Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Santiago and Valparaiso

We are safely home again, but here are a few pictures from our last two days in Chile.
Palacio de la Moneda - opened in 1805 as a colonial mint, but later the presidential palace. It was bombed during the 1973 military coup. Although the president no longer lives here, there is still a ceremonial changing of the guard. (Note the ubiquituous stray dog!)

Santiago cathedral on Plaza de Armas. Santiago was founded on 12th February, 1541 and because of earthquakes the cathedral has been rebuilt 5 times. A Royal Ordinance issued in Madrid in 1573, specified that all towns should have a main plaza surrounded by streets in a grid pattern. Another rule was that churches should preferably be on high ground so that they could be easily seen and the climb to them would force greater reverence.
 Cherubs above the cathedral door.
Old and new architecture in Santiago.
Ornate iron roof of the Central Market.
 There is still an impressive range of fish and shellfish for sale, but the fruit and vegetables have been relocated and the space taken over by restaurants.
 Face painting is just as popular in Santiago as here.
Carabiniers in Santiago encouraging the perception that they are your 'amigos'!
 Christmas street parade outside our hotel in Santiago.
 I have always thought Valparaiso was a romantic name (like Samarkand and Timbuktu). It was raided several times by pirates (including Francis Drake) and later prior to the opening of the Panama Canal it became an important port. Unlike most Spanish colonial towns, it does not follow a grid pattern, but the houses tumble down the sides of 42 hills, ornate mansions side by side with adobe and corrugated iron shacks all painted in bright colours.
Some of the gullies are so steep, that houses which are single story facing the street, have 6 levels at the rear.
My photos don't show how steep the streets are.
Valparaiso's graffiti artists would give Melbourne's lane artists a run for their money!
 A Mapuche witch. The Mapuche successfully resisted the Spanish for 300 years and only signed a treaty with independent Chile in 1881. As with other indigenous peoples around the world they got a raw deal and there is still discontent.
Political stencils.
 Typical colourful corner shop.
One of the funicular railways which connect the lower and upper towns
 The former Government House now the seat of the Admiralty
 The beach at Vina del Mar, an upmarket seaside resort, just north of Valparaiso. The cold Humboldt current which flows north along this coast causes the fog which is an almost permanent fixture.
Typical apartments along the beachfront in Vina del Mar. Each block has its own funicular for access.
Merry Christmas! This blog is now going into hibernation until I dream up where to go to next.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia

From Ushuaia we flew to El Calafate, a pretty little tourist town. Ten years ago, they got an airport and the town has grown from 6,000 to 19,000 and the number of tourists annually has quadrupled to 400,000. The attraction is the Perito Merino Glacier. The walkways and infrastructure are very good. There is even wheelchair access..

The next day we left Argentina and crossed back into Chile to Puerto Natales and from there we went to Ecocamp in the Torres del Paine National Park. The scenery is absolutely spectacular and we were so lucky with the weather, so hopefully the pictures will say it all, although they don't show the miles of winding gravel roads.

Perito Merino Glacier
 Up close and personal to the Perito Merino Glacier, near El Calafate, Argentina.
 Main street in El Calafate.
 Bus station in El Calafate. Stray dogs are everywhere, but they are nice friendly dogs.
 A church in Puerto Natales.
 Nata, our guide from Ecocamp. She was excellent and also looked after us like a mother hen.
 Our view of sunrise from our Dome Home, Ecocamp.
A little later in the morning.
More spectacular geology.
Avalanche in French Valley.
 Bill relaxes after 4 hours of hiking up French Valley.
 A woodpecker does his thing.
 A bridge made to fit!
 Virgin slipper orchids.
A pair of speckled ducks.
 Guanacos.
 Waterfall near Lake Pehoe.
 A walk through a Lengua (Nothofagus) forest to Lago Grey.
 Grey Glacier.
Near Grey Glacier with some bergy bits floating by.
Our Dome Home is on the left.
Last view of Torres del Paine.
 Gauchos along the road.
 Woolshed Patagonian style.
A rhea poses nicely. Like emus, the males look after the chicks.
 Penguins relax on the beach at Seno Otway, near Punta Arenas.
 A magellanic penguin heads back to his/her burrow.
 Some more wildflowers. They were beautiful and there was a great variety, but because of the strong winds, I had difficulty keeping them in focus.
 The Magellanes regional flag.
 Christmas is coming in Punta Arenas.