Chile is a remarkably beautiful country, some 4 500 km long and barely 250 wide, the snow covered, volcanic, towering Andes to the East, the Pacific ocean to the West. It embraces all climates from the Atacama in the North - the driest desert in the world, travelling South through 'Cape Province - like' countryside, around Santiago with grape vines and subtropical fruits, to Engliah type Puerto Varras with deciduous fruits and dairy, to the Tierra del Fuegio near the South Pole, which is relentlessly wet and windy.
We were based in two places - Santiago with our grandson Nicholas, and near Puerto Varras with Tuff's brother Gerry.The people are very friendly, but unless you speak Spanish or have a Spanish speaker with you, I would recommend some sort of tour guide. We were fortunate in having Nicholas and his girlfiend both fluent in the language, and Gerry's wife, being Brazilian, Spanish was not too far removed from the Portuguese.
You would call Chile 'First World', because it is spotlessly clean and we only saw one pot hole in the roads, though we must have travelled around 1 000km! Its wealth derives from mining - mainly copper, from its maritime resources and diverse horticulture and agriculture. You can buy any type of fruit and vegetable, any type of sea food, eat any type of meat, and drink any type of wine, because of the diverse climates
It has had a fairly brutal history, starting with the Conquistadors in the Fifteenth Century who ruled with an iron fist, decimating much of the native population and only recently the liberal regime of Salvador Allende was unseated by the autocratic General Pinochet, who governed for 17 years.
Being situatedin the uttermost part of the earth, until the advent of air flight, Chile had been cut off from the world and democracy has taken a back seat. But the country works! There is a strong German influence and with this came efficiency. We tasted no fewer than ten different beers at the Kunstmann brewery, from .5% to 9.5% alcohol.
The main tribe is the Mapuche, who are Auracarians. They are small, heavily boned people, light brown skinned, not unattractive. We ate in a Mapuche restaurant, open fire, smoke escaping either end of the steep thatched roof. A Frenchman with Mapuche wife came in; we had an excellent conversation in French, Spanish and English! Their farms are small, hilly and overgrazed with llamas and small dairy cattle, in contrast to the large Spanish owned dairy farms in the fertile plains below, with Holsteins and Sussex cattle.
Santiago, with 6-8 million people has possibly the worst smog of any city, for it is flooded with the cold air coming off the Andes, which cannot escape into the sea, because of a range of hills. Our flat was on the 20th floor of a 26 floor building - nothing particular about that, for there must have been hundreds of like buildings. But the views of the Andes were breath taking. The centre is outstanding, with all the solidity and 19th Century civic pride one sees in Europe. On Saturday, we witnessed the Changing of the Guard in front of the Presidential Palace; fifty men on each side, plus another dozen on horse back. Polished black knee high boots and marching style were somewhat sinister.
We used the underground metro to travel around the city; it was clean and efficient. Interesting museums and a funicular in the middle of the city to take one to the top of a 700 foot kopje which was alive with cyclists, able to enjoy the traffic free pistes running up and down it, Many fine restaurants serving every kind of food, but outstanding were the sea foods. Excellent wines from as many as 50 different vineyards.
Gerry lives in the countryside, 600km further South, not far from Puerto Varras on a hill overlooking a huge lake, one of many, with snow capped volcanoes in the distance. Every kind of spring flower was there, from tulips to wistaria to broom. We went right up to the Argentine border through heavy deciduous forest, calling in at a Hot Springs resort with a dozen slate lined pools fed with water from a volcano, cooled to bath temperature. As we were wearing scarves and anoraks, eating our lunch,we did not risk it, but there were hardy souls basking, seal like, in the water.
We visited the port of Valparaiso, picturesque with steep cobbled streets and a huge open market, which displayed everything that could be grown in Chile. Noteable were the fish stalls where fish trimmings were fed to awaiting seals and sea lions, hefty creatures groaning in anticipation, their heads raised like dogs waiting to be scratched!
There was so much more, but this gives a glimpse of an excellent country. I can thoroughly recommend a holiday in Chile - it has everything, but few people speak English and a local guide would make the trip more enjoyable.
It was noteworthy that SAA was comfortable and served good food. We found TAM (LINHAS AEREAS) staff, utterly charming and helpful, and they told us a lot about Brazil. We found airport staff courteous all round, and it is a great advantage to be driven in a wheel chair, because someone else does all the thinking for you!
“Put your pride in your pocket and being over 70 or a bit wobbly, apply for a wheel chair. After all no-one knows you at these airports, and if they think you are an old crock - let them!’’
Hugh Boswell Brown
