Cordillera Chilena: Punta Lagunas

Continue out into the Cajon del Maipo, leaving the urban jungle of La Florida and Puente Alto behind, continue past Baños Morales and you'll get to Punta Lagunas, a group of cerros with an amazing view of several of the Cajun's glaciers and a peek of a few lagunas.

I'll be honest, despite the name, the Lagunas were the less impressive part of the hike. Rather it was the panoramic view of the region around, as well as a some 300 meter wall filled with fossils and at almost a perfect 90° angle. At a bit of 3100 meters, the hike isn't too difficult, although there are some exposed points that will give you a bit of vertigo if you don't prepare yourself. Plus the constant aftershocks make any sort of walking on mountains around boulders a bit more worrisome.

The Presidential Handoff in Chile: Goodbye Bachelet, Hello Piñera, Let the Earth Shake

 Piñera, his camera smirk/smile, and myself at Vendemia Santa Cruz

For the first time in over 50 years a member of Chile’s right wing alianza took the oath of office yesterday after being elected and the earth shook below. A billionaire airline tycoon, Sebastián Piñera, is now the president of Chile. But the entire changing of the guard has been overshadowed by the seismic activity. The big presidential hand off was no exception.

At about 11.30 am yesterday morning a 6.9 (also reported in the Chilean press as a 7.2 “aftershock” struck with a an epicenter near the coastline south of Valparaiso. It hit right as Piñera was taking his oath of office, and not too far away.

A tsunami warning was issued immediately afterwards the earthquake and people scrambled to higher ground. Taller buildings in Santiago were evacuated.

What a day to take office. But then again having to deal with a 8.8 earthquake in the last few days of office isn’t exactly an attractive proposition either.

Piñera’s assumption of president is rather significant. Chile’s right wing parties and the alliance the have formed, the Renovacion Nacional and the Union Democratica Independiente, haven’t had power since Pinochet was in control. But Piñera beat Eduardo Frei, with a pretty solid margin.

Piñera managed to win the election despite a high approval rating of Bachelet. The Concertación, the three center left group is made of three parities. The PPD, PS and the DC, wasn’t able to cash in on this popularity and the relatively smooth handling of a global financial crisis.

Piñera is a very wealthy man. He controls minority and majority stakes in some of Chile’s largest companies, among them the airlines LAN Chile, Chile’s most popular (and infamous) football team Colo Colo. He controls TVN, one of the largest Chilean broadcasters. His total wealth is somewhere up there around USD 1 billion.

His success as a business man has garnered him a lot of respect from many Chileans, not surprising considering the country’s now stable love of free market policies, even if they were instilled into the national character at gunpoint.

But Piñera’s name has also arisen in several investigations. He was fined in 2007 for using insider information to his benefit to sell stocks. Probably more dubious was his connection to the default of the Banco de Talca in 1982, while Piñera was general manager. He was cleared of wrong doing by the government, at that time the dictatorship that he supported.

Piñera’s 2010 campaign took on a mix of Obama’s “change” with some old fashioned Pat Buchanan or Ronny Reagan tough on crime talking points. In the end it was his positioning as the candidate of change that allowed him to win. The incumbent Concertación was not able to produce a new candidate, rather relied on an ex president, Eduardo Frei, who now is at best an elderly statesman. Despite the popularity that Bachelet enjoyed, it wasn’t enough to convince people that the status quo was the line to walk.

Personally I have some sort of distrust of Piñera. I don’t trust him to make good decisions as a statesman. Too much time as a shrewd businessman can skew one’s sense of public good. I’m not saying that just because one is a successful businessman they are somehow corrupt or evil. Hardly. But when one already has all the money and plenty of influence, what exactly is it about being president that they feel they lack? The influence? Is he into the idea of himself as some sort of guru? Some sort of neo-liberal Chavez? I can’t trust the guy. But in the end I think this is what happens when a political party has been in power too long, even if democratically elected. It entrenches the bureaucracy, the stale institutionalism that is all too prevalent in Chile. It does need a serious shaking up.

