travel inspirations
Chile ISSUE #ONE
#01 Autumn 2014 - 17â‚Ź www.diariesof.lu
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CONTENTS
contents
80 ADVENTURE
Chile’s Carretera Austral, One of the Legendary South American Roads
CITY
Santiago Sunset Life in the Capital
18
118
EXPLORE
Rapa Nui The Magic of Easter Island in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean
CONTENTS
contents 8 CONTRIBUTORS 10 FACTS&FIGURES 12 POSTCARDS CITY
18 Santiago Sunset Life in the Capital
60 Stairways to Paradise
Discovering Valparaíso
28
INTERVIEW
28 Chiloé’s Creative Spark 26 Marco Godinho’s ‘Endless
Time Searching’
44 NATURE
the big screen
Aprovecho Enjoying Food in Chile
Chiloé’s Creative Spark
ADVENTURE
80 Chile’s Carretera Austral
One of the Legendary South American Roads
92 Mighty Torres Hiking in the Torres del Paine
110 PORTRAITS face to face
126
100 Climbing Volcano Villarrica 126 Overlanding through the Atacama Desert
110 PORTRAITS face to face
118 EXPLORE
Rapa Nui The Magic of Easter Island
134 PHOTO ESSAY Humberstone
ADVENTURE
Overlanding through the Atacama Desert
150 SOCIAL
Reduce Social Divide Every Day
156 TESTIMONIAL Iquique Earthquake
160 PREVIEW
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74 FOOD
INTERVIEW
WELCOME
...the journey is so much more... You are holding the first issue of diariesof, a new travel magazine that begins the tale of our trip to South America. Making a journey of 22,000 kms on a motorbike, facing the vastness of the landscape and the harshness of the weather, made us feel humble. But as soon as we felt the wind blow in our faces we experienced a feeling of freedom which was priceless, which nurtured our souls and encouraged our bodies. These were certainly moments not to be missed.
In diariesof we want to share the stories of what we experience when travelling the world; we focus on real stories of real people. But diariesof has much more than just our side of the story. In this issue you will also find a collection of interviews with locals who speak about different aspects of their country; episodes with the experiences from other travellers; postcards with images that captured the eye of the photographer; a section with portraits of the incredible people we met; a chapter about food; and a section about social and humanitarian projects in Chile. Finally diariesof is a thank you to all the people we met along the way, as well as all the friends who helped us make this dream come true. We hope that your mind will travel with us as you read this magazine but we also hope that once you reach the last page, you will feel like stepping out of your door yourself and getting on the road, whither it is to the next town, country or continent. Go slowly, travel lightly, meet the people, chat with the locals, eat what they eat, talk to other travellers, let the next day tell you where to go. Let us ignite the travel spark in you, if you are not already a nomad! We wish you happy reading and unique travels. Don’t forget to send us your favourite travel photo for the upcoming Argentina issue. Let the next travel begin...
Anabela Valente and Jorge Valente
Cover Photo Torres del Paine - Photography by Jorge Valente
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We will never forget the people we met or their generosity. We never tire of telling all the stories that illustrate this: like the time when we were sleeping in an airport and a complete stranger woke us to offer us breakfast, the time the chain of the motorbike let us down and we were rescued by a pick-up, the time we got a lift in a hearse and so many more.
Anabela Valente Born in Portugal in 1973, Anabela discovered her passion for travelling soon after finishing her language studies. As so often with passionate people she also transferred the travel bug to others. She feels she is lucky to have been to all the continents including Antarctica, but she knows that there is so much more to be seen and experienced with all the senses. She currently lives in Luxembourg. www.diariesof.lu fb.com/diariesoftravel
Jorge Valente Born in Luxembourg in 1979, Jorge is a Webmaster for the Luxembourgish Red Cross. Jorge has always been an outdoor child and nowadays still chooses to be outdoors in his free time. A motorbike aficionado, Jorge has been out on the bike even when the thermometer shows -10째 C. Naturally curious, he loves to explore new places and to meet new people. He currently lives in Luxembourg.
Mai-Brit Hauge Garval Born in Denmark in 1973, Mai-Brit is a lawyer who loves travelling, climbing, trekking and running. She has recently discovered a new passion, following her journeys with the GoPro. When she is abroad Mai-Brit makes a point on visiting vineyards and looking for new recipes. She is also a motorbiker. Luckily, all of these are easy to combine with her goal: to see the world! Mai-Brit lives in Aarhus, Denmark.
