If study abroad teaches you anything, it’s that you don’t know anything. You know far less of a culture, language and history than you may think. The world is simultaneously bigger and smaller than you imagined.
With this in mind, recognizing my limitations but also trying to slake my intellectual curiosity a bit, I’ve been reading a lot (in English no less!) One book my parents got for me for Christmas, travel writer Rick Steve’s “Travel as a Political Act” deserves mention on here. While I found the book a bit preachy at times, he made very legitimate points about what travel experiences can have the potential to be.
By his definition, travel as a political act means getting to know what another place is like, by forming connections with other people, and letting them air their opinions and world views, and attempting to understand how these are linked to history and culture. It also means acknowledging, in a non-ethnocentric way, that other countries may have found different (and possible even “better”) solutions to problems that we also face, knowledge which can potentially be used in ways that will benefit our own societies. Lastly, he talks about the importance of using travel as a method to overcome fear, both about safety, but also of that which is different than us, especially in the post 9/11 world.
I realized that I’ve been fortunate enough to never have really traveled internationally in a non- political way, perhaps trips to Argentine wine country or Patagonia excluded :) And I think that is why I am having a hard time explaining both the value and the meaning of my experience to those who haven’t had the same kinds of travel experiences. Furthermore, in reading Steves’ chapter on El Salvador, which reminded me a bit of my experience in Guatemala last January, I realized that travel in Latin America, in anything outside of a resort, leaves you with something indelible. The struggles are so epically proportioned and framed that you are drawn into them. I don’t want to say that this is a good or bad thing, merely that it changes people. It radicalizes you. It makes you more cynical. On a good day, maybe more thankful. Often these reactions are justified: contrary to the way Latin America is constantly portrayed in the media as a place that is far away and very different, a glimpse under the surface reveals we have a huge stake in so much of the goings on there, whether corporate or political. As consumers, voters and human beings, we should care.
In describing his travels to Iran, however, Steves’ also makes a point that I find equally valid: you can’t exclusively view another country through its politics, much less the sanitized vision of what another country’s politics that is so often found in the media or even academic caricatures. Nor can you use any other single criteria.
This is one thing I found really challenging at times in Chile (and in the imagined community of “Latin America” as a whole): it’s always tempting to view the country exclusively through the lens of the dictatorship. While this period hugely impacted modern politics and culture, its important to keep it in perspective. Chile has strengths and challenges that both stem from but are also deeper than one historical era. Similarly, its dangerous to look at a country (or people!) in terms of its economic status. Chile is certainly defined by its developing nation status and its inequality/continued struggle with poverty, but again, this isn’t the whole story.
Ideally, government is a reflection of the will of the people, but often the desires of this “group” are so varied that there is bound to be discord. Just as Bush’s foreign policy was completely estranged from my vision of what I want for the US, Obama’s foreign and domestic policies represent something similarly distant for some sectors of the population.
Just as I had to learn to accept different cultural realities during my time abroad, America’s “culture wars” are something I’m having to learn to readjust to. However, as much as I may disagree politically with many people, its imperative to remember that this doesn’t have to prevent friendship or other forms of understanding. If only we could remember this, we’d have a civil society that looks a lot more “civil” and less like a paintball range. That’s my “imported from abroad” two cents for the day...
So travel as relaxing but educational, humbling and eye-opening? I’m all for it. Bank account permitting.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Torres del Paine Tips
My friends and I were frustrated by the lack of information for planning a backpacking trip to Torres del Paine, even in guide books. Maybe this will be relevant for future Tufts in Chile-ers or someone else, but at any rate, here are our reccommendations.
Buying a ticket
-The easiest way to get to southern Patagonia, unless you have 60 hours to take the bus or are willing to hitchhike, is to fly to Punta Arenas. However, if you are not buying a ticket in Chile itself, or have a US credit card, buying a flight on LAN, the principal national airline, will be at least 3 times as expensive as it would typically cost for a Chilean.
This leaves 3 options:
-Buy your ticket over the phone from LAN. They add a $10-20 US surchage, but it will still be totally worth it.
-Use Servipag to buy it, paying in cash.
-Fly on SKY airlines, a smaller company. You may also need to buy the ticket over the phone. If you are in a rush, they also have flights to Puerto Natales, but they are far more expensive.
