainly attract the usual people who never had to attend armed services. Voluntarily enlisting and paying for a military-like drill exercise is an utterly strange concept to me.
But the true reason to come here - for most tourists - are the various hiking trails. One of these hikes goes up the Villarica volcano, which only can be made as part of a guided tour. Some people claim it to be a climb. But that is not really the case, given the fact that no mountaineering experience is required to join such a tour. Sliding down the volcano afterwards is part of the fun which contributes to the fact that most backpackers go through this hot spot here.A bit of bad luck changed the weather soon after I arrived. Clouds would set in and all the climbing parties were cancelled. Since I was prepared with all the gear and food for a day, I decided to go for a hike to the Huerquehue National Park instead. Other "stranded" climbers had the same idea and the local bus who drove us there filled up very quickly. As it turned out, this alternative program was as much as scenic as a potential climb to the volcano. The main day hike is called "Los Lagos". Its route passes along small lakes in the national park (Lago Chico, Lago Toro and Laguna Verde). As the weather was steadily improving that day, the hike went into a picturesque stroll full of stunning sights.
Unfortunately, next day the weather became worse again as it would start to rain. Some of the travelers decided to wait for better weather to do the climb up onto the volcano. But since the weather forecast was not too convincing, I decided to buy my bus ticket and move on instead. Having a firm booking on a ferry boat leaving in a couple of days from Puerto Montt does somewhat put constraints on my travel plans.Nevertheless, having spent finally two very cold, windy and rainy days in Pucón had given me a different insight into the inner workings of people living here. It was the day when the football "Goliath" Colo-Colo would play the Chilean soccer final against "David", the unfortunate team of Palestino. The game ended - quite predictable - with a 3:1 win for the team Colo-Colo. Being drawn into the crowd gathering around a giant screen in the local hangout, I learned quite a lot about both teams based in the area of Santiago. Furthermore, I was told that the name of their favourite team came from Colocolo, a Mapuche tribal chief. It is said, that he was the national symbol of resistance because he fought - and never surrendered - to the Spanish conquerors.
Another history fact are the German settlements I keep on stumbling into, by coming this far South. Restaurants would advertise a wealth of food in Spanish language - and "Küchen". Which definitely are pies tasting as good as back in old Europe. These "Germanismos" are popping up frequently and sometimes they make me smile, since they tend to sound funny to a native (Swiss-)German speaker. Nevertheless, it is hard to decide which one sounds funnier: The road "Clemente Holzapfel" (in Pucón) or "Hilde's Teestube" (on the road to the National Park).Never having seen this as a topic in German news, it is quite interesting to find out that there is a German minority living in Chile. Most of them arrived as settlers in the 19th century. They were actively sought by the Chilean government to colonize the less developed areas in the South (which was then understood as being the areas between Valdivia and Puerto Montt). The basis of this was the "Law of Selective Immigration" of 1845, which had the objective of bringing people of a medium social/high cultural level to populate the mentioned regions of Chile.
Today, there are about 300'000 German descendants living in Chile, about 20'000 of them still speaking German. Sounds like a bad recipe to improve my Spanish skills.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
14:26
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14 December 2008
Now and always: Santiago, Valparaiso and Isla Negra
In the center of the 4300 km long country of Chile is located the capital city of Santiago. Here forty percent of the country's population do live (extend the radius to roughly 300km and the figure gives actually 90 percent of the whole population).Squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, Santiago was established as a colonial outpost by the Spanish empire. This is still visible today, by the many buildings of Spanish colonial style. From an early settlement that featured large haciendas (farms), it had to take the country's independence - plus a steady economic grow due to the nitrate mines in northern Chile, to form today's bustling metropolitan city.
In an effort to fight smog and pollution, the city did undertake enormous efforts to upgrade its transportation system. The project, called "Transantiago" is the pride of the locals and they are eager to tell tourists about their new
low-emission buses roaming the streets. However, underneath this glossy cover, the implementation of the system was apparently terrible and many commuters (voters) are angry at various politicians and project leaders. Nevertheless, it seems that some objectives have been met: The total number of buses was halved and a lot of bus lanes are cris-crossing the city streets.Can a whole area of a city be listed as UNESCO world heritage site? Yes, the city of Valparaiso is listed as such. This fact certainly would probably guarantee an exciting afternoon exploring a rather interesting town. So I went there in curiosity. To cut a long story short: Yes, Valparaiso is definitely a very unique place. Quite rightful, this site is also called "The Jewel of the Pacific". Set in a hilly environment, the building of houses is a challenge and thus, the architecture is unique and colorful.
From Santiago, it takes one hour and a half to reach Valparaiso on one of the numerous buses heading there. My first bus ride in Chile.
