The Wind - El Viento

Blaine, Fran and friends Kate and Tito waiting to board the M/N Via Australias (Kate is the one with the camera.)

Our trip plan was to fly from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas, Chile, stay for one night and then the fly to Ushuaia, Argentina. There were would stay for two days before boarding the M/N Via Australis (austral means southern) for a 4 day cruise of glaciers, penguins and the ultimate prize, Cape Horn. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Punta Arenas we were walking bent over. Punta Arenas is strategically located on the Straits of Magellan. It is a smallish, prosperous, industry-based city that just happens to be on the road to Cape Horn. They do a brisk – I mean that both in wind and $$ - business in international tourism from December to February. The rest of the year they act as Chile’s southern-most producer of gas as well as supplier of services and goods to points even further south including Antarctica. Docked in the city were military supply ships readying goods for transit to the South Pole.

Small boat harbor in Ushuaia. Note the boats are not on buoys.

We marvelled at how they did not break anchor - at least while we were there.

The wind did not relent in Ushuaia, it increased. Where Punta Arena hints at international tourism, Ushuaia reigns. Ushuaia is on the Beagle Canal in Argentina. Unlike cities in Chile it is not laid out around a central plaza. The theme in Ushuaia is tourist trap albeit with a European feel to it. The streets run parallel to the water front which helps to soften the strength of the wind coming off the Canal. As you rise up into the city, the first three to four streets are packed with tourist shops, restaurants, banks, and street vendors. Beyond that, were the regular folks live, are more restaurants, some hotels, and great views of the Canal. Situated at the base of a mountain Ushuaia even has its own glacier.

Work boats making way in rough seas off Isla Aguirre as we were approaching open ocean.

Rough seas and terrific vistas from the deck of the cruise ship.

We boarded the cruise boat in the evening after two days of sightseeing in Ushuaia. But the port was closed due to high winds, so we went to bed in our cozy cabins next to the dock. Thus set the tone for the rest of the trip: high winds, high seas, rain, mist, fog. We did not make it to Cape Horn. The winds were 95 miles per hour at the Cape. For this we forgave the captain his good judgment but we could not reconcile our disappointment. There were side trips to a calving glacier and to Isla Magdalena where a colony of 80,000!!! penguins live.
But always the eternally blowing wind dogged us.

The M/N Via Australis holding anchor in high wind at the Isla Magdelina.

Penguins dodging skuas and surf to fish.

The Land - La Tierra

Guanaco herd grazing on the pampas grass.

Our cruise took us within the labyrinth of passages, fjords, and islands that comprise Tierra del Fuego. It is the largest island in South America. Yes, the wind does blow as we have mentioned but there is very little rainfall. If you think of eastern Oregon, Idaho, or Montana, you have an idea of the terrain and climate.

On February 6 we disembarked at Punta Arenas where we caught a bus to Puerto Natales gateway to the Torres del Paine National Park. This park is the premier park in Patagonia with the soaring peaks of the Torres as a backdrop for the numerous glacial lakes and streams. Made of solid granite, the Torres del Paine cordillera rises in pillars 2,800 meters above the Patagonian steppe. There are numerous guanaco, rhea (ostriches), flamingos, and Andean condors within the boundaries of the park which is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The landscapes are truly astounding and we have vowed to return to join the more than 200,000 people who visit the park each year.

A surreal as it seems, that is NOT a poster in the background. We really were there.

The Glaciers - El Glaciars

Blaine, our friend, Tito Titus, and Glaciar Ghunther Pluschow
aboard the M/N Via Australis

One featured item in Southern Patagonia is glaciers. They are everywhere and very impressive. At first we had glimpses of them from a distance. As the journey progressed, we encountered glaciers in closer proximity. In fact, one cannot get a true feel for a glacier until its winds chill your body while a showery icy, mist rains on your face.

We had to be reminded that this was indeed summer in Patagonia. While on the cruise out of Ushuaia, we visited, in Zodiacs, a very blue thus ancient glacier with steep walls overhanging the fjord water. There we witnessed the glacier calve with the sound of a gun firing and the whoosh of the wind blowing across the water. The splash sent waves reverberating in the narrow fjord from which we viewed this cataclysmic event. We were coldly stunned by what we saw and experienced.

Glaciar Piloto y Nena calving.

This is not poor focusing; it alternated rain and sleet.

The best of the glacier watching was to come as we headed north on the Chilean Navimag ferry called Evangelistas from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt from February 7 -11. This was a trip of over 1000 miles from Southern to Northern Patagonia through the inland fjords created by these same glaciers. Although the Navimag ferrys are essentially work boats carrying passengers and goods to inland ports, the captain took us to view several glaciers along the route. The most memorable is Glacier Skua. It is the most enormous glacier in Patagonia at approximately 50 kilometers wide and an incredible 140 kilometers long.

Glaciar Skua from the M/N Evangelistas about one mile away and up close.

The Sea - El Mar

Puerto Eden at dawn.

As the Navimag ferry made its way through the maze of passages that comprise the fjords and canals of Southern Chile, the inhospitable and dry terrain slowly morphed into the diverse and temperate rain forest of Northern Patagonia. A regular stop of the north bound Navimag is a very small and remote fishing village called Puerto Eden.

It is the stronghold where the last remaining group of Alacaluf indigenous people reside. With a backdrop of green foliage topped by the granite spires of the Andes, no neighbors for miles in any direction, and the only transportation by boat or sea plane, Puerto Eden is a unique community of 180 people that reminded us very much of the Alaska bush where we taught in the 1980’s.