-Where to rent gear
From our experience, renting gear in Punta Arenas is the best way to go, as it is slightly cheaper than in nearby Puerto Natales, the so-called gateway to the park.
We used Hostel Independencia (Direction, Phone #) and were pleased with the quality of the gear as well as the pricing. The owner of the hostal is a wonderful human being: he didn’t charge us for the last day that we had the gear since we were in transit and he let us stay at his hostal until 1 in the morning since our flight was a 3:30am without charging us a dime. He also let my friend borrow a backpack without charge after his waist buckle broke on the flight down.
Sample prices (in Chilean pesos, per day):
-Tents- $2000
-Sleeping Bag- $2000
-Sleeping Matt- $500
-Campstove, with whatever cooking accessories you need- $1500
Getting to the Park
From Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales
The bus takes 3 hours and should cost $4000 one way or $7000 roundtrip on BusSur (operated by Pullman bus) and you can buy tickets at their office located on Baquedano _____. The buses leave from there as well.
Schedule:
From Puerto Natales to the Park
1.5-2 hour ride.
Schedule:
Catamaran
Depending on which way you are doing the trail, you will most likely need to take a boatride across beautiful Lago Pehoé. $11,000 CP.
Schedule:
Entering the Park
Prices vary by nationality to get into the park. If you are studying abroad and have a Chilean identity card, you can enter for only $4000 CP. Otherwise, as a foreigner, you need to pay the much steeper $15000 CP.
-W Trail Recommendations.
The W Trail is the easiest route to see as much of the highlights of the park as possible in the shortest amount of time. There’s also a route known as “The Circuit,” but this takes several more days and therefore requires much more planning. You can do the W trail in anywhere from 3-6 days depending on your fitness level, how far you are willing to walk daily and if you are willing to skip anything.
Here’s the most cost efficient route I would recommend for the W Trail, doing it “backwards” from the traditional way. This allows you to work up to the harder parts of the trail and ease into hiking with a pack. Also, you lighten the load by eating a lot of food before you have to hike with it :)
4 day trip
Day 1: Spend the night before at Mountain Lodge Paine Grande, the site where the catamaran drops you off. Leave your pack in the free lockers and then hike out to Glacier Grey. Return and hike to Camping Italiano.
Day 2: Leave belongings at Italiano. Hike up into Valle Frances. Spend the night at Italiano.
Day 3: Longest day. Hike to Chileno, or to Campamento Torres (not much further and free.) If really adventurous, hike up to see the Torres during daylight.
Day 4: Get up to see the sunrise at the Torres. (approximately 5 am) Hike out.
5 day trip (to take things a bit slower- what we did)
Day 1: Spend the night at MLPG. Hike to Glacier Grey and spend the night at MLPG again.
Day 2: Hike to Italiano with packs and drop them there. Hike into Valle Frances. Spend night at Italiano.
Day 3: Hike to Camping Torres.
Day 4: Hike to Campamento Torres.
Day 5: Get up to see the Torres at sunrise and hike out.
-Here is a really good map, with approximate distances.
Camp Site Accomodations
During high season (December to March), it can be a good idea to reserve camp sites and you can pay in advance by credit card. However, if you change your reservations, they can charge you $10CP, so make sure you are sure of your plans.
Mountain Lodge Paine Grande
$4500 CP nightly
On site tent rentals
Lodge, common area with stoves (although sometimes they run out of fuel), showers/bathrooms/water, groceries
Call 56-61) 412742, Vertice Patagonia, for reservations.
Italiano
Free, but no tent rentals
Hut for cooking
Bathrooms but no water
Well sheltered from the wind.
Cuernos
$5000 CP nightly
There is no good reason to stay at Cuernos. It is expensive, can be horribly windy since it’s right next to a large lake and is at an awkward point on the trail for stopping. The one upside of the site is a nice lodge where you can warm up or get food.
Camping Torres
$4000 CP nightly
Not to be confused with Campamento, Camping Torres is near the tourist hotel. The site was not a favorite with our group since it is a bit far out of the way, is relatively exposed to high winds and doesn’t have infrastructure for cooking that other sites have.
Call (56-61) 614 184 / 614 185, Fantastico Sur, for reservations.
Chileno
$4000 CP nightly.
This site is fairly small. It’s a great spot to stop to eat your lunch, in the large dining room equipped with a woodstove.
Call(56-61) 614 184 / 614 185 for reservations.
