Subscribe to this blog28 February 2009
February in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album pictures below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of February while traveling through Paraguay, Central & Northern Argentina, Western Peru and Northern Chile.
Older monthly reviews:
January 2009: Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
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
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| Paraguay | Central and North Argentina |
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| West Peru | North Chile |
Older monthly reviews:
January 2009: Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
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: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru
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27 February 2009
Urban legends of San Pedro de Atacama
The arrival in San Pedro de Atacama was a bit of a "déjà vu". Which was not at all unpleasant. Somehow, this town reminded me of places in Central Asia. Happy times! Within minutes I fell in love with this small town. Obviously very touristic, it still seems to have preserved in large parts the original local charm as a very relaxed and chilled spot. The many comfortable hostels and restaurants lure tourists to stay an extra day or two before or after their Bolivian border crossing trip.Moreover, there are numerous attractions around San Pedro de Atacama, such as the Geysers of El Tatio, the salt plains of Atacama, the Moon Valley and the ruins of Tulor - to name just a very few of them. Spending a week here and doing every day a different excursion is a sensible planning for many tourists.
A pleasant surprise in town is the lack of night bars and a de-facto curfew around midnight. This means that the usual hordes of drunken (put your favourite binge drinking nationality here) either avoid coming here or simply behave for once. This doesn't mean that having a good bottle of wine or drinking beers over dinner wouldn't be possible. But somehow no one really gets dead drunk, tries to piss in the streets or vomit in the dormitory of the hostel. All these annoyances that seem to be acceptable in other backpacker towns, haven't established here. It is actually amazing to see people from (put your favourite binge drinking nationality here) acting normal without their constant noise carpet of shouting and burping.But then again, many excursions are timed for early sunrise. Which implies that a lot of trips leave at four o'clock in the mornings. Particularly, the trip to the El Tatio Geyser leaves on that time and puts tourists on an altitude of over 4'000 meters. Not exactly the place and time to have a hangover.
Since most of the tours were quite expensive, I hired a bicycle instead. Leaving town at half past seven in the morning, I went for the Moon Valley. This is the spot, where tour operators usually would bring tourists for sunsets. Cycling the 40km return in the early morning therefore meant not only to avoid the heat of the sun, but also avoiding the crowds. I literally had the whole valley to my own until ten o'clock, when the first tourists in their hired cars arrived.On my return to town, I went to visit an archaeological site which represents a typical Atacama settlement, called the "Tulor Village". Located about 10km southeast of San Pedro de Atacama, this interesting site shows a series of interconnected circular structures. This historical village is one of the oldest sedentary archaeological places in the region. Since shifting sand dunes do cover most of the site, some visitors might find this attraction rather underwhelming. However, I do like everything being in a state of ruins. Obviously I did like that place, which was also a welcome break on the bicycle trip back to town from the Moon Valley.
Most tourists on their way out of San Pedro de Atacama continue to Uyuni in Bolivia. There are several dozen tour operators in town that offer basically the same programme for their three to four day trips. Many travelers' stories in town surround the subjects of drunk tour drivers, badly maintained vehicles, poor quality food and lodging. One (unverifiable) horror story (read: Urban legend) I have been told, was about a Dutch tourist being abandoned by the driver in the desert, because he constantly complained. He eventually got picked up by another tour group - at the expense of their seating quality. Oh yes, that's another thing to watch out: The total number of people being crammed into a four wheel drive for the trip.Here's the trick of the trade (but most backpackers already know this one): Go to the tourist information office in San Pedro de Atacama and read the "complaints" folder there. Although most agencies are being named throughout the hundreds of these feedback pages from tourists, some of them stand out in either a very negative or very positive way. This is how I found out about two of the better tour companies. The rest of the organisation for booking the trip was bargaining for the best price.
In anticipation of the Bolivian infrastructure, I splurged a bit during my last day in San Pedro de Atacama. I went to a posh restaurant and had a Cesar's Salad, but got in return to use their WiFi hotspot. The rest of the day was filled with organizing items needed for the trip. I repacked my small day pack, got some serious strength sunblock and changed - before going to bed at night - all my Chilean pesos into Bolivian money.
Now I was ready for this exciting trip to the Andean high-plateau. But telling that story is an entire blog entry by itself. Therefore, come back soon to check out all the details about this - literally - breathtaking trip to almost 5'000 meters altitude.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
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26 February 2009
Baywatching in Iquique
Iquique with a population of 200'000, is a beautiful coastal town in Northern Chile. In fact - according to the locals - the downtown Playa Cavancha is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in Chile.Indeed, this sandy spot is scenic, with very long promenades, sunbathers and surfers. Arriving here is quite a scenic ride. Since the town is squeezed between the Pacific ocean and a 600m high mountain range, from where all roads arrive, there is a scenic view from the top of a winding road. This particular geographic setting also makes Iquique one of the Paragliders' top spots in South America.
