Chile – the Good, the Bad and the Muddy

Most of Chilean Patagonia is temperate rainforest, similar to coastal British Columbia and southern Alaska. That should have been my first clue. I had been spoiled during my ride down the Carretera Austral the week before. The motorcycle gods had smiled on me with 6 days of near perfect weather.

Not this time.

Not that it rained all the time. The sun peeked out, often for several hours at a time. And even when it didn’t, the misty wraiths shrouding the mountain peaks gave the scene a mystical quality. It showed a different side of this magnificent landscape, perhaps even a truer one. After all, it is a rainforest. In the end it boils down to the expectations we bring with us.

I try not to make value judgements in most areas of my life. It’s impossible in an absolute sense, but I think it’s important to try, particularly when it comes to travel. I want to observe and appreciate, rather than compare; I want to experience what is, rather than fuss about what is missing.

Doing that during the last two months was challenging – missed flights, lost luggage, issues with customs & motorcycle shipping, changes in travel plans, health and dental problems (did I mention that Liz broke a tooth?) – the list goes on. Those things definitely coloured our experiences of Peru and Chile. Yet seen in another light they also showed us another side of life here. I wouldn’t recommend getting Covid as part of anyone’s travel itinerary, but our experiences with the hospital & medical system gave us an inside look at an important part of the life of normal Chileans. It proved that high quality, low cost healthcare is possible.

Our experience with importing the motorcycles, was frustrating -the Chilean devotion to bureaucracy and paperwork is astonishing. But seen as part of the larger picture, this love of procedure goes along way to explaining the orderly nature of life in Chile. Toronto drivers could certainly learn a thing or two from those in Santiago. Even the few protests we saw seemed well regulated.

And through it all, the one constant was the enduring kindness of the people we met. I cannot emphasize this enough. People went out of their way to help us, despite our frequent confusion and bad Spanish. One innkeeper even gave us free accommodation when our ferry was cancelled!

The Chilean landscape ranges from beautiful to breathtaking – thousands of kilometers of  coastline; the snow-capped Andes that are never far away; and lush valleys with vineyards, orchards and pastures. Even the Atacama Desert in the north has a stark beauty of its own.

Is Chile some sort of lost Eden? No, like anywhere Chile has it’s share of social, economic and environmental problems. But overall, it works.

On one of our last days in Chile, I climbed the Chaiten volcano, about 10 km from the town of the same name. It last erupted in 2008, destroying a significant part of the town. That’s yesterday in geological terms. It is considered an active volcano. The trail to the top is lovely, with wildflowers flourishing amid the charred remains of trees killed during the last eruption. It is also steep and demanding. I had to stop frequently to catch my breath, giving me a chance to think about the mass of hot molten rock lurking beneath my feet. Indeed, I could see steam venting and smell the sulfur when I finally reached the top. I was knackered, but the view, and a certain sense of accomplishment made it all worthwhile. And somewhere in there is a metaphor of my impressions of Chile.

Geologically, Chile is a risky place to live. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have had a devastating history. Just during the 6 weeks that we were in Chile, there were 12 quakes with a magnitude of 5.0+ or greater.

The same forces that cause the earthquakes and eruptions have endowed Chile with great mineral wealth, fertile soil and a spectacular landscape, (not to mention some of the best observatory locations in the world). Chileans have learned to live with this double edged sword. Likewise, they have struggled with a difficult history, from colonialism to the more recent repression of the Pinochet regime.

Out of all this has come a country that is (for today at least) safe, modern, reasonably prosperous and functional. More than anything it is the people of Chile that we will remember. They are some of the kindest, most generous and patient people we have ever met.

Would we come back to Chile? In a heartbeat!!

(Click to see more pictures from my volcano hike)