I actually met Sebastían Piñera once last year. I had been drinking wine at the Santa Cruz Vendemia (wine grape harvest) Festival and he ran up to shake hands. I snapped a foto of him. He looks much different in person, much shorter and smaller than on TV. His head is a bit too big and his arms really long. I think if we wrestled I could pin him no problem. But that’s besides the point right?

So here we are. The era of Piñera. Lets see how he handles this mess and devastation these earthquakes have left.

Cordillera Chilena: Cerro Canoitas

Finally made it back up a cerro after a long work induced pause. This time I went with a group of about 20 people up Cerro Canoitas, located about 15KM up Camino Farellones, just a few minutes past the start of the zona de curvas that leads up to the ski resorts. The hike was pretty easy, starting at around 1800 meters up to 2600 meters. Not much of a trail though, more of a web of rabbit trails, some of which blazed by this guy below. (I must add that he was freed, not eaten nor sold for his fur). Add to that about three false summits and a very loose shale that made the decent a bit more difficult and painful. The summit was great though, with a view of El Plomo and of the city below. I would only recommend it for those who have an idea where to find the trail head (somewhere there are some GPS coordinates on the internet) and don't mind scrambling towards the peak and back down again.

Photos from 09 I should've published: La Plaza de Bogotá

In October of last year I traveled to Bogotá for work. During the trip I took a short tour of the main wholesale fruit market of the capital. It's full of all sort of tropical and imported fruit. I entered along with a receiver of the exporter where I work. It has its dirtiness and chaos, as does any fruit market in Latin America (in the north the are still crazy but a bit cleaner), but it is now a safe place. My guide for the day, who has worked in the market, or as it is referred to there, La Plaza, for more than 10 years, says today it is a safe and relatively good place to be working. Not the case 10 years ago when it was run by competing cartels.

Today it is the principal reception market for imported fruit that arrives to the port of Buenaventura.

In the photo above a worker is packaging plantains, that large banana looking fruit that is so delicious when fried. Ever tried one? They go great with pulled pork, baked beans and coleslaw.

Photos of 09

So here are a few of the many photos I've been wanting to put up for a while.

 

I'll start off with a shot from just outside of La Grita, Venezuela. La Grita is a prime farming region that supplies a great deal of the rest of the coutry with vegetables. The crops are planted literally into the side of the mountain, some of them extremely steep! Small (1-2 hectare) plots with  carrots, brocoli lettuce, strawberries and onion, among others are nestled into every growable nichesand corner. Above is from a little pond in some of the higher fields.

San Carlos de Apoquindo

Last Saturday was a rarity. The weather was perfect: clear, warm with a good strong sun. Something that one learns to relish during a dreary Santiago winter. So we loaded up and headed to San Carlos de Apoquindo. The area is owned by the Universidad Catolica and serves as a sports/activities complex. They have everything from a football stadium to a polo field. But for me the best part is the network of trails that you can hike or bike. The main route leads you up to Alto Naranjo, one of the hills that make the route up to Cerro Provincia. But there are a number of other trails at San Carlos that will take you to some great look outs over the city.

Discovering the Plaza Ñuñoa.

I like where I live. Ñuñoa is a community in Santiago located just south of Providencia. It is mostly residential, lots of trees, only recently have taller buildings made there way to the community, unfortunately taking away some of the great views of the San Ramon group of mountains towards the east.

As a muncipality Ñuñoa also has a lot going for it. Its the only community in Santiago that has a recyclng pick up service. It also has a free bus in the mornings (though it doesn't get quite far enough). There are a lot of free music shows in several of the plazas, including the Plaza Ñuñoa, near where I live.

The Plaza Ñuñoa also offers some great night entertainment: breweries, theater, live music, good happy hour specials all make it an attractive destination at night.

