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!

Chile Update

Mom and the family at lunch. My uncle

promoting the restaurant.

My mom walking to the Jewish cemetery in 

an older part of town.

Autumn in Barrio el Golf, my neighborhood.

My gorgeous swing with a view of the mountains 

and a sliver of the ocean. 

I feel very lazy for not having posted in more than a month. I apologize to my readership, however limited it may be, for the delay.

It´s not that I haven´t been busy, rather, that I haven´t had all that much time to sit down, collect my thoughts, and post about something. I´ve also been lazy about taking pictures, which makes writing the blog more difficult because the most interesting part about this is seeing Chile through my eyes (and camera). 

For starters, at the beginning of May I took a short golfing vacation to Maintencillo, a small coastal town north of Viña del Mar. I went with my friend from Canada, Chris, who enjoys golf even more than I do. We were shocked to see how much the Marbella Resort dominated Maitencillo, occupying what seemed to be about 75% of the area. Though the weather was less than stellar (this time of year the coast can be cool, breezy, and foggy), we still had a great time playing. The course was not in great shape, but what it lacked in maintenance it gained in spectacular views of the mountains and the ocean. 

Prior to the trip, I decided to rent a car to travel to Maitencillo and to assist me for my mom´s imminent visit. I was given a tiny Toyota Yaris, but I have to admit that I loved it. It was perfect for driving here in Santiago and was still big enough to fit bags and golf clubs. Driving in Chile, and Latin America in general, is no small undertaking. Chileans are the most courteous and friendly people, but when they get behind the wheel of a car, they turn into evil, road-hogging, enraged monsters. Taxi drivers are the worst, having to regard for laws, speed limits, or the lives of pedestrians. However, it appears that my genetics fell in the right places, because I too turned into an aggressive, swear-spitting, finger-throwing, maniac.

A few days after I returned from Maitencillo, my mother arrived to visit. Although she came to see me for mother´s day, the trip was utterly dominated by friends and family visits. Most of these visits consisted of eating a great deal, and so by the time my mom left, I had probably gained about 5 pounds (though I´ve been quick to shed them again).  Our days consisted of visits, eating, and of course, shopping. I also made a large donation to the Chilean economy during our one night stay at the casino in Viña, much to my chagrin. For mother´s day, I decided to take my mom to try Peruvian food at one of Santiago´s most well known establishments, Astrid y Gastón. It was a wonderful experience, so much so that my next post will be discussing Peruvian cuisine.

If you´re wondering about my work situation during my vacation and my mother´s subsequent stay, don´t be concerned. I lost no time to work because I have had no work for the past two weeks. You see, I work for the University of Chile´s Law School, as I have previously indicated. The afternoon before I left for Maitencillo, a group of radical, left-wing extremists took over the school, demanding the resignations of almost the entire administration, namely the Dean of the Law School. As of today, the situation has still not been resolved, and both professors and students have been out of class for as long as I have been out of work. Hopefully the situation will be resolved soon, though each day that passes bears new escalations and forces each side to become more steadfast and less willing to negotiate.

Well, that´s the most general explanation of my life in these past few weeks. I promise to be more attentive to this blog and to keep all of you informed about my movements and what I´m up to. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow about food.

Argentina and Uruguay, Part 2

Old City of Monetvideo

Portal dividing the new city from the old.

Our group of mixed backgrounds.

After grabbing a quick nap, due to our extreme lack of sleep, we headed down to the bar that was in our hostel. There what was supposed to be a quick drink in order to get ready, turned out to be a several hour party downstairs with people from all over the world.

However, there is no doubt that the largest percentage of travelers at our hostel were Argentines on holiday. In general, I find the Argentines to be a very friendly people with whom I´ve never had a problem. However, in this case, I found the Argentines to be unfriendly, immature, and drugged out. As I may have indicated in the past, Chile does not always share the greatest relations with its neighbors. In fact, at most times in its history, Chile has had downright hostile relations with Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Recently, though, both Chile and Argentina have warmed up to each other considerably, as many Chileans vacation in Buenos Aires and Mendoza, while many Argentines head to Chile to spend their summers at the beach here. 

In any case, going back to my story, I was speaking with a group of the Argentines in Spanish when they noticed that although I was a gringo, I was also speaking in a Chilean accent. When I noted that I was half Chilean and that my friend and I lived in Santiago, they responded by saying that it wasn´t good to walk around saying you´re Chilean in Argentina or Uruguay, and that we were better off saying we were Americans. When I asked why they told me that they didn´t like Chileans very much and that they, in fact, looked down on them to a certain degree. This was shocking because not only had I just met these guys, but also I have rarely experienced xenophobia or a general dislike, least of all from being Chilean.

In any case, after a while my friend and I decided to head out and see what the night life was like in Montevideo. Though I knew the city was relatively small, I was surprised by how small and dense the bar area was. Walking not a block from the Plaza de Independencia, and extending in a half-block radius in two directions, the downtown bar area was a densely-packed district of pubs and discos. There we sat outside, joined by the most international group of people that I have ever drank with: three Swedes, two Colombians, two Chileans, and two Argentines, on top of my Canadian friend and I. We had a blast drinking Pilsen, the major Uruguayan beer, and talking about home, our travel experiences, and life in general.