Unique fact of these buses are their mandatory displays at the ceiling which show to the passengers the speed, the drivers name and how long he has been driving. This system is called SINACH. Various stickers would tell passengers the speed limit (100km/h) and the driving limit without pause (5h).Only on one occasion (so far), has the driver exceeded the speed (at 101km/h). This produced a hissing sound and the display showed the driver's name and the current position altogether with some Spanish blurbs which I was unable to figure out. Either it meant that the violation was reported directly online or that the passengers were supposed to write down the details for reporting the offence. Seems a bit like "big brother", but I shudder when thinking of the previous situation on the roads - which obviously pushed the government to have such a control system installed.
On a different excursion, I visited the Isla Negra. This is the place, where the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda built one of his houses along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Although he was not politically interested during his early years, Pablo Neruda became increasingly involved with the communist party after his close friend, Frederico Garcia Lorca, was murdered by fascists during the Spanish Civil War.
Almost any child in Chile seems to know stories about the poet's life. How he used a piece of wood, swept ashore by the sea, to build a table for his study. Or the story about his wooden horse with three tails. As expected, his house was a huge collection of eccentric memorabilia, most notably wooden mermaids. He enlarged his house in Isla Negra (which - by the way - is not located on an island) on several occasions during the period of 1935 and 1970. In 1971, Pablo Neruda received the Nobel Price in Literature.The poet died in September 1973 of natural causes - only two weeks after a military coup which brought the dictator Augusto Pinochet to power. Although the new government Junta of Chile didn't want to hold a public funeral for Pablo Neruda, thousands of Chileans were going to the streets to pay tribute. This eventually led to the first public protest against the new dictator, where the mourners chanted "Companero Pablo Neruda!" and the whole procession would answer "Presente!" "Companero Pablo Neruda!" "Presente!" "Ahora y siempre!".
Visiting the three sites, where Pablo Neruda had residency (Santiago, Valparaiso and Isla Negra) has been a great introduction to Chile and I am very eager to head down South to see more of this fascinating country.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
02:55
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06 December 2008
Among the swells at Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
Reading countless books about 16th and 17th century sea expeditions, I became inevitably drawn into the mystic and spellbinding history about one of the planet's most isolated place: Easter Island. Visiting Rapa Nui (the Polynesian name of the island) was very high on my short list of places to see during my journey. In fact, I came to realize that the round-the-world trip probably was just an excuse and a construction to justify coming here. An island which is otherwise so much out of the way from Europe. Still, I had to go to great lengths and persistence to find the best deal for an airline ticket including Rapa Nui as stopover.Being part of Chile, the national carrier LAN Chile is the only airline flying to the Isla de Pasqua (the official Spanish name). The very helpful and friendly staff of LAN Chile at the Auckland city office in New Zealand spent most of an afternoon with me, by punching in routes and alternative itineraries to search for the best bargain deal. When I mentioned to them that I wanted to stay for at least a week, they shook their heads in disbelief and asked me whether I was an archaeologist. Because nobody would spend more than three days on this small island, which is 24km at its maximum length and 12km at its widest points. Nevertheless, I settled for a booking which allowed me to stay twelve days.
Landing at the airport of Hanga Roa, the only town on Rapa Nui, was the most electrifying moment on my journey so far. I was both reluctant and excited. Would Easter Island live up to my expectations or was this just another dull tourist trap? However, knowing about the measurable fact that only 40'000 tourists per year would visit this island, was a strong indicator that I probably would not have to deal with "Sausage and Sauerkraut" or "Fish and Chips" shops along resort-laden beach strips.All this went through my mind when I passed customs and immigration, where I was greeted with a smile. I'ora na. Welcome. Sometimes back in Perth (Australia), I was told by another backpacker, that there was no need to book the accommodation in advance on Easter Island. Locals would hang out in the arrival hall of the airport promoting their home-stays. This information turned out to be spot on. While waiting for the luggage belt in the terminal to spit out my Rucksack, I wandered along the makeshift stalls of various residencias, ending up in renting a room from an old, charming lady.
Days later I found out that I probably struck gold with Cabanas Vaianny, the place owned by my old, charming lady. Other tourists with advance bookings shelled out more than twice as much as I did - sometimes for worse rooms. I also got a better deal than staying at the HI-Hostel, which charges almost the same for a dorm bed with shared bathroom. Having my own bathroom certainly is a bit of luxury. But when I tried to haggle with my old, charming lady about the fact that I did not really fancy a private shower, she replied "but I cannot take out the plumbing". She gave me a small discount, anyway, since I stayed so long.
The included breakfast is so substantial, that most guests wouldn't want to miss it. In fact, the resulting chit-chat around the tables in the morning is entertaining and informative. Plans for the daily excursions are being laid out, previous day's experiences shared. And hints and tips for our next travel destinations being exchanged.