Revista Revolver just published a short guide I wrote to the night scene in Ñuñoa. I didn't go too far in depth into the places, and I probably left out a few goodies (La Isla, Butapest, to name a couple), but it gives you an idea of what is possible if you're looking to get to know the Plaza a bit more.

Looking Down on the City

Photo by Kyle Weaver

It's been about a month and a half since I made it up to the top of San Ramon with a great group of guys. We ended up being eight, and managed to start the first day, about a six hour hike, pretty late around 4pm. The darkness turned it into an 8 hour climb this night. The end of the hike wasn't exactly pleasent. I struggled on each step up and the darkness only played more tricks on my tired mind and body. But on above me were the Andes, lit up by a lightening storm ever so and then. And the view over the valley as I passed the last bit of rock obstacles near the top shortly before midnight was grandiose. 6 million people and all their lights, all over a kilometer below me.

Sleeping dogs

Street dogs rarely have it quite this good.

La Ciudad de Fotografos

Two weekends ago I made it to the outdoor documental film festival held in front of the museum of contemporary art in the barrio Bellas Artes. The documentaries were a collection of some historic reels -an interview with both Fidel Castro and Salavador Allende- and more contemporary titles as well.

The night finished with La Ciudad de Fotografos, a documentary by Sebastian Moreno about a group of photographers that documented public protests under the military regime. The film is told through the eyes of Moreno, whose whole recollection of the military government is based largely in the photographs taken by his father, one of photographers featured in the film.

These weren’t the foreign journalists working with Reuters or the AP, but rather Chileans who felt these events had to be captured on film and formed their own independent group to do so.

The film combined interviews with several of the photographers, the actual photos they had taken at the time and video that had been shot of them taking the photos during the protests.This was dangerous work, the military didn’t want these photos to get out. They had little options for publishing them due to government censorship. at times they would just hang them from their neck and walk through the center to get people’s attention. They were exposed to danger and the risk of detention at a time when people were going missing and being tortured.

While the documentary is about the photographers, it is also about those times that they lived and all the nuances of covering these public protests. It is also a tribute to how powerful photography is in shaping people’s perceptions. In one scene they show a magazine that is to be published, but all of their photos have been censured, every single one.

I highly recommend the film (not sure where you can find it though sorry, but the trailer can be watched here) to anyone who is a fan of photographer or interested in Chile's recent history.

Karate Kid

I ran into a group practicing various forms of martial arts over the weekend. The guy in the back shouted the commands and the rest all jumped.

A Place for a Cat

Taking a rest from the sun near Quinta Normal

The Chilean small business

I’ve long been intrigued by the quantity of small businesses in Chile. This little shops that you past on the bus ride to where ever it is you are going, some of them packed, others always empty. Most you’ll never walk into but in Santiago I’m always aware of their existence.

This fascination has prompted me to walk into them with my camera and explore them visually. Most people are pretty open to the lens, while others or not. Some have suspected me of being some sort of salesman, others simply just don’t care and a few sit and talk to me about their lives.

In any case I haven’t gotten out as much as I would like. I’ve posted two other entries (here and here) on a couple of the places I’ve been to in recent weeks.

RN Rio de Los Cipreses: Great place for trekking in Chile

Over the weekend Caro and I went to Reserva Nacional Rio de los Cipreses, located just to the south of Santiago. I was quite impressed by the park. It features a long trail going from the entrance to the very end with numerous extensions along the way. There are several high mountain peaks that can be climbed. A relatively flat trekking that can be done through the valley plus glaciers, waterfalls and lots of green. I highly recommend it as a long weekend getaway.

Above: the town nearest to the park, Coya, is an interesting little place. Many of the political flyers leftover from last weeks election were still up. Including this one, Por el Huaso que quiere

They have been reintroducing Pumas to the park and have some sort of protection program going. We didn't get to see one though.

Plenty of quality hiking and the trail I think could be done on a mountain bike as well as long as you don't mind hauling it over rivers.

Some great peaks line the borders of the park.



Pure campo as you drive into the park.

We both had a great time....highly recommend the getaway!