Coming here from Arequipa (Peru) did require eight hour trip to the Peruvian border town of Tacna, from where a shared taxi took me for the 40km ride across the border to Chile, where I arrived in the town of Arica. There, I took another bus for the four hour ride to Iquique.Having been sick since the arrival in Arequipa, I took this full day transport as a relaxation and recovering day. Which worked out fine, especially since the weather in Iquique was very hot. This was a welcome relief from the cold in the Peruvian mountains.
Interestingly, this northern part of Chile once belonged to Peru - with other parts further South belonging to Bolivia. During the "Saltpeter War", between 1879 and 1883, both Peru and Bolivia lost huge parts of their territories to Chile. Also called the "War of the Pacific" (not to be confused with the similarly named "Pacific War"), the resulting new territorial borders left Bolivia landlocked, having no more access to the sea.Years earlier, the worlds largest reserves of saltpeter were found in this region. Being a key ingredient for explosives, it was foreseeable that Bolivia, Chile and Peru would disagree over the exploitation of these natural resources. Indigenous people haven't moved around these new border lines. Therefore, the towns of Arica and Iquique aren't reminding me of being typical Chilean settlements. Moreover, looking into the faces of the local people, I am being reminded more of Peruvian or Bolivian faces, than Chilean one's.
Being here and enjoying this town is rather surprising to me (and probably most of my readers). I consider beach towns to be nice places when I will turn 60 years old, being on a two week vacation. But on a round-the-world trip, such places are rather dull, boring and a simple waste of time.However, recovering from a terrible cold, strolling along the beach, watching people and relaxing, did put the usefulness of such places in perspective. This was in fact the optimal stopover, before going into the high Andes in Bolivia. However, there is one thing that strikes me: All the South American beach cities I have seen so far, which is not a lot - to confess - lack a central "strip" or a pedestrian mall. There is simply never a place where you just can hang out in a cafes, sip a drink and savour the view over the sea - as I would expect. Also, Iquique features the well known monstrous four-lane beach road which runs for dozens of kilometers, slicing the beach from the town. This leaves practically no space for a small touristic commercial area. The only place to be is either right at the beach in the sand - or in the center of the town. Looking for a drink, some shade - or another bathroom than the sea - results in walking far distances.
Nevertheless, the stay in Iquique was very relaxing and my cold almost got completely away. And I finally felt ready for the famous desert trip from San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to Uyuni (Bolivia). But that's another story coming up shortly...
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
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31 January 2009
January in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album pictures below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of January while traveling through Southern Chile (Patagonia), Southern Argentina (Patagonia and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay.
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| South Chile (Patagonia) | South Argentina (Patagonia) & Buenos Aires | Uruguay |
Older monthly reviews:
December 2008: Easter Island and Central Chile
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: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
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08 January 2009
Wet and wild in Torres del Paine
Still a bit hung over from the New Year party on the Navimag ship, Evgeny and I arrived in Puerto Natales where we booked quickly into our hostel. Ahead of the pack, we secured the last two beds in the dormitory of the "Erratic Rock", which is the de-facto hub for backpackers setting off for the hikes through Torres del Paine National Park.Most people would stay an extra day in Puerto Natales to do some food and gear shopping for the trip. But Evgeny and I decided to leave right away on the next morning. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, since the town of Puerto Natales was basically shut for the public holiday of First of January. This remote village would not bother about a ship arriving once a week with hundreds of fresh tourists, willing and eager to spend money. It was very hard to find supplies, but we managed to find the only small convenience store that was open on that day. There, we spotted mostly junk food in the two shelves. We had to change our small shopping list: Dried fruits and nuts would be the substitute for Apples and Oranges. Bacon spread was substitute for meat. Cheese was the only matching item from our shipping list, that we managed to get in the store. As we found out later, it was pretty horrible quality.
Very early on the 2.1., we left for the park. The trip is a combination of bus and boat rides and we made it to the campground at noon time. Upon arrival, we started to put up our tent. It has a military look and Russian (Cyrillic) writing on it. Needless to outline, that our home for the day stood out from the crowd of other tents on the site. Next, we left for a short six hour return hike to a glacier. Since we planned to do a slow hike and take our time, our target was to be back at the campground 8pm. Dailight isn't an issue at this time of year, since the sun sets at around 10pm.
The weather was fantastic and when we returned to the camp site, we spotted the first few familiar faces from the Navimag ship. These people had spent shopping in the morning instead and then arrived by the last boat at 6pm in the park. They already knew that we were there, because our fancy tent would leave no doubts about who'd owned it. Although the "latecomers" were only six hours "behind" us, we had a full day head start for the four day hike. On the second morning, as we were leaving and having enjoyed a five minute breakfast - we did spot the others snuggling out of their sleeping bags. They were cooking porridge and boiled eggs and then later planned to set off for the same trip that we did in the afternoon of the first day. Sometimes, having too much food is not the best option, Evgeny and I agreed. Because the weather turned bad and we were the only ones to have enjoyed a full dry hiking day in the park.