Campamento Torres
Free, no rentals
Our favorite camp site. Well sheltered from the wind, gorgeous!
Hut for cooking, bathrooms but no water. 45 minutes from the Torres.
-What to Bring
-Food- We bought food in Santiago which saved a lot of money since every kind of food needs to be imported to Punta Arenas. There are grocery stores however, and you can even buy food on the trail, although it is extremely overpriced.
-Rain gear. I had rain pants, which really helped, more as a windblock than anything.
-toilet paper,
What not to Bring:
-trowel is not really necessary. Frequent bathrooms at campsites.
-Not really bears/racoons, so don’t need to worry about protecting food as much
-Iodine tablets for water. Supposedly its totally fine to just take water from most streams. They actually don’t even sell tablets anywhere in Chile, so you’ve got to take your chances. We were perfectly fine though.
Buying a ticket
-The easiest way to get to southern Patagonia, unless you have 60 hours to take the bus or are willing to hitchhike, is to fly to Punta Arenas. However, if you are not buying a ticket in Chile itself, or have a US credit card, buying a flight on LAN, the principal national airline, will be at least 3 times as expensive as it would typically cost for a Chilean.
This leaves 3 options:
-Buy your ticket over the phone from LAN. They add a $10-20 US surchage, but it will still be totally worth it.
-Use Servipag to buy it, paying in cash.
-Fly on SKY airlines, a smaller company. You may also need to buy the ticket over the phone. If you are in a rush, they also have flights to Puerto Natales, but they are far more expensive.
-Where to rent gear
From our experience, renting gear in Punta Arenas is the best way to go, as it is slightly cheaper than in nearby Puerto Natales, the so-called gateway to the park.
We used Hostel Independencia (Direction, Phone #) and were pleased with the quality of the gear as well as the pricing. The owner of the hostal is a wonderful human being: he didn’t charge us for the last day that we had the gear since we were in transit and he let us stay at his hostal until 1 in the morning since our flight was a 3:30am without charging us a dime. He also let my friend borrow a backpack without charge after his waist buckle broke on the flight down.
Sample prices (in Chilean pesos, per day):
-Tents- $2000
-Sleeping Bag- $2000
-Sleeping Matt- $500
-Campstove, with whatever cooking accessories you need- $1500
Getting to the Park
From Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales
The bus takes 3 hours and should cost $4000 one way or $7000 roundtrip on BusSur (operated by Pullman bus) and you can buy tickets at their office located on Baquedano _____. The buses leave from there as well.
Schedule:
From Puerto Natales to the Park
1.5-2 hour ride.
Schedule:
Catamaran
Depending on which way you are doing the trail, you will most likely need to take a boatride across beautiful Lago Pehoé. $11,000 CP.
Schedule:
Entering the Park
Prices vary by nationality to get into the park. If you are studying abroad and have a Chilean identity card, you can enter for only $4000 CP. Otherwise, as a foreigner, you need to pay the much steeper $15000 CP.
-W Trail Recommendations.
The W Trail is the easiest route to see as much of the highlights of the park as possible in the shortest amount of time. There’s also a route known as “The Circuit,” but this takes several more days and therefore requires much more planning. You can do the W trail in anywhere from 3-6 days depending on your fitness level, how far you are willing to walk daily and if you are willing to skip anything.
Here’s the most cost efficient route I would recommend for the W Trail, doing it “backwards” from the traditional way. This allows you to work up to the harder parts of the trail and ease into hiking with a pack. Also, you lighten the load by eating a lot of food before you have to hike with it :)
4 day trip
Day 1: Spend the night before at Mountain Lodge Paine Grande, the site where the catamaran drops you off. Leave your pack in the free lockers and then hike out to Glacier Grey. Return and hike to Camping Italiano.
Day 2: Leave belongings at Italiano. Hike up into Valle Frances. Spend the night at Italiano.
Day 3: Longest day. Hike to Chileno, or to Campamento Torres (not much further and free.) If really adventurous, hike up to see the Torres during daylight.
Day 4: Get up to see the sunrise at the Torres. (approximately 5 am) Hike out.
5 day trip (to take things a bit slower- what we did)
Day 1: Spend the night at MLPG. Hike to Glacier Grey and spend the night at MLPG again.
Day 2: Hike to Italiano with packs and drop them there. Hike into Valle Frances. Spend night at Italiano.
