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1994

Chile (North) - South America

Bec
2004-09-20 17:14:02

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high up on the Andean altiplano, was built by the local Amerindians sometime in the 17th century. Its simple lines confer it a noble beauty.

The naive "way of the cross" painted on the inside walls of the mission church shown in the previous photo, depicts Christ with Indian features and his tormentors in Spanish dress!

The wind was quite cool in summer (January) at 4392 meters above sea level. Survival must be difficult in these small houses when the village is snowed-in during the austral winter (June).

We stopped for lunch in Parinacota's only restaurant and were fed delicious alpaca meat. My curiosity took me into the kitchen where the charming restaurant owner let me carve my own steaks from the carcass I am holding and cook them myself.

Lago Chungara
Yes, that's what the sign says 4500 meters (14 760 feet)! The air is so thin at this altitude that you have to walk slowly not to get winded.

Coquimbo
Busses are very comfortable and travel is easy in Chile in spite of the of the long distances. I went directly to Santiago from Arica, the 2051 km drive took 30 hours including stops like this one. Unfortunately, my neighbour did not feel like chatting so I read and slept, and read and slept, and read and slept...

Pacific Ocean
The views of the Pacific were great all the way but if I do this trip again I'll make a point of stopping to see some of the mines that caused the War of the Pacific and to visit the archaeological museum at San Pedro de Atacama.

Santiago
Finally Santiago! After three months in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia where the majority is Amerindian, I felt like back home in Montreal or in Europe in this big sophisticated city.

The 16th century San Francisco church, Santiago's oldest, houses a bizarre collection of colonial art. Of course there are churches all over Chile like everywhere else in South America but I got the impression that the Catholic Church did not wield quite as much power here as they did elsewhere.

I really enjoyed Santiago and plan to return someday to get to know it better. I stayed in this hotel, centrally located on the corner of Morande and Santo Domingo streets. It had a friendly restaurant downstairs where I drank wine with a number of local characters.

As I watched these busy people going about their business, I wondered where each one stood politically between the highly polarised left and right traditions of this country.

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