chile ~ vineyards, volcanic peaks and vistages from the past

Chile is a long, narrow strip of a country...situated between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean.  Today it is one of South America's more stable and prosperous nations.

Our ports of call took us to three distinct area of the country.  Our first stop was Punta Arenas...where it rarely rains but the wind always blows and the warmest it ever gets is 57°F in the heat of the summer.  It was summer while we were there...though it never felt like it!  Punta Arenas is a sprawling port city on the edge of the Magellan Strait.

The cormorants were out on the dock...awaiting our arrival.  From a distance...one could mistake them for penguins. 

We took a tour through the untouched landscapes to Otway Sound.

Though our destination was the natural habitat of the Magellanic penguin colonies...we saw much more en route.  There were guanacas (a camel-like mammal), rhea (an ostrich-like bird that cannot fly), and flocks of condors (the national symbol of Chile).

Sometimes called the Jackass penguin, the Magellenic penguin is the largest species of warm water penguin.  They seemed to be having a whale of a time...in and out of the water.

These five suddenly realized they had been left behind...and were making a bee-line for the shore.  They were a rather noisy lot...squawking, shrieking and braying.

Following our trek across the wilds to the penguin rookery...we returned to the ship and carried on up the coast to the city of Puerto Montt. 

The Osorno Volcano seems to show up in most of the photos I took during our time there!

We drove towards it...passing through beautiful farmlands.

The herds of cattle were all red...Holsteins, apparently.  Where I come from...Holsteins are usually black and white!

Our most excellent tour guide...was quite eager and willing to pose for a photo.  His name is Andres Oyarzun Gonzalez and if you are ever in Puerto Montt...he is the one you want as a tour guide.  The sign is a little hard to read...but you can contact him at Patagonia Southern Land Adventures.  He was awesome!

The Osorno Volcano rises 8,700 feet into the sky...and is one of Chile's most well-known active volcanoes.  We got 'up close and personal'!

 

Also in the Vicente Perez National Park and not far from the volcano...is Petrohue Falls.  We walked to the viewing platforms...where we watched huge quantities of clear turquoise water rushing over the volcanic rocks.  Quite beautiful!

We spent some time at Puerto Varas...a city on the edge of Lake Llanquihue that was established by the German immigrants some 150 years ago.  It is also known as 'the city of roses' since the German locals have a fondness for flowers and roses bloom throughout the town.  We wandered about...enjoyed Chilean music in the city square...strolled along the waterfront...and took note of all the European architecture.  It felt rather like a Swiss resort town to us.

Once back at the pier...we took tender boats back to the cruise ship...for our final leg of the journey to Valparaiso.  This is where our cruise officially ended...but we joined a group of  55 others who were not going home but staying to spend a week in Peru. From the ship we carried on by coach...another 70 kilometers from the seaport city of Valparaiso to Santiago.

We passed through the Casablanca Valley and the beautiful Indomita winery.

Soon we were in Santiago...Chile's capital and largest city.  Founded in 1541...it appears to be quite a modern city in this day and age.  At least...from a distance!

As we walked about the city square...I got a slightly different perspective. It seems they deliver gas to your door...on wheels.

Fruits and vegetables are pushed about the main streets on carts.  That is not something we would see in Vancouver.

We spent some time at the Plaza de Armas...which has been here since the founding of Santiago in 1541.  Shade, benches and pigeons... a great place to watch people.

Facing the square is Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral...several centuries old and open to the public. Quite lovely!

We arrived at Palacio La Moneda...the Government Palace...as the crowds arrived for the 'changing of the guard' ceremony. All the nearby streets were closed off...and the flag with the coat of arms was flying over the building...indicating that the president was 'in the house'.  Unfortunately...we had a schedule to keep and couldn't wait around for the main event to take place.  The historic palace itself was definitely worth seeing though.  Built in 1805...it has been home to all the Chilean presidents since that time.  Much of  