Day 3: Hike to Camping Torres.
Day 4: Hike to Campamento Torres.
Day 5: Get up to see the Torres at sunrise and hike out.
-Here is a really good map, with approximate distances.
Camp Site Accomodations
During high season (December to March), it can be a good idea to reserve camp sites and you can pay in advance by credit card. However, if you change your reservations, they can charge you $10CP, so make sure you are sure of your plans.
Mountain Lodge Paine Grande
$4500 CP nightly
On site tent rentals
Lodge, common area with stoves (although sometimes they run out of fuel), showers/bathrooms/water, groceries
Call 56-61) 412742, Vertice Patagonia, for reservations.
Italiano
Free, but no tent rentals
Hut for cooking
Bathrooms but no water
Well sheltered from the wind.
Cuernos
$5000 CP nightly
There is no good reason to stay at Cuernos. It is expensive, can be horribly windy since it’s right next to a large lake and is at an awkward point on the trail for stopping. The one upside of the site is a nice lodge where you can warm up or get food.
Camping Torres
$4000 CP nightly
Not to be confused with Campamento, Camping Torres is near the tourist hotel. The site was not a favorite with our group since it is a bit far out of the way, is relatively exposed to high winds and doesn’t have infrastructure for cooking that other sites have.
Call (56-61) 614 184 / 614 185, Fantastico Sur, for reservations.
Chileno
$4000 CP nightly.
This site is fairly small. It’s a great spot to stop to eat your lunch, in the large dining room equipped with a woodstove.
Call(56-61) 614 184 / 614 185 for reservations.
Campamento Torres
Free, no rentals
Our favorite camp site. Well sheltered from the wind, gorgeous!
Hut for cooking, bathrooms but no water. 45 minutes from the Torres.
-What to Bring
-Food- We bought food in Santiago which saved a lot of money since every kind of food needs to be imported to Punta Arenas. There are grocery stores however, and you can even buy food on the trail, although it is extremely overpriced.
-Rain gear. I had rain pants, which really helped, more as a windblock than anything.
-toilet paper,
What not to Bring:
-trowel is not really necessary. Frequent bathrooms at campsites.
-Not really bears/racoons, so don’t need to worry about protecting food as much
-Iodine tablets for water. Supposedly its totally fine to just take water from most streams. They actually don’t even sell tablets anywhere in Chile, so you’ve got to take your chances. We were perfectly fine though.
Day 5: The Windiest Yet
When we looked at the map for where we would be hiking for the day and saw the phrase "Passage of the Winds," we were terrified. Hadn't we been through the windy bit already? Sure enough, after climbing up for about an hour, we found ourselves walking along a very narrow path overlooking a gorge with 60 mile an hour winds absolutely attacking us. It was certainly the most scared I've been in quite some time, possibly all trip. Needless to say, there aren't too many pictures from this day. We spent the night at the base of the Torres, a unique rock formation for which the park is famous, so that we could see them at sunrise.
Day 4: Lago Nordenskjöld
Today we hiked between our campsite in a wooded area past the length of the beautiful Lago Nordenskjöld, to a new campsite in an area of Andean steppe. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful, but the wind increasingly caused problems, as it battered our tents ferociously overnight. Also unfortunate, my camera malfunctioned, meaning that most of the pictures beyond this point are from friends.
Day 3: Valle Frances
After hiking through forests with our packs, we dropped them at a new campsite, before heading up into the glacial lined Valle Frances. On one side was a tremendous glacier, and on the other, beautiful rock formations. We got to see three avalanches! We hiked in and out of forests, with trees simply carved by the wind. I think this may have been my favorite day of the trip.
Day 2: Glacier Grey
Our first day of hiking was relatively light: while it was about a 12 mile day, we were able to leave our packs at the camp site and simply make our way to the stunning glacier grey, a large glacier situated over a lake with grey water. We got used to one of Patagonia's most interesting features: the constant wind, with incredible strength.
Day 1: Planes, Buses and Boats
Due to our adventurous spirit and willingness to save money at whatever cost, my friends and I took the cheapest flight down to Punta Arenas, the starting point for trips in Southern Patagonia, that we could find. This meant leaving Santiago at 1:30 am and arriving at 4:30. After napping for a brief spell on the floor of the airport in the small city, which boasts the largest population for anypoint that far South in the world, we got a taxi into the city past the beautiful Strait of Magellan to collect a friend and the majority of our camping supplies at a hostel. We then bused to Puerto Natales, 3 hours away, and then on to the park of Torres del Paine. Once there, we took a ride on a catamaran across gorgeous blue water to arrive at our camping site for the first night, before beginning our 5 day trek.