Puerto Eden fishing boats await the tide.

Because there was no alternative, the ferry then headed out to the open ocean for a four hour sojourn on the Gulf of Pena before we could return to the calm confines of the canals and fjords. Heading North toward Puerto Montt, the last major crossing of open ocean was the Gulf of Corcovado which separates the mainland from the unique island of Chiloe. We will explore Chiloe in our next installment of the blog.

Greetings from Temuco, Chile

Welcome to our opening post and first experience as Blog publishers. Some of our readers already know who we are and why we are writing this blog. For new readers, we are in Temuco, Chile until August to teach, research, and share what we know about teaching another language. Our students are future English teachers. We are able to be here through a Fullbright Scholarship awarded to Blaine. He is the one who will conduct research and share best known methods. Fran will teach two college level credit courses in English. And did we mention we will also enjoy traveling, making new friends, learning the culture, and polishing our Spanish. How lucky can we be!


In this blog we will share our experiences, insights, and travel suggestions. Let us know what you enjoy reading and want to know more about. You can always contact us personally via our email addresses: blaineackley@comcast.net or fran.beebe@comcast.net .

First Impressions: Living through the ambiguity and learning to love Chile by Fran

We arrived in Temuco with an embarrassing 10 bags, all of them at maximum size and weight. I guess this is not bad for two people for 7 months but my mind kept repeating: too much stuff, too much stuff. Everyone was polite and never said anything harsh as in “Why do you North Americans need so much stuff. “ The biggest hassle in the entire 24 hours and three flights to Temuco was an exasperating moment in Santiago when we were unable to produce the receipt proving we had paid for the bags all the way to Temuco. (Lesson #1: Chile is a country of receipts. Everyone from the grocery cashier to the bus driver gives you a receipt - or sometimes two. Hang on to your receipts. You never know when someone will ask you to prove you paid.) After about 20 minutes of wrangling, using very poor Spanish on my part, the supervisor accepted the inevitable i.e., these people know so little Spanish the effort is not worth it. She let us through without paying a hefty charge (approx USD$300), but with the inevitable scolding: In Chile: hang on to your receipts.

OUR tiny APARTMENT

We arrived on January 1, 2008. Our friends gave us a warm greeting and whisked us off to our apartment – it took two cars for the 10 bags!! We live in the heart of Temuco in the central district. This means we are close to everything we need but it also means we are in the center of all the noise, traffic and general commotion. Anyone who has visited our house in Hillsboro knows our house is not large by American standards. Nonetheless, this whole apartment is a just little bigger then our kitchen-dining room area. However, the architect managed to divide the apartment into 5 rooms. We have two bathrooms – go figure! The kitchen is wide enough for one person only. It also includes the washer/dryer combo unit and the hot water heater that doubles as the heating unit during the winter. Check out the slide show.

Temuco - Big Little City

Temuco is a big city but not a big city. It is urban and modern but then again not. It is the regional center, full of commerce; busy, bustling, and growing but the economy is primarily agriculture with a strong tie to the land and the Mapuche (indigenous) culture. It is not unusual to see the Mapuche driving their horse carts through the streets, selling their produce at the feria (open market), visiting in the central plaza (the center of community life) or living in their unique houses in the surrounding country-side.

Like many things we have encountered so far in Temuco, commerce is full of contradictions. You can find many conveniences here with grand department stores and malls on the scale of the U.S. Each carries a full line of merchandise and offers a revolving credit card with special points, prizes and deals to sign up or purchase with their card. Yet we found only two models of an iPOD stereo player in the whole city.

There seems to be an overabundance of banks and credit offices with several on every block. Yet they all seem to be full of people at all times of the day. How can that so people have that much business to do in all those banks all day long?

Cell phones rule the day with everyone having the apparatuses tied to their ears. Distributors are found in just about every store. Yet the land phone lines are strictly controlled. You are required to have your national “Identity Card” to obtain a home phone. Additionally as foreigners, we were required to show our work contracts. If you are using a cell phone to call a land line, you must dial a special code.

Small businesses grease the economy but the supply network is incredibly segmented. One can find computer equipment for sale just about everywhere. However, one store sales the hardware, another sales accessories, another sales electronic add-ons and another sales the printer inks. If you need system administrative assistance that is yet another store. Software? You got it now: go to another store. Everyone gets a cut and the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

The People We Have Met

Temuco is the regional hub but it is not a tourist town. We rarely see other obvious looking gringos on the streets. (Lesson #2 “Gringo” has a positive connation in Chile. It simply means someone from outside especially North American or Europe). Languages other than Spanish or Mapuche are not commonly heard. So in some ways we appear as an oddity to the locals. Our Chilean friends have been invaluable helping us to decode the culture, to learn where and what to shop, to get services to our apartment, and to find our way around.

As we stumble along with our broken Spanish everyone - to the person - has been patient, friendly, and helpful. Besides Temuco, we have traveled to the South a few hundred miles and to the east into the Andes near the Argentina border. The people we have met have been kind but serious, hardworking, and straight forward. At times people have stopped us to ask where we are from and if they can talk English with us. They are always pleasant, always polite – never in a hurry.

Travelers worry about personal safety and for good reasons. There are always places where one needs to be careful, like the crowded market or crossing the street in traffic. We have not felt the usual traveler’s anxiety over our personal safety. The harshest advice I would give a foreigner in Chile is: Be vigilant in traffic! Even the nicest person becomes a crazed fiend behind the wheel.