Chile

Right, the initial idea for my trip to Chile - hike from the northernmost town to the southernmost - floundered. I soon realised that it was too ambitious - far too ambitious. That's why I only visited certain sectors instead.

This was an almost epiphanic trip for me in that several 'positive' things occurred. I did far more socialising than usual, a dislikeable headteacher from my school in Chile was fired, a short story of mine was accepted for publication and my place in university was confirmed.

I am writing from there this very moment. I feel rather disillusioned by it - both academically and socially - but that's something I'll cover in a future post.

Sadly I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, but I've uploaded more than enough here.


Santiago


La Moneda, at night.

Santiago, the capital, was my base. I stood at quite a disadvantage in that I stayed at my aunt's home in quite possibly the 'poshest', most privileged area in Chile - 'La Dehessa,' which is very far apart from the city centre and tourist attractions. This meant that I had often to commute on metro to reach places of interest.

The first few days were quite boring, but I soon started keeping myself occupied.

The tentative of the trip was to really 'see' Chile, though while I stayed in Santiago I can't really say I saw 'the real Chile'. La Dehessa is a very insular place, almost antithetical to 'real' Chilean places and people. My family were very very hospitable and friendly, though

Though I did get to see more of that when going over to the Southern town I grew up in as a child, Concepción.

Concepción

The two and a half weeks I spent in Concepción were terrific. The greatest joy was having conversations with the woman of the house, Paulina. I also got on very well with their elder sons and had lots of laughs.

In terms of football, there were nuggets of gold and there were catastrophic let-downs. I went to see the team I support, Fernandez Vial, win 3-0. On the other end of the spectrum Chile, despite playing attractive football, were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Copa America. And the luckiest national side in the world went on to win it, again with a very favourable draw - Uruguay.

While I was there I was enthralled in the fiery politics in the country, which I'll write about below.

Student Protests



Universidad de Concepcion, gaining an almost apocalyptic dimension whilst 'en toma'.


'Lemas'.An authorised protest soon to turn into something a little nastier.

Universidad de Chile.

What gave my trip an interesting 'backdrop' was the political situation. Indeed, I came back with a stronger political conscience.

The protests made complete sense to me. What the students are claiming for may be disproportionate, but the general sentiment is absolutely justifiably.

Basically, everything in Chile is determined by the class system. State education is of far lower quality than private, which all in all leads you to a lower qualification. Private universities, which require large sums of money, have lower requisites. In short: if you are privileged, you'll have it far easier.

Solve the problem of education, something the centre-left party didn't do for twenty years of power, and there you improve the class differences in the country.

From conversations I had with people I couldn't help but feel that 20% of Chile have a worm's eye view of the world. They lead insular lives, mingle with no other people and continue to espouse backward beliefs. "If they push themselves, they [lower-class people] can achieve," was one account. How can they achieve if the current always runs against them?

Southern Towns

A statue of folk singer Violeta Parra in the town of her birth, San Carlos.

An indigenous ritual performed in Lautaro's public park. Video of this soon to follow.

Nacimiento, one of the poorest towns in Chile.

With a childhood friend I went across about eight southern towns. Miserable weather, several 'plazas', 'Mapuches - this was quintessentially Chilean.

I was lucky enough to witness a mapuche ritual right middle in the park of Lautaro. I'll upload this as a video soon.

San Pedro de Atacama


Valle de la luna.
Valle de marte.

Gheisers.
This was an incredible, if tiring, experience. I went to all the attractions of San Pedro within two or three days, virtually without having slept at all. Atacama is the driest desert in the world and the altiplano, as demonstrated in these photos, is beautiful.

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city by the port with a distinctive history. It is wonderful to climb up the hills and look at the scenery...

This was a great, great day. I was kept good company by a friend, who I relentlessly jabbered at throughout the entire trip. Couldn't have gone on a better day.

Buenos Aires, Argentina


The icing on the cake. Astonishing parks, books on all corners and plenty of culture...