Hasta el culo del mundo
I was lucky enough to have the fabulous opportunity to go to Chilean Patagonia for a weeklong camping adventure in one of the most pristine environments on earth. Pictures to follow!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Monday, November 8: A New Level of Southern Hospitality
Words of the day:
archipiélago- archipelago, group of islands
milcao- local food, sold in the street everywhere. Made from fat, potato and bits of meat...It was kind of gross although warmed you up, I guess. Another food to add to the “How are Chileans skinny?” list.
Today we headed out to another island close to the big one, known as Quinchao. We went to the biggest city, Achao, no more than a little town really, but quite charming. The ferry ride and the bus ride were very beautiful with views of the ocean from many different angles, the roadsides were lined with giant yellow-flowered buses and there were many sheep filled farms with beautiful old houses. We went down to the beach and wandered a bit, checking out fishing boats beached with the tide, a giant rock formation off the coast which is a hang out spot for sea lions (this one live!) and cliffs lined with vegetation. After a funeral had departed , we checked out one of the oldest and most famous of the wooden churches of Chiloe, this one dating back to the 18th century and with a beautiful all wood interior. It’s so interesting to think about the contrast between the heavy presence of Christianity on an island that originated a very unique paganistic mythology. We grabbed some delicious empanadas from a nearby mini-mart, beef surrounded by potato and then lightly fried. Quite possibly the best empanada I’ve had in my time here, and I’ve had my fair share...
While trying to find where the buses back to the main island departed from, we had a very interesting experience with a “local.” We asked a woman with a baby for directions and she replied that since she had only lived here for a year, she didn’t know exactly the name of the streets to tell us where to go, but could bring us there herself. Not wanting to bother her, we replied that we would just find it. But she replied that she didn’t have anything to do at present and before we knew it though, Thomas had been handed her baby, we were packing into her car, and Eric was sitting on top of the baby’s car seat. She told us she was originally from Easter Island and had lived in Santiago before that and as something of an outsider herself, liked to help foreigners out. She offered to let us use her bathroom and completely seriously said she would have given us oysters if she had only run into us earlier. This is what I mean when I say people in the south of Chile are ridiculously nice.
Then sadly, after a bit of time in Dalcahue, a small ocean side town with lots of fishing, a beautiful church and an artisanal fair that is especially famed on Sundays, when artesans from all over the area come with their wares, we made our way back to the mainland by bus and ferry combo. Just as we were about to leave the island, up by the city of Ancud, it got sunny, really sunny, with the ocean turning a beautiful shade that was practically turquoise. Tricky Chiloé, Tricky.
I got a little taste of Puerto Montt today while we were waiting for a bus connection. All the tour guides describe it as nothing really special. It’s grown quite large in recent years, meaning that it doesn’t have a lot of character, with American style housing developments packing the outskirts, and a few high rises going up. It definitely was interesting to see a southern city that wasn’t especially touristy though. It was very bustling and kind of grating, in a sort of off-color port way, although there was a reasonably nice park area right by the waterfront, with a beautiful view. There were tons of homeless people wandering around, which kind of surprised me. I guess they ended up there because it’s the biggest city in the area, but it must be a horrible climate for them to live in, with all the rain and cold. Curious if there’s some other factor involved.
Basically, the streets were just crowded with people, ethnically showing the dual Mapuche and German influence of the region, fruit vendors outside of grocery stores, even more stray dogs than usual, buses and collectivos, a lot of construction work and diner style restaurants. The bus station was even more crowded and random, filled with dogs, a random clown, families traveling in groups or wishing off their loved ones, African nuns, and the usual food sellers hawking their wares.
Found a bus back for even cheaper, $17, and for a nice semi-cama. Going to miss this aspect of traveling in Chile a lot.
archipiélago- archipelago, group of islands
milcao- local food, sold in the street everywhere. Made from fat, potato and bits of meat...It was kind of gross although warmed you up, I guess. Another food to add to the “How are Chileans skinny?” list.