A lot of Easter Island's history remains a mystery up to these days. Such as the time when first inhabitants arrived in Rapa Nui. Still being debated by archaeologists, it depends on the reading material, when this event happened: During the 4th century (Thor Heyerdahl) or the after the 8th century - according to most of the scientific community. Recent dating of the Moai statues suggest an even younger settlement, starting around the 12th century.As if this uncertainty wasn't enough, the reason for erecting the total of 887 statues is speculation: They might have been a representation of deceased ancestors, a powerful clan chief or important status symbols of parts of the tribes. After being discovered by the European explorers, namely a Dutch expedition which spotted the island on Easter Sunday 1722, the history of the Moai's started to become traceable. At that time, most - if not all - statues were still standing. Later expeditions noted that some of the Moai's had been toppled. Finally, a report of the year 1868 finds no more standing statues.
Consequently, in the few places where upright statues are in place, these have been erected in the 20th century by various archaeological teams. A visit to the Antropological Mueum in Rapa Nui during the third day of my stay, further helped to clarify most of the cultural and historical backgrounds of the Moai, Ahu (ramps covered with evenly sized stones), stone walls & houses and petroglyphs - all of which are scattered around the island.
On the other hand, part of the social heritage is known due to oral testimony. For example, the various tapu (taboo) in place. People who broke them would be severely punished. One of them allowed fishing only during certain months. Outside of these dates, fishing was tapu. This had the goal to ensure enough food supply for all the Rapa Nui people. Other tapu were in place to maintain hierarchical orders. Despite these rules, the island has been largely deforested over time by the indigenous people. This and probably the inevitable food shortage of the ever growing population had led to various tribal wars between the 16th and 19th century.
The era after the building of the Moai statues has been shaped by the cult of Tangata manu. The cult of the bird man. Each year, selected competitors from each clan would have to swim from the cliffs near Orongo to Moto Nui, a nearby island. There, they would collect the first egg of a local bird and bring it back to Orongo. This race was dangerous and contestants were regularly killed by falling down the steep cliffs, drowning in the harsh sea or by shark attacks. The winner would become the Tangata manu and his lineage would be the only one in the right to harvest from Moto Nui that year. This cult persisted until the late 19th century.
My same day visit to the makeshift cinema, where the movie Rapa Nui was shown, helped me to put most of the seen and learned historical and cultural aspects into a social context. Although certainly controversial in terms of accuracy, it certainly also helps to explain and understand the beginnings of the societal collapse.
However, it would be plain wrong to blame the Rapa Nui for the decline of vast parts of their heritage. Unsurprisingly, the European colonization was again a shameful factor easing the cultural loss here. For example, Peruvian slave traders made a raid on Easter Island in 1862, taking over a thousand skilled men to work in their mines on the Chincha Islands. The result was a huge loss of knowledge, such as the Rapa Nui writing. Today, the historical tablets featuring the beautifully drawn native written language are simply undecipherable.
Due to the length of my stay on the Isla de Pasqua, I took a slow approach in hiking to all of the various sites. I did not want to run out of places to see too quickly. During our daily ritual around the breakfast tables, I would make up my mind where to go and what to see. This is where I met Fabiano, a Brazilian student who was on his way home from Tahiti. There, he stayed for five months, working in various water sport related jobs. During his stop-over on Rapa Nui, he was successfully selling the goods he purposely bought beforehand to get some extra money. Among these goods were five surf boards, four of them he sold.Since we both found some spare time in the late afternoons, I went one day with him and his surf board to Punta Baquedano - one of the surf beaches at Hanga Roa. I did rent one of his boards that he sold the day before to the local sports shop. This is how I got my first surf lesson from a very patient Fabiano. I did learn how to surf the swells mostly like you'd expect from me: Hesitating and clumsy. But I had tons of fun learning this new sport and drinking salt water.
It had to take a guy bringing a surf board literally to my door step to finally convince me to realize an idea that foolishly had stuck in my head for two months - since my visit to Western Australia: Trying out surfing. As a side benefit, this proved to be a great way to meet locals. Most of them were anyway eager to get to know the crazy old man which they had spotted in the swells as he was manoeuvring unskilled and clunky on his board - on the easiest part of the bay. Which leads to why I learned a couple of phrases of the local language in a short time - but that is yet another story to tell one day.
After a three days, my Brazilian teacher had to fly home as planned. Currently, I am still staying on the island with my new local mates. They continue to give me hints and tips how to take certain waves. And I still fail sometimes miserably - toppling like a Moai into the water.
However, by the end of this week, it will be my turn to leave this great island full of mystery, history, culture, nature and very fine and friendly people. Melancholic? Not an inch! I'll be hiking around the island and enjoying life among the swells. Until they call my name at the boarding gate of Hanga Roa airport.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
19:49
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02 December 2008
November in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album picture below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of November while traveling through New Zealand.
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| New Zealand |
Older monthly reviews:
October 2008: Australia, Principality of Hutt
September 2008: Laos
August 2008: Cambodia, Bangkok
July 2008: China's East, Uzbekistan reloaded
June 2008: China's West, Central China
May 2008: Siberia, Gobi desert, Beijing/Pingyao/Xi'an
April 2008: Moscow, Uzbekistan
Labels: New Zealand
posted by Reto at
06:17
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