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Morten Garval Born in Denmark in 1968, Morten is a mechanical engineer whose passion for travelling has taken him around the world. Morten has seen the world from his motorbike and on board cargo ships, though the last few years he has remained loyal to his Land Rover. He is also a passionate climber and trekker and photography occupies a special place on his trips. Visiting vineyards and distilleries adds an extra pleasure to travel. Morten lives in Aarhus, Denmark. www.landroving.dk
CONTRIBUTORS
Hector Casas Born in a small city in Mexico in 1988 and educated in Great Britain, Hector left a promising career in the banking sector searching for adventure and to follow his passions: motorcycles and travel. He spent eight months in Central and South America, including Venezuela on the verge of revolution and the Amazon during the heavy rainy season. Epic is his last name. www.ngenespanol.com /637990
Jonรกs Hernรกndez Born in Mexico in 1988, Jonas is a former stock trader educated in Great Britain. He exchanged his life in Mexico City for the open road, spending six months touring 15 South American countries along with Hector Casas while writing a travel blog for National Geographic. After the trip he moved back to Mexico and he is now working in Monterrey. www.ngenespanol.com /637990
Marco & Catarina Pimenta Born in Portugal in 1973 and 1976 respectively, Marco and Catarina are both geography teachers. They had their first intercontinental trip with their two daughters (7 and 12 years old) recently when they went to Chile to visit their family (sister and brother-in-law and their 8 month old child). They went on an adventurous trip in a camper-van from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama covering 3,500 kms. These famous seven adventurers have already scheduled the next trip which will take place in the Iberian Peninsula.
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contri butors
The driest desert in the world lies in Chile, in Atacama - which is also said to highly resemble Mars. The world’s highest lake is also near Atacama, in Ojos del Salado.
UFO
There are more observed UFOs sightings in the skies of Chile than in any other country in the world.
69 On August 5, 2010, one of the tunnels of a mine in Atacama collapsed and trapped 33 miners 600 metres below ground. The miners were provided with food, liquids and medicine through a drilled hole as they waited to be rescued. Remarkably all of the miners survived and were rescued 69 days after the accident occurred.
%
kms
4,600 With a length of 4,600 kms from north to south, Chile is the longest country in the world. However, it is just 150 kms wide, on average, from west to east.
40 620 40 % of the population (2012: 17,067,396) lives in the Santiago area.
The country’s land is of volcanic origin and it is home to roughly 620 volcanoes, of which 30 remain active. The Ojos del Salado volcano is the highest historically active volcano on Earth at 6,893 m.
‘ Chile was created by a poet ’ ~ Pablo Neruda
Nobel Prize Winner
FACTS&FIGURES
facts & figures Chileans have a life expectancy of 78 years and are hence positioned at number 54 in the world ranking.
was the year of a bloody military coup led by General Pinochet which resulted in the death of the elected Marxist Salvador Allende and in Pinochet’s take-over of the presidency. Pinochet’s dictatorship was responsible for both the economic rise of Chile and the torture and death of many Chileans. Democracy was restored in 1989.
In 1960 Chile experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 making it the strongest earthquake that has been measured on a seismograph. Chile was also the site of another strong earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 that actually shifted the axis of the Earth.
Easter Island is a Polynesian island and Chilean territory. It is the world’s most isolated island; it is home to 887 moai (giant figures carved in volcanic stone).
— Easter Island is the most remote place in the world - also called the navel of the world. The nearest inhabited place stays 3,500 kms away. —
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78 1973 9.5 887
‘Welcome, do you have some fish?’ Iquique A group of sea lions surprised us as we photographed a fishing port in Iquique. Used to being fed by humans they approached us, expecting some fishy snacks. Anabela Valente
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POSTCARDS Send your photos with a description to jorge.valente@diariesof.lu
BahĂa Inglesa, near the port of Caldera is where the 105,000 square kilometres of the desert meet the sea. This is a small village that lives off tourism and fishing, with nothing much to do but enjoy the white beach and the temperate climate. There is a sandy camping site right by the beach, overlooking the bay and just a couple of metres from the restaurants that lie side-by-side waiting for the next bus-load of tourists, national as well as foreign. Morten Garval
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Scream Blue Murder Castro, ChiloÊ While walking on the streets of Castro we saw a house that struck us due to the strong blue colour used on its walls. After consideration we decided that this couldn’t be a question of taste, but rather a sign of protest. Anabela Valente
Tierra del fin del mundo Punta Arenas Arrival of the ferry that connects Punta Arenas to Porvenir in Tierra del Fuego through the Strait of Magellan (named after Fernão de Magalhães, the first European to cross the straight). Jorge Valente
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El Laco Laco, Paso Sico This is a unique place near Paso Sico on the border between Chile and Argentina, standing at 4,350 metres. Just after the Chilean Carabineros (police) control, this stunning landscape welcomed us in Chile. The travesĂa (crossing) of El Laco starts in Argentina, in San Antonio de Los Cobres, and goes all the way to San Pedro de Atacama. Chile ended up being one of the best car trips we have ever made. There are plenty of dusty roads, wonderful lagoons and some curious animals, such as guanacos, vicunas and flamingos. Federico Ferrari and Francesca Lommi, from Parma, Italy, spent three weeks in South America for their honeymoon. They love photography and told us that Chile was an unforgettable and surprising experience for them.