Today we headed out to another island close to the big one, known as Quinchao. We went to the biggest city, Achao, no more than a little town really, but quite charming. The ferry ride and the bus ride were very beautiful with views of the ocean from many different angles, the roadsides were lined with giant yellow-flowered buses and there were many sheep filled farms with beautiful old houses. We went down to the beach and wandered a bit, checking out fishing boats beached with the tide, a giant rock formation off the coast which is a hang out spot for sea lions (this one live!) and cliffs lined with vegetation. After a funeral had departed , we checked out one of the oldest and most famous of the wooden churches of Chiloe, this one dating back to the 18th century and with a beautiful all wood interior. It’s so interesting to think about the contrast between the heavy presence of Christianity on an island that originated a very unique paganistic mythology. We grabbed some delicious empanadas from a nearby mini-mart, beef surrounded by potato and then lightly fried. Quite possibly the best empanada I’ve had in my time here, and I’ve had my fair share...
While trying to find where the buses back to the main island departed from, we had a very interesting experience with a “local.” We asked a woman with a baby for directions and she replied that since she had only lived here for a year, she didn’t know exactly the name of the streets to tell us where to go, but could bring us there herself. Not wanting to bother her, we replied that we would just find it. But she replied that she didn’t have anything to do at present and before we knew it though, Thomas had been handed her baby, we were packing into her car, and Eric was sitting on top of the baby’s car seat. She told us she was originally from Easter Island and had lived in Santiago before that and as something of an outsider herself, liked to help foreigners out. She offered to let us use her bathroom and completely seriously said she would have given us oysters if she had only run into us earlier. This is what I mean when I say people in the south of Chile are ridiculously nice.
Then sadly, after a bit of time in Dalcahue, a small ocean side town with lots of fishing, a beautiful church and an artisanal fair that is especially famed on Sundays, when artesans from all over the area come with their wares, we made our way back to the mainland by bus and ferry combo. Just as we were about to leave the island, up by the city of Ancud, it got sunny, really sunny, with the ocean turning a beautiful shade that was practically turquoise. Tricky Chiloé, Tricky.
I got a little taste of Puerto Montt today while we were waiting for a bus connection. All the tour guides describe it as nothing really special. It’s grown quite large in recent years, meaning that it doesn’t have a lot of character, with American style housing developments packing the outskirts, and a few high rises going up. It definitely was interesting to see a southern city that wasn’t especially touristy though. It was very bustling and kind of grating, in a sort of off-color port way, although there was a reasonably nice park area right by the waterfront, with a beautiful view. There were tons of homeless people wandering around, which kind of surprised me. I guess they ended up there because it’s the biggest city in the area, but it must be a horrible climate for them to live in, with all the rain and cold. Curious if there’s some other factor involved.
Basically, the streets were just crowded with people, ethnically showing the dual Mapuche and German influence of the region, fruit vendors outside of grocery stores, even more stray dogs than usual, buses and collectivos, a lot of construction work and diner style restaurants. The bus station was even more crowded and random, filled with dogs, a random clown, families traveling in groups or wishing off their loved ones, African nuns, and the usual food sellers hawking their wares.
Found a bus back for even cheaper, $17, and for a nice semi-cama. Going to miss this aspect of traveling in Chile a lot.
Friday, August 20, 2010
August 14/15: Clay Towns and Beach Towns- The Adventures Continue
Word of the Day:
clay- la greda
chancho- pig (Chile)
Today, the whole Tufts group had a trip to Pomaire, an artisanal tourist town just outside Santiago famed for its clay. Pomaire is a beautiful place, in its own humble way. It doesn't have any of the splendor of the Andes or the color of Valpo but it feels quaint and comfortable. Although it is specifically designed for tourism, we only saw other Chileans there, which was definitely different than other touristy places we've visited. We were lucky enough to spend the day with a family who live in the town and own some sort of artisanal center. We ate breakfast in their beautiful house, which was filled with portraits, paintings and beautiful objects that seemed straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens style magazine. After that, their daughter brought us across the town to show us the clay process. Clay, straight out of the ground, comes into Pomaire from nearby hillsides, where it is soaked, milled and packed into blocs called "quesitos." (little cheeses) Then, the clay in worked on potter's wheels to make simple yet beautiful objects in beautiful terra cottas that vary in color according to the soil they are made from. We got to watch potters at their craft which was amazing, because it only took them literally 30 seconds to make bowls or plates or vases. We also got a chance to try which was quite fun and gave us an idea of the skill required. Throughout, our guide emphasized the low prices paid for goods despite the physical labor required as well as the skill. She also mentioned that free trade was partly responsible for the dip in prices. While Pomaire's goods are famed throughout Chile, I suppose that they probably face competition from cheaper made Asian goods. On the whole, I'm surprised there isn't any sort of fair trade movement going on in Pomaire. While it probably wouldn't have much of a success within Chile, it would probably have some international traction, although I don't know how much of an international market their is. Ultimately, I suppose a lot of what determines the prices is a lack of respect for manual labor, despite how much skill it may entail.
