Protecting Chile's Ecological Resources

Over the course of my trips through this beautiful country, if there is one thing I realized, it's how amazing and often abundant Chile's natural resources are. However, it goes without saying that it doesn't take much to tip the scales in the opposite direction.

During my time working for the University of Chile's Law School's Center for Environmental Law, I've been exposed to a great deal of literature and research concerning the preservation of these natural resources. Though I realize that this is hardly interesting for most people, I cannot express how important it is for us to be conscious of the ecosystems in which we exist. I have noticed that the average Chilean lacks a great deal in their understanding of protection and conservation. 

Chile is a country torn between two worlds. On one side, Chile is the only country in Latin America to have a Ritz Carlton hotel, and will soon host a W hotel. Though this seems inconsequential, take into account that the various other Spanish-speaking nations in Central and South America don't have them. Chile also has more car brands than any other country, with the majority of these extra brands being luxury names. Within a ten-minute-walk radius of my apartment, there are three Starbucks'. In this way, Chile is very much emulating an American style of life and culture. However, on the other hand Chile has a large working and lower class that struggles to make ends meet. Here's an excerpt from a recent article in the Latin American Herald Tribune, an English newspaper dealing with a variety of Latin American issues:

"...The study found that the top 20 percent of Chile’s 17 million people receives upwards of 13 times more in income than the bottom fifth. Chile’s economy is also characterized by high unemployment and a proliferation of hiring on short-term contracts that further undermines job security, the ECLAC document says."

You might be asking what all this has to do with the environment. My answer is everything. I believe that many Chileans and Chilean policies are ignorant of conservation issues because the general view is to bring about economic improvement and advancement at the expense of anything else. The same can be said for Chile's energy policies; the HydroAysen project to build new dams in the South will have long-lasting and irreversible side effects on that ecosystem. Many support the project saying that the most important thing is for Chile to become independent in supplying its own energy; these people either do not care about the environment or simply are ignorant of those  effects. 

Here is an excellent article describing the salmon farming industry's effect on the southern lakes in Chile. Chile is one of the worlds largest producers of farm-raised salmon, and because of this, that industry has a great amount of power here among the citizens and the government. This is a perfect example of economic motives curtailing conservation efforts.

Now, why am I ranting on and on about this. Today I read an article detailing how various species throughout Chile are suffering (read it here). I was most impacted by the last part of the article discussing the status of Flamingo's in the Atacama Salt Flats. The article details how over 2,000 chicks died in their shells after their parents could not stay there for lack of food due to an unnaturally hot summer. This is a high number considering that there are only about 40,000 Andean flamingos living in the wild today.

In any case, I thought that as I am coming to the end of my stay here I might try and communicate a little of what I have learned during my time here. If you have been following my blog, you now have a proper frame of reference with which to read these articles and understand these issues. I hope you find this information interesting and that it might make you think about the world you live in. It is important that we take nothing for granted and that we continue to spread the word about these types of issues.

Weekend in the North, Part II

Balancing in the wind like a flamingo in 

the middle of the expansive Salar.

Flamingos in the brine lakes, with Volcán Láscar

in the background.

El Valle de la muerte on the way back

from San Pedro.

La Portada de Antofagasta, with the city

in the background.

With friends at the viewpoint of the Portada.

After reaching San Pedro again, Tefi and I checked out of our hotel. (A word about hotels here for those interested in visiting: Don´t bother shelling out a lot for a hotel here. You spend little time in it, the water isn't potable anywhere here, and water pressure sucks no matter where you are. Because of the number of gringos and other foreigners that visit here, there is a great deal of price inflation. Spend your money on tours and other things, save on the hotel and stay at a hostel.) We quickly grabbed some bottles of water and headed south on the freeway towards the Salar de Atacama. A salar is a salt flat; the Atacama Salt Flats are particularly well known in the area, especially for the various types of flamingos that inhabit them.