After leaving the bar around 5 AM and heading back to the hostile, Chris and I woke up around 10 AM in order to make our 12 PM boat back to Buenos Aires. Being the Saturday before Easter and that Montevideo was so small, we easily traversed the city and made it to the port on time. After a relaxing and comfortable 3 hour ride across the Mar de Plata, we landed back in Buenos Aires. The rest of the day we spent shopping, considering that Buenos Aires has the best shopping and the best prices out of anywhere else in Latin America. Later on we took it easy and then went out for dinner to the best steak restaurant in Buenos Aires, located in Puerto Madero. There I dined on one of the best steaks I´ve ever eaten, what we call the "tomahawk" cut, which was the size of my upper torso.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel in Palermo where Chris and I met two Brits backpacking through South America. We became fast friends, drinking at the hostel. Later in the evening, around 2 AM, we headed out to the night life in Plaza Cerrano, also known as Palermo Hollywood (notice the constant fascination with all things American? There's also a part of Palermo, the fashion district, called Palermo SoHo!) Hanging out drinking beer with the Brits, I was able to ask all the questions I've ever wanted to of the Brits, ranging from the subject of Ginnies to learning to speak Cockney. 

After another boisterous evening out, we dragged our feet back to bed. We woke up lazily the next day, and headed back to the airport, hopping onto our plane back to Santiago. It was a busy trip full of travel, but I learned a lot. Best of all, I met tons of different and interesting people from all over the world. It's extremely cliche, but it made me realize how similar all humans are and how we all share common ground, no matter what.

Argentina and Uruguay, Part 1

The Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo

Old port canon next to an old Bug.

One of the streets leading to the port. Some 

awesome urban art to light our way.

La Plaza de Independencia, the center of 

Montevideo.

Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. Previously a

commercial port built by an architect of the same

name that is now a hot stop for bars and dining.

Well I certainly apologize for the lack of posts recently. It´s not that I have just been sitting around doing nothing. Rather, I had been up to a great deal but nothing that was worth posting about. Mostly I was working and hanging out in and around Santiago, but I will touch on that in another post.

This past Easter weekend, my friend Chris and I, along with a coworker of his, took off from work and left Santiago, heading out to Buenos Aires and Montevideo. You might recall that I had already visited Buenos Aires in January, but the real purpose of this trip was to visit Montevideo and Uruguay. Our original plan had been to go to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Though I can enter freely when I want as a Chilean citizen, my friend Chris, a Canadian, required a tourist visa and the process for obtaining one was too lengthy.

We left Santiago on Thursday night, but when we arrived at the airport we found out our flight was already delayed more than three hours. After negotiating with the check-in attendant, I managed to obtain three tickets to enter the lounge for free. This was important because the clubs here, unlike American clubs, serve unlimited free alcoholic beverages, as well as food and provide free internet.

We finally arrived in Buenos Aires around 1:30 in the morning. However, we did not reach our hostel in Palermo until about 2:30 because Ezeiza, the airport, is very far away from town. We decided this time around to stay in a hostel less centrally located, but in closer proximity to the night life. Since we had already both seen the sights on previous trips, we decided to leave Buenos Aires for shopping, eating steak, and going out.

In the morning we woke up at 6 AM, after sleeping for about 3 hours, in order to catch our 8 AM boat that would take us to Montevideo. However, about five minutes before reaching the boat station, we realized that our phones had not moved ahead by an hour and so therefore missed our boat by about 15 minutes. We did manage to get on another boat later in the morning that would take us to Colonia, another city in Uruguay, and then take a bus transfer over to Montevideo. After having a long breakfast nearby in Puerto Madero, we hoped passed customs and hopped onto the boat for Colonia. The boat ride was a great experience, as the seats were very comfortable, there was a full service restaurant, and a large duty free shop onboard.

When we arrived at Colonia, I immediately realized why this city had been founded where it was. It was a mere one hour boat ride to Buenos Aires. Colonia had originally been set up as a smuggler´s port by the Portuguese in order to smuggle contraband into Buenos Aires. Both Buenos Aires and the enter southern portion of Uruguay lay on the Rio de la Plata. This is an important estuary that is fed by the Paraná River, making it both large and very important for regional and international trade. In the early 19th century, Uruguay attempted to declare independence from Spain, but was eventually defeated. Later on, the country was annexed by Brazil, prompting the Argentine-Brazilian War. A succession of wars were fought by the two regional powers, and even included intervention by the French, British, and Portuguese. Therefore, the country is distinctly European in many ways, though shares the majority of its culture with Argentina, it´s most important neighbor.

In crossing Uruguay from Colonia to Montevideo, I almost felt at home again in Wisconsin. The countryside is characterized by mostly flat grazing land, dotted with cattle and milk farms all over. When we arrived in Montevideo, I was surprised by how picturesque the city was. It reminded me of a calmer and smaller Buenos Aires (BA has about 15 million inhabitants metro, while Montevideo has about 1.3 million metro; Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America). Our hostel was located in the central plaza, la Plaza de Independencia. If you walked east, you entered the old city, and to the west lay the new city. 

In the afternoon, we took a trip towards the port, and in particular, the central market. Similar to the central market here in Santiago, the difference is that opposed to serving a great variety of seafood, the market in Montevideo is famous for having giant grills filled with a variety of meats. We sat down at one of the numerous restaurants, one that had more Uruguayans eating there than the others, and promptly ordered a steak. Though it was not the best I´ve ever had, it was good and you can´t beat the $5 price.

After walking around the old city more, we returned to hostel to rest up for the evening. But for those details, you´ll just have to wait for my next post.

A Potpourri of Santiago

This is just a mix of some of the photos I´ve taken around Santiago. Thought I would take this time to share them. Enjoy!

Católica vs. Ñublense soccer match in San Carlos

de Apoquindo. In the second period the police

came in to stop a small riot. Then a fight broke out and

some guy was dropped in one punch to the face by this guy.

Keep in mind that they were both cheering for the same team.

A view towards the area of Santiago in which

I live, from Cerro San Cristobal, the mountain

that separates the city in two regions.

An idea of how expansive Santiago is, from Cerro

San Cristobal.

The virgin Mary atop Cerro San Cristobal.

The oldest building in Santiago still standing,

Iglesia San Fransisco. Built circa 1680.