Star-gazing in the desert

Sunset at Valle de la luna, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

As usual there is never time to update this blog in real time. Not that I mind it that much for the more time passes the more we can think back on all we did and experienced. We are almost at the end of our journey and we feel time is really flying away. Anyway, I haven't got time for the blog mainly because we are now reaching places were internet is more of a touristic luxury rather than the fact we are used to in Europe.

 
To sum it up quickly, from Paraguay we went to the north-west of Argentina, which is a totally different Argentina! For the first time we saw small people and indigenous faces, those you don't find in Buenos Aires were they are all supposed 'Europeans', and at the same time it is those indigenous faces that were in my imaginary of Southamerica before coming here.

Cerro de los siete colores, Purmamarca, Argentina

Pachamama (mother earth) has gifted this region with breathtaking landscapes made of high gentle mountains with the most beautiful colours (for me unexpected), powerful rivers and lots of inspiration for our fantasy. Geological phenomena have eroded this landscape giving the most amazing shapes and colours to rocks and mountains. The road we took to reach towns and villages in the area desappears in the immensity of the landscape! Amazing!

Two days ago we made it to San Pedro de Atacama, the driest desert in the world! There are about 15 milliliters of rain per year, clearly a ridiculous amount. It is so dry and clear that staring at the sky at night is one shocking experience, expecially for those who come from a light-polluted place like the Netherlands and have no idea what is hidden up there in the sky. So, we found this very funny French astronomer that years and years ago left the cloudy French sky to came here for the sake of his profession and passion...Today he offers 'star tours', brings you to a dark isolated place in the middle of the desert to watch the stars and explains you 'how it works'. 

We reached his place around 8.30, way after the sunset and he welcomed us into the hall of his house were we all sat in a circle, with only a candle lighting our faces. After a very entertaining explanation about the basics of astronomy, we could finally go outside to gaze the stars...It was an amazing shocking vision! The astronomer stood up, opened the door and walked outised...the Milky Way was shining right above his head like dividing the dark blue sky in two parts...We saw thousands of stars, the most sparkling ones and a dozen of shooting stars! We imagined shapes of constellations, found our 'neighbours' (stars only 4,5 lightyears far away!) and saw a shooting star which we believed was actually a superfast sunset! It was simply incredible. Then we moved to the telescopes and as soon as we saw Saturn with its ring and satellites we were as surprised as little children! And the spectacle went on with planetary nebulas, the jewel box and Mars...Hopefully I will keep star-gazing back home!

Un país para todos

Ancud, Chiloé island, Chile

Before leaving Europe I had the great idea to pack also a book: Mi País Inventado, by Isabel Allende. She nostalgically tells about Chile and her childhood around its cities and villages. 

 
Chile is literally a maravilla! And I'm sure it would satisfy all tastes. Santiago, great for those who enjoy urban life, running after concerts and the likes. Valparaíso for who loves doing tourism or for those who like to profit of  tourists. The south, with its fjords and islands, vulcans and cold until Punta Arenas for those love diving into nature. The north for who loves sand, gaysers and endless starry nights.

All this in such a narrow and peripheral country. When the first migrants reached Chile, it must have felt as surviving to some superheroic adventure to the very end of the world, crossing ocean and lands. Beyond the Andes and facing yet another -immense- ocean, there it was today's Chile. Sure a one way trip. Only the thought of returning must have been out of discussion. Today, traveling is way too easy for us citizens of the global village...eventhough  often the easiness to travel does not go hand in hand with the open-mindedness of those who go 'on the road'. But this is another story.

Chileans can be lovely people and as we don't look like the typical American gringo and can at least speak Spanish, they tend to like us too :) Their mestizos faces are beautiful, women very charmy, their size too cute!

Cara de alemán

View of the Mercado Fluvial in Valdivia, Chile

At first, I was surprised to realise that everybody seems to love Germans over here. With my limited knowledge I wondered where all this love came from and all I knew was that after WWII some of those alleged to be with the Nazi regime flew to this land to find a new refuge. What I didn't know is that the Germans came to Chile way before the war and left a positive trace.

The first Germans came to Chile between 1849 and 1851, abandoning a continent of failed liberal political experiments. In the same period, Chile just became an independent Republic in need of people to fill its vast and mostly empty lands. The favourable laws of the newly born Republic attracted many immigrants and the Germans were basically the first to profit of this situation. The first arrival of immigrants consisted mostly of merchants, countrymen and craftsmen who settled in Valdivia and its surroundings, as well as in the LLanquihue Lake area. These settlers came from Hesse, Silesia, Wurtemberg, Bohemia, Westfalia, Brandemburg and Saxony. They brought their traditions and knowledge, contributing to the cultural and economic development of the country. They managed to integrate in the new nation without losing their language, customs and beliefs. Differently than the Spanish, they didn't come to impose themselves and their religion in the new world.

Valdivia (in the picture) is the German heart of Chile and all the links between Chile and Germany became clearer in this place. Many streets in Valdivia are named after a German, eg. Carlos Anwandter, Rudolf Philippi, Amthauer, Oettinger...and the main road passing between Rio Valdivia and Rio Cau Cau is funnily named Avenida Alemania, Germany Avenue. Even the first brewery of the country was established by a German and a lot of local beers still carry a German name, like Kustmann.

Today there is no difficulty in recognising a German face (cara de alemán) around. Generally a tall person, white skin and blue eyes...in contrast with the chilenos who are short, dark and have the darkest jet-black eyes! Don't we all love Germans after all?? ;)

Pablo's corners

Neruda's house in Valparaíso

Since the past days we are enjoying Chile, a land of amazing natural constrasts. Tomorrow night we will move south towards Valdivia and the island of Chiloé, personally longing for a non urban place, away from the city. Time to dive into nature.  

So far, I can say I loved Santiago, with its relaxed atmoshpere that made us slow down our city-paced-steps. I would have stayed in its bohemian neighbourhood, Bellavista, night after night, enjoying its colours, street-art and local beer. Then we moved to the colourful Valparaíso, which centre, with its colourful houses, cerros and ascensores, is even a World Heritage site. 

But the most inspiring thing we have done so far was to visit three pearls hidden in Santiago, Valparaíso and Isla Negra: the houses were Pablo Neruda lived in Chile during his life. All of them are simply inspiring: la Chascona in Santiago, la Sebastiana in Valparaíso and the one on Isla Negra, where Pablo was buried with his Matilde. Neruda was a wealthy man but didn't surround himself with boring trivialities or antiquities. His houses are filled with objects of a highly symbolic meaning. He gave a sense, a colour and a metaphor to every little thing he put around. Poetry of things, not just of words. Neurda is a man that belonged to any piece of our earth, with his humanity, his travelling and his reaching the soul of things. These houses themselves are an ode to the will of enjoying life...Totally beautiful!