Text by Anabela Valente Photography by Anabela Valente, Jorge Valente
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SANT IAGOSU NSET
Reflection of the Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago Plaza de Armas, Santiago
It was October and we arrived in Santiago on a flight from Amsterdam. We expected some kind of shock (ethnic, cultural, thermic) on arriving in the new continent. No such thing! Santiago
Spring in Santiago. Santiago was only just preparing for Spring and we were welcomed by the same cool temperatures we had left behind. Shorts and sandals would have to remain in our luggage a few more days. The physiognomy of the Santiaguinos (natives of Santiago) did not differ from any southern country in the old continent; we looked for facial features that could hint at ethnic roots, but found none. The skyscrapers, the crowded tubes, the green and clean parks, the expensive and trendy restaurants, the organised
queueing in the streets, all reminded us of some European capital. We quickly understood that we had brought a baggage full of images, which I prefer not to call stereotypes, that did not apply to Chile. Â Â Without a phone and with only a badly planned meeting with our first couchsurfing host, we had to rely on strangers and stopped anyone asking who would lend us a mobile phone to contact
CITY
Tips from an Insider
u Santiago’s secrets unveiled by Anita González, a young Santiaguina who took us around some confined places in town.
Santiago in one day Visit La Moneda, the palace, and stroll through Barrio Lastarria and Barrio Bellavista. Drinking a terremoto at La Piojera and eating a completo are things that should not be missed. Favourite dish My favourite dish is the Pastel de Choclo, a kind of meat pie covered with a corn paste. Besides loving its rich taste, this food is associated with Summer and with holidays. Favourite drink/bar By far, my favourite bar is La Piojera with its terremotos.
our couchsurfing host, Anita. Easier done than said what saved us was definitely not the basic Spanish we stammered out, but rather the desire to help that we found in Santiaguinos and in the Chilean people in general. Anita met us ten minutes later at Plaza de Armas. Together we took the tube to her apartment in the Las Condes’ neighbourhood where we would stay for the next few days. We learnt that couchsurfing is about sharing and being generous, when we were welcomed with a delicious homemade lunch, after which our host slowly made her way back to work. From our room on the 11th floor, we had an amazing view of modern Santiago with its skyscrapers competing with the clouds. The prominent winner of this race lazes in the background of the skyline: the recently built 1 Costanera Centre, a gigantic business centre and mall. While visiting the mall one perceives that all the usual remarkable brands occupy the key positions. So much for globalisation! Behind the skyscrapers is the breathtaking and longest mountain range in the world, the Andes. Covered by snow at this time of the year, the Andes grant picture perfect shots when the smog allows. Unfortunately, during our stay the smog did not allow for any. Too much traffic and the absence of rain added to the thick, greyish fog that continually floated above the city.
Favourite open-air space in Santiago Patio Bellavista is a place with plenty of good music and a good atmosphere. It is a lovely place to end the day on a summer afternoon. Favourite Chilean musician Violeta Parra is an important reference in Chilean music, she was a tremendous song writer and folklorist. She reinvented Chilean folk music. Favourite magazine Condorito is a cartoon of a humanised condor that lives in a fictional town in Chile called Pelotillehue. He is representative of the Chilean people. Favourite Chilean film I recommend two Chilean films: El Chacotero Sentimental directed by Cristián Galaz and Machuca directed by Andrés Wood. Favourite Chilean destination I have travelled a lot in Chile, and think there are many places of interest, but one that you really cannot miss is the Torres del Paine Park in Patagonia. It’s a dream-like landscape. Santiaguinos are unpunctual but very staunch people and they love partying.
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Favourite Chilean book Papelucho is the name of a series of children’s books written by Chilean writer Marcela Paz. The books feature the adventures of an 8-year old boy living in a middle-class family in Santiago. These books are part of our childhood and national culture and despite having first been published in the 50s they are still read in schools nowadays.
2 The bar ‘The clinic’ has many Piñericosas on its walls. But ‘The clinic’ is also the name of a Chilean satirical newspaper printed since 1998 and distributed in Santiago only.