On the way down, we experienced an intense sand storm with winds reaching 70 m.p.h. We couldn't see very far ahead of our car and because the car was so small, we were constantly being tossed around the freeway. However, we did finally reach the flats, and they did not disappoint. Vast and stark white, the flats are not actually flat at all, but coral-like buildups of sulfates, mostly sodium chloride- table salt. In the middle lay several large lakes with hundreds of flamingos standing around in them. Apparently, they subsist totally on the tiny brine shrimp that live in the salty waters. 

The flats are actually formed by volcanic activity in the area. On the other side of the valley lays the volcano Lascar. Apparently, sulfates and other chemicals seep down from the active volcano, mixing with a small water table that exists below the valley, forming a brine that raises to the surface slowly. This creates the shallow salt lakes in the middle of the salt fields. 

After spending some time there taking in the sights, we drove back to San Pedro in order to grab a quick nap- we had been up since 3:30 in the morning. We then began the long drive back to Antofagasta, snapping pictures of the Valley of the Moon and the Valley of Death on the way back. 

When we arrived in Antofagasta, we immediately changed and headed to a friend of Tefi's, where we met up with a large group of her friends from her internship at BHP Billiton, in Antofagasta during the summer. I had a great time getting to know new people, and they were very friendly and inviting. After a night of dancing at a disco, I was exhausted and slept the next day until quite late. We then went and met up with two of the guys from the previous evening to eat at the central market. Similar in scope to the Mercado Central in Santiago, this market was much less of a tourist attraction. However, because it lay directly on the ocean, there was a freshness factor in the food that didn't exist in Santiago. We all had large plates of fish with fries, salad, ceviche, and beer. For four people the $25 price could not be beaten. 

Later on, Tefi went to spend time with her family, so I headed out to get to know Antofagasta with the guys I had met. Although I said the city was not very attractive and was rather boring, it still had very nice places and had a rather complete mall for a city of its size. I was explained that the average income in Antofagasta is the highest in Chile, higher than that of Santiago. This is due to the high wages paid by the mining companies, all of which had major operations in the area. While an average worker in a store, gas station, or restaurant in Santiago might make $1000 per month; in Antofagasta the same person with the same low level of education could work in a mine four or five days a week and make more than double. It is for this reason that the mining consortiums here are so well liked and have such pull with the Chilean citizenry.

In the evening, after we all met up again, we went to eat dinner at Tefi's grandmother's restaurant, Don Pollo. As I had said in the past, the most common street food in Santiago is probably the hot dog or completo. In the north, the quintessential meal is pollo con papas, or barbecue chicken with french fries. Tefi's grandmother operated a small chain in Antofagasta that is now quite famous, having recently been cited as the best pollo con papas by Fodor's Travel Review. After a tremendous and delicious meal, we went out again, very much in the same fashion of the night before.

On Sunday I awoke early to get my things ready to fly back to Santiago. On the way to the airport, Tefi and my new friends took me to see La Portada de Antofagasta. This large rock outcropping looks like a gate leading into the city, and is probably the only thing of beauty in Anotfagasta. After taking many pictures, I was dropped off at the airport and bid farewell to the north.

Though a sharp contrast to anything I had ever really seen before, the north of Chile, including the Atacama desert, has to be one of the most unique places on Earth. Filled with beautiful views, wonders unknown elsewhere, and populated by friendly and helpful people. San Pedro de Atacama and the surrounding area is a place that cannot be missed upon visiting Chile.

Weekend in the North, Part I

Me bundled up at the Valle de la luna.

Beautiful rock faces in the sunset at the Valle

de la luna.

Geysers near San Pedro.

The bleak and empty, but beautiful scenery.

In the middle of nothing.

This past weekend I took a four day trip to the north via an invitation by my friend Tefi. She actually group up in Antofagasta, the largest northern city and capital of the 3rd region of the same name. 