We learned from an artisan how to make traditional chanchitos, good luck clay pigs for which Pomaire is famous. After a HUGE traditional lunch of cazuela, and several sides including penca, a sweet celery like vegetable, we went down to the row of stores to check out their wares and shop around.
All in all, it was a lovely, relaxed and graciously hosted day.
That evening, I went to the beachside town of Algorrobo with fellow Tufts in Chile-er Molly, her host sister and their friends. While Algorrobo is a huge resort in the summer, I really liked it this time of year since it was relatively empty. The water was beautiful- multiple layers of color surrounded by sweeping views of the coastline. The Chileans we hung out with were great- partying in Chile is very relaxed and fun and always includes fun music.
As absolutely fabulous as all this is, it's weird for me to be having so many great experiences all at once, especially with people who represent some of the wealthiest members of Chilean society.
I feel as if I've won some sort of lottery that's enabled me to jump up an entire income bracket in a matter of months: it's AWESOME, I'm extremely grateful for it, but its minorly disconcerting.
clay- la greda
chancho- pig (Chile)
Today, the whole Tufts group had a trip to Pomaire, an artisanal tourist town just outside Santiago famed for its clay. Pomaire is a beautiful place, in its own humble way. It doesn't have any of the splendor of the Andes or the color of Valpo but it feels quaint and comfortable. Although it is specifically designed for tourism, we only saw other Chileans there, which was definitely different than other touristy places we've visited. We were lucky enough to spend the day with a family who live in the town and own some sort of artisanal center. We ate breakfast in their beautiful house, which was filled with portraits, paintings and beautiful objects that seemed straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens style magazine. After that, their daughter brought us across the town to show us the clay process. Clay, straight out of the ground, comes into Pomaire from nearby hillsides, where it is soaked, milled and packed into blocs called "quesitos." (little cheeses) Then, the clay in worked on potter's wheels to make simple yet beautiful objects in beautiful terra cottas that vary in color according to the soil they are made from. We got to watch potters at their craft which was amazing, because it only took them literally 30 seconds to make bowls or plates or vases. We also got a chance to try which was quite fun and gave us an idea of the skill required. Throughout, our guide emphasized the low prices paid for goods despite the physical labor required as well as the skill. She also mentioned that free trade was partly responsible for the dip in prices. While Pomaire's goods are famed throughout Chile, I suppose that they probably face competition from cheaper made Asian goods. On the whole, I'm surprised there isn't any sort of fair trade movement going on in Pomaire. While it probably wouldn't have much of a success within Chile, it would probably have some international traction, although I don't know how much of an international market their is. Ultimately, I suppose a lot of what determines the prices is a lack of respect for manual labor, despite how much skill it may entail.
We learned from an artisan how to make traditional chanchitos, good luck clay pigs for which Pomaire is famous. After a HUGE traditional lunch of cazuela, and several sides including penca, a sweet celery like vegetable, we went down to the row of stores to check out their wares and shop around.
All in all, it was a lovely, relaxed and graciously hosted day.
That evening, I went to the beachside town of Algorrobo with fellow Tufts in Chile-er Molly, her host sister and their friends. While Algorrobo is a huge resort in the summer, I really liked it this time of year since it was relatively empty. The water was beautiful- multiple layers of color surrounded by sweeping views of the coastline. The Chileans we hung out with were great- partying in Chile is very relaxed and fun and always includes fun music.
As absolutely fabulous as all this is, it's weird for me to be having so many great experiences all at once, especially with people who represent some of the wealthiest members of Chilean society.
I feel as if I've won some sort of lottery that's enabled me to jump up an entire income bracket in a matter of months: it's AWESOME, I'm extremely grateful for it, but its minorly disconcerting.
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