A bustling place. We spent four days in Santiago and could easily have stayed longer. We strolled in the streets around the Plaza de Armas in the direction of the Barrio Bellas Artes and ended up in ‘The clinic’, one of Santiago’s trendiest bars, where the intellects meet. The bar has its own shop where arty articles are on sale, including the satirical newspaper ‘The clinic’. We had a good laugh with all the Piñericosas - jokes and gaffes that happened with previous president Sebastián Piñera - on exhibition at 2 ‘The clinic’.
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CITY
Then we headed to the Academia de las Bellas Artes for contemporary art. Imagine our surprise when we saw that the very first installation was from LuxembourgishPortuguese artist Marco Godinho (see interview on page 26). One is never too far away from home. After the museum, we eventually reached the Barrio Bellavista, the walls of whose restaurants’ and bars’ are filled with lively and colourful graffiti. The Patio Bellavista is the place to go for nightlife and carrete (partying). There is a lot of glamour in the nightlife of Santiago and bars are packed
with people playing beauty. Don’t let yourself be seen without a glass of national drink Pisco Sour (a cocktail with liquor and lime juice), not unless you do not mind being labelled ‘weak’. With a completely different atmosphere, La Piojera (place with lice!), in the vicinity of the central market, is another popular venue. Here the word glamour has no currency and is relegated to insignificance. As the name anticipates, this is not a plush place. La Piojera is about noisy locals and astonished tourists mingling and singing together with bohemian
La Piojera’s lively ambience, the place is packed with all sorts of people.
spirit. Forget about sitting at the long dirty wooden tables, you will be too busy stumbling across guitar players, students and other regulars. Once we managed to make our way through the crowd to the counter, we chose to be served a terremoto (earthquake). A terremoto is a cocktail of wine with ice-cream served in a plastic glass. The terremoto has got a self-explanatory name. One’s potential to endure alcohol determines the magnitude of the impact. Another day we visited one of the three houses that belonged to Nobel Prize
Winner 3 Pablo Neruda and that he left to the Pablo Neruda Foundation. La Chascona, which means ‘wild hair’ in Quechua, was named after Neruda’s third wife Matilde and is situated in the 4 Bellavista Barrio. La Chascona houses many of the poet’s personal belongings and a part of his collection of art, acquired throughout his years of travels as a foreign diplomat. His eccentric taste and his love of the sea has moulded this house as well as the other two (la Sebastiana in Valparaíso and la Isla Negra in El Quisco) in such a way one can easily imagine being in a boat from the inside.
CITY
Colourful Restaurant in the Bellavista Barrio.
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After visiting Santiago and after collecting the motorbike from the airport, a task that - again due to the Chileans’ kindness and generosity - ended up being as easy as collecting a package from the post office, we finally started heading South...
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A street portrait of Pablo Neruda on the way leading to his house La Chascona.
We stepped into the Museu National de Bellas Artes and saw Marco Godinho’s artwork exhibited for the 11th Bienal de video y artes mediales in Santiago.
Born in 1978 in Portugal, Marco Godinho divides his life between Paris and Luxembourg. He has a conceptualist’s spirit and is interested in the subjective perception of time and space which he explores through the notions of wandering, exile, experience, memory and time as it is lived. He was invited by Béatrice Josse, who is the director of the Regional Fund for Contemporary Lorraine Art (Frac) in Metz to bring his work to the biennial. Marco revived ‘Endless Time Searching’. This installation consists of a performance on a wall, where he tirelessly traces circular movements that overlap and get entangled until the (pencil) lead is completely worn out.
What were your first impressions of the City, and the country in general? When I first arrived in Santiago I had the feeling of being in a modern megalopolis, with a very European atmosphere and I didn’t find it very exotic at first. But after wandering around and exploring the city on foot, I discovered the authentic corners. I especially liked the neighbourhoods in the suburbs of the city and the atmosphere of the nightlife. A much more authentic and exotic experience was a visit to Valparaíso and especially the bus ride that connects the two cities. Are there any Chilean artists whose work you would like to recommend and invite the readers to discover? For several years I have been following the work of Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar. I also admire the work of Enrique Ramirez and the energy of the very young artist Pilar Quinteros...
‘
There are many good artists developing innovative work
’
What is your experience of the art scene in Santiago and how do you think Chilean artists are doing? I experienced a very intense local art scene. There are many good artists developing relevant and innovative work combining expertise with conceptual minds. I appreciated their energy and their mutual support. What did you appreciate the most while in Chile? I will miss the Chilean ceviche a lot, it is very tasty! Any regrets about the time you spent in Chile? I am sad I didn’t have more time to explore the Southern part of the country. I would have loved to visit the Chilean Antarctic and Easter Island.
Marco Godinho during the performance Photography by Aurélien Mole
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INTERVIEW
Photography by Anna Rulecka