Antofagasta in the grand scheme of things is a rather unattractive mid-sized city of approximately 300,000 residents. However, the real reason for taking a trip there is to go visit the Atacama desert and, in particular, San Pedro de Atacama. Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and intriguing places in chile, I simply could not pass up this opportunity. 

The Atacama desert is a small desert bordering Northern Chile, Southern Peru, and Southwestern Bolivia. It is notorious as being the most arid, or dry, place on Earth, often experiencing rain only once every fifty years in some parts. After an hour and a half flight, we landed on the coastal, port city of Antofagasta. We then proceeded to quickly stop by Tefi´s grandmother´s apartment, we then grabbed a car and began the four hour drive to San Pedro. Though rather unremarkable, the thing that impacted me most during the drive was how desolate and little-populated the region is. 

After stopping in Calama, the city most people fly to to get to San Pedro, the route began to indicate how high up into the Andes we were going. When we got to about 30 minutes outside of San Pedro, we stopped at el Valle de la Luna, or in English, the Valley of the Moon. The valley is aptly named for it´s resemblance to the surface of the moon. We arrived just before sunset, the preferred time to visit. After a quick climb up a sand dune/mountain, we arrived at the most popular view point. There we stood and took in the tremendous sunset, seeing an awesome array of colors, from orange to yellow to light and dark red. By far one of the most beautiful sights I have ever witnessed. We then quickly went down to the car so as to arrive in San Pedro before it got too dark. Once you reach the valley, the number of paved roads begins to dissipate and the trail becomes rather tough.  

We arrived in San Pedro and found a hotel to stay in. We then walked around the village that is San Pedro. Though very touristy, the village still evoked a sense of rurality and loneliness, tucked away in a secluded and depopulated part of the Atacama. We walked around in the frigid cold (San Pedro lays at 8,000 feet altitude) and found a restaurant with a warm fire to eat. We then set out to find a tour to go see the geysers the next day. After we booked one, the guides told us to bundle up because the tour picks us up at 4 am and we arrive at the geysers at 6 am. We were told to dress for about 5 degree weather, but that the winds had previously reached about 65 miles per hour. We bought a set of hat, gloves, and scarf and went back to sleep. In the morning we left for the geysers at about 4:30 am. We were told to try to sleep so as to ease an altitude sickness as we would be going up to about 15,000 feet of altitude. The geysers were located only about 90 km away, but because of the altitude and lack of roads, the trip took upwards of 2 hours. 

We arrived and quickly walked over to the area that held the geysers. I was expecting to see 5-10 geysers, but was shocked to see an enormous valley completely saturated with geysers of every size. Anyone is able to walk wherever they want, but our guide told us to watch our step as many careless tourists over the years have fallen in some of the larger ones, and some had even died during unexpected eruptions. The reason for arriving so early is that the geysers only erupt during the sunrise because of the temperature differentials that enable the bottling up of gases near the surface. Though we were all shivering from cold (I had three pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, two shirts, a sweater, a fleece, and a windbreaker on), it was easy to forget when you beheld the majestic, natural beauty of the area. 

After seeing the geysers, we traveled around the area, stopping to take pictures of Vicuñas, a relative of the llama known for it´s extremely valuable coat, and other flora and fauna, though there wasn´t much of either. We then stopped by a pool where you can bathe. The pool is the result of cold mountain streams intersecting with several geysers, creating a large temperate pool. Though we didn´t go in because of the cold, many people did, though they later regretted it.

After leaving the geyser plateau, we ventured to a village nearby called Machuca. This village lays at 14,500 feet and has no power or running water. With a permanent population of little more than a dozen people, the village was essentially a grouping of 10 buildings and about 600 llamas. After dining on shish kabobs of llama meat, which were actually quite delicious (I was told that llama meat is very lean and has no cholesterol), we ventured back down to San Pedro after another two hour drive.

Thus ended hour first day and a half in the north. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!