Burt's and George's Chilean Adventure Part 3

Tuesday, May 8^th

In the morning, we drove up this road to Park Hornopiren, stopping to enjoy the scenery from time to time.

We drove in the park as far as we could and were greeted by a friendly park ranger and his dog. We set out on our hike, accompanied by the park dog that guided us on our walk over bridges and through muddy paths.

This hanging bridge was conveniently constructed with missing boards to provide us with an unobstructed – albeit nerve-wracking - view of the water below.

Above – a horse-drawn cart still used for hauling logs.

We hiked up a path so worn by wear and water than, in some spots, it was six feet deep. I can imagine Mapuche Indians walking down this path for the past 500 years!

We were guided on our way by the park dog – a German shepherd - that showed us the driest parts of the path. Occasionally, when we would choose the wrong way, he would whine and wait patiently for us to figure out the right path.

We had hoped to hike all the way to a lake in Hornopiren Park, but a bull stood in our path. We shared our lunch with the dog and waited for the bull to move, but he wouldn’t budge. We finally turned around and headed back the way we came.

We drove back up the Carretera Austral.

We rode the ferry back, heading north this time, our little grey Peugeot leading the pack.

We drove through Puerto Montt, took another ferry to the island of Chiloe and arrived at our hotel on the Plaza of Ancud in time for dinner. Sadly, there were no seats in the local restaurant as the town’s residents had gathered there to watch the soccer game – Chile vs. Mexico. Eventually we found a restaurant with one free table and enjoyed King Crab and Futbal!

Here is the plaza of Ancud right outside our hote

Burt’s and George’s Chilean Adventure Part 2

Monday (continued)

We drove south on the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway) to La Arena.

As we drove, we saw fishing boats (above) and salmon farms (below). It was feeding time for the salmon and we watched the salmon thrashing around and jumping in their pens.

In La Arena, we put the car on a ferry. We then sailed across the mouth of a bay, avoiding terrain too rugged for roads, and connected up to the next section of the Carretera Austral.

We enjoyed the half hour ferry ride, watching fishermen at work and marveling at the views of the rugged coastline and the Andes beyond.

We spent the night in Hornopiren – the end of the Carretera Austral during the fall and winter months. The night was crystal clear and cold. Burt and I stood outside our hostel for an hour, enjoying the views of the Southern Cross and the heart of the Milky Way.

We woke up to this scene from our hostel, looking out over the estuary at low tide.

Burt and George’s Chilean Trip

May 4 -14, 2007

Friday, May 4^th

My brother, Burt arrived in Concepcion, Chile from the States after a 24 hour delay in Miami. It was great to see him and we spent the day letting him rest and acclimatizing him to Concepcion. It was late fall and we expected the rains to start any day. We planned to tour southern Chile, seeing the lakes and mountains, but the threat of drenching storms made us a little uneasy.

Saturday, May 5^th

Saturday morning, on our way to rent a car at the Concepcion Airport, I got a call from my glider buddies asking if we wanted to go soaring. I said, “Sure! My brother and I are on our way to the airport to pick up a car rental. We’ll pick it up and meet you at the hangar!” SOOO … we had a great Saturday afternoon of flying! I soared in the glider and Burt had a ride in the tow plane and the glider.

Sunday, May 6^th

Sunday morning we left early and drove the scenic route to Temuco, where we had a typical Chilean almuerzo (lunch) – fresh seafood in central market restaurant. We drove on to Puerto Varas and were greeted by scenes of Lake Llanquique:

Monday, May 7^th

We drove southeast to National Park Alerce Andino, where we hiked through an alerce forest.

Burt stands between two Alerce trees. The alerce are a larch-like tree that can live for 4000 years.

This is a composite photo of the largest Alerce tree we saw in the park.

After spending the day hiking through the park, we drove through rolling countryside on our way to the town of Hornopiren, where we planned to spend the night. So far the weather has been perfect!

1

The Annual Memorial Riot

It’s been quite a week here in Concepción, as the university community has prepared for their Annual Memorial Riot. Each day, on our way to and from campus, we have walked by police vehicles - jeeps, paddy wagons, even a tank topped with two mounted water canons – all ready to pounce on rioting students and all parked around the edge of the campus.

Thursday, March 29^th, was the day of this expected riot and an expectant hush hung over the campus. Police were everywhere and students huddled in groups, whispering and watching. There were spray painted reminders all around campus and even at our local supermarket.

Apparently, during a protest rally on March 29^th, 1999, a university student in Santiago was killed. Ever since, university students here in Concepción remember the day by rampaging around campus and the town, smashing windows and roughing up people. So, on the 29^th, we braced ourselves for the RIOT.

Although everyone was in a state of expectancy, there was no notification from the university administration that a riot may occur. There was no information issued on what to do if there was a riot. No decisions were communicated in advance about whether classes would be canceled. In typical Chilean fashion, all information was passed on unofficially by word of mouth. Apparently, the system for notification is like the party game of “Telephone.” News is whispered from office to office and person to person. Our colleagues told us, “Well – when the students start throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, run for it. OR stay put in the office with the door locked until the riot passes … and the riots have been known to last all night.”

With all the anticipation – the police presence and the whispering campaign – the day passed without incident. Apparently, around 7 PM, the water canons were finally fired on some students, but by then Nancy and I were safely home. I suspect it was just for practice. Police and students need to stay in training.

It was with a sense of relief that we headed out of town on Saturday morning to visit the world famous Termas de Chillán, where the rich and famous ski in July and August and soak in the natural hot springs. Chillián is where the US Olympic ski team trains during the summer months.

On our way out of town, we stopped by our Concepción coastline to admire the view.

A beautiful coastline …

… lined with surf fishermen ...

… and enjoyed by a family of squatters.

We climbed the promontory (behind us in this picture), which stands to the north of the mouth of the Bio Bió River. I have dubbed this Concepción’s Rock of Gibraltar.

Standing on this promontory, I am looking to the south, over the mouth of the Bio Bió River … Chile’s largest navigable river and the southern border of Concepción.

Here, Nancy looks north up the coast from the same promontory.

We decided that, while we had our rental car, we should do a little exploring around the Concepción area. As we headed out of town, we passed a common form of Chilean transportation – the family horse and buggy.

We checked out Lenga, a sleepy fishing village north of Concepción and a favorite lunch spot of our friends in Concepción.

We then tried to drive along the peninsula north of Concepción but found that it is owned and operated by the Chilean Navy and not open to tourists. I thought of my glider buddy, Fernando, who is a commander in the Chilean Navy. Perhaps he will be able to show me around the naval base some day.

We drove for an hour east of Concepcion to Chillan and were greeted by the tree-lined streets and the alpine views.

We visited Chillan’s central market, one of the best in Chile. It is a city block crammed with vegetables, clothes, fish, antiques, beef, souvenirs … and lots more! If you can’t find it in this central market, you don’t need it!

From Chillan, we drove an hour east into the Andes to the Termas de Chillan where we spent the weekend relaxing and exploring.

A view from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean … only 1 ½ hours away!

After a relaxing weekend in the Andes, we drove back to the coast on Sunday in time to watch the sunset once more …. this time from Tome, a town just north of Concepcion.