50 Cent in Chile

As luck would have it I ended up at a 50 Cent press conference (no, I'm being serious here).

I'll admit I don't have any of his music in my iTunes, but you can't deny that he is a big name so it was interesting to be right in front of him. I was expecting someone a lot more aggresive, but in person he seemed pretty laid back and interested to be in Chile.

He's performing in Chile and Colombia, which he said were the two countries in Latin America he hasn't been to yet or had any of his albums go gold or platnum. There was a good show out of tabloid press, TVN, CQC, etc. The Chilean press seemed very fascinated with some of his eccentric requests. What I heard there (before his entry) was that he needed 20 black and 20 white towels....he asked for lots of mirrors in his room? He ate his chicken with no skin on it? It was a very strange voyage into the curiousities of the farandula focused media in Chile.

Then he talked. He doesn't really understand what they are saying in most reggaetone songs, but he understands the rythms. He came to Chile because he wants to say he has been everywhere. He writes his lyrics about the violence, the streets because expressing the experience through music is a peaceful way of dealing with it. That's the kind of statement I would say bullshit if I read it but hearing someone say it and mean it was something different. The guy next to him had an Obama hat on, which got a bit of attention as well, and 50 said he wanted a president white, black, just a president that is a good president, but the other guy was all about Obama.

I asked him if he liked Chilean girls. He said he hadn't seen any that would scare him away.

There were some other questions, there was a sort of hesitation but interest between the Chilean press and the three man group. Then Caiga Quien Caiga, which if you've ever seen the show you know how they are, gave him some gift and asked him for one in return (a T-shirt or something), but they were so serious. It was very weird of them to be like that, maybe I just didn't get the joke. That's happened before.

World Press Photo

I went about a week ago (maybe it was a bit longer than that) to the World Press Photo. This is the third year I've seen it. In Santiago it usually passes through the Centro Cultral de Las Condes. The place gets some good shows but this is one of my favorites. The photos are very good, very serious and can be a bit overwhelming. They go to show you how watered down our newspaper images are, and how powerful photography is as a story telling medium. This year my favorite was a series of photos taken in the moments before and after a suicide bomber attacked Benazir Bhutto. There is one of her adjusting her veil in the last seconds of her life that is simple but very very powerful. In any case if you aren't familiar with the World Press Photo and you like photography or the news its worth checking out.

The Flower Lady: A Slideshow Story

So I've been wanting (and others have urged) to put some of my photos together into stories as a slide show with a narrative and everything...so here is a little test run of some photos I took a month or two ago in the Plaza Ñuñoa. Hope you like it.

El Regalon

After an extremely filling meal at what might be one of the best restaurants around Santiago...Calypso, Caro and I rested in a field behind the eating area (the food is rich and the wine is strong so they have some comfy chairs and hammocks to rest in)...we were visited by a large but friendly dog.

A spot to enjoy

I felt going to the archives and pulling up something from the past.

From Termas Geometricas which is just north of Villarica. The place is stunning, with a very nice infrastructure that flows perfectly with the narrow canyon, waterfalls and massive green plants that form the nature around it. Not to mention the 17 naturally heated pools that it has. A true gem.

Although a lot has happened here in Chile over the last 9,000 years:

There is one thing that has never happened.


Pic from National Geographic (who else would have it)

Until this last week. On May 2 a Volcano in the far south -Chaitén- blew its lid. After a couple days or so of puffing smoke ash it has started to spew fire and ash, as in the photo above, mixed with lightening. Yesterday saw some of the biggest explosions yet.

The event is nothing minor, ash has reached as far as Buenos Aires and forced the evacuation of the entire area. Luckily there aren’t any major urban centers nearby. But on the news I saw a dog left behind, lying at the front door of his house with a sad face.

I was lucky enough to see a different Volcano, Llaima, erupt in January, near Temuco. But this is something much bigger, and notable, since it has been dormant so long. It makes you wonder about those four or five dormant monsters on the edge of the capital.