The sky went cloudy that morning and the the fog would become thicker and the intervals of the occasional rain sprinkles became shorter. Half way up to the so-called "French Valley", we set base with our tent and left the heavy bags in it. By the time, we arrived on the top of the subsequent round trip hike, the whole park was covered in dense clouds, with strong winds and pouring rain. We took a couple of miserable pictures and immediately went down again to a small shelter next to our camp. We discussed our options over a horrible-tasting hot instant soup. It became obvious to us that the bad weather was here to stay at least for another day or two. We both found good reasons to decide to abandon our trip here. For one, Evgeny is short on time - he has only two weeks left of vacation - making it impossible to wait for better weather. For my part, while other folks might actually enjoy mud hiking in military style, this is not really what I would call a fun trip.So we packed all our bags, took down our tent and hurried back to the campsite where we just stayed the night before. Next to that site was a "Refugio" (Hostel), featuring a canteen, hot showers and warm beds. There was very little chance that we could secure these beds, since these refugios tend to be booked well in advance. But the hope made us literally run back through pouring rain and mud tracks. Upon arrival, we were very lucky and secured the last two beds, booked a nice dinner and breakfast for next morning - before taking the boat and bus back to Puerto Natales. This completely blew our budget - but we enjoyed every single peso spent.
Back in Puerto Natales we saw many people gradually pouring in town - abandoning their hikes - same as we did. It would not stop raining in the park for the rest of the week. Evgeny and I were glad to have stopped at a perfect moment. And we managed to get at least a glimpse of the park during sunny weather. There, I proposed to Evgeny that I'd change my itinerary and that we'd travel together northbound through Argentina - instead of separating here as I originally planned to go further south to Ushuaia. He was very happy about this - but since his flight back to Moscow was due in two weeks from Buenos Aires, we would have to speed up a notch on our road trip. That did not matter too much for me, since I bumped into a guy from Uruguay who'd share travel tips for his country with me. Traveling faster through Argentina and afterwards being able to include Uruguay in the itinerary sounded like a logical combination. So we bought our ticket to Argentina and prepared for the big and fast road trip. But that is yet another blog posting coming up soon...
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
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04 January 2009
On the Navimag from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales
Travelling from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales on the "Navimag" ship was an unexpected highlight during my journey. To cut a very long story short, this boat journey had everything that I missed on the Yangzi river cruise back in China. The sights here in Patagonia were spectacular, plus the crew, the facilities and the other people on the boat were simply fantastic.
As the Lonely Planet guidebook does outline, this three day journey through Patagonia may actually be a nightmare, when the weather is rough and passengers literally see nothing sort of what we did. However, we were lucky for most parts of the trip: The first two days were filled with sunshine, on the third day it started to rain - but there was still enough visibility to make your jaw drop in awe because of the scenery.On the first day on the boat, I met Evgeny, a Russian from Moscow. We quickly became friends since we figured out that we had a lot in common. Moreover, I wanted to brush up on my Russian language skills - which now has been added a considerable number of swear words.
When we ordered Vodka from the ship's bar, Evgeny was shocked to see that the bottle stood on the shelf - not being refrigerated. We explained to the barman that Vodka has to be served chilled. To our surprise, when we returned on the next day, we spotted a couple of Vodka bottles in the fridge. Since we celebrated New Year on the boat, we did drink a special "Russian Cocktail"- as Evgeny called it. It actually became our favourite drink during the three days on board: Consisting of a glass of beer half full of Vodka, the other half is being mixed with dark beer.As we were approaching the 31.12., every nationality would celebrate their New Year in a different time zone. The cheers among individual groups started early in the day with the guys from New Zealand. By 6pm, Evgeny and I were celebrating Russian New Year. We called it a wrap shortly afterwards since we were very tired of all the partying. Consequently, I missed the Swiss New Year and the Chilean New Year.
Next day, the overall atmosphere on the boat was a notch friendlier, as most of the people made friends during the boat trip and the New Year´s eve party. So did I. In fact, by the end of the journey, everybody knew us - the guy from Russia and Switzerland who would spend most of the day speaking in a strange language and drinking Vodka.There are parts of my round-the-world trip that are so memorable that I sometimes wish that I could relive that experience all over again. The Navimag trip definitely was one of these moments. Upon arrival in Puerto Natales, Evgeny and I therefore decided to trek in the Torres del Paine National Park together - more about this great hike in an upcoming blog posting.
Labels: Chile
posted by Reto at
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29 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
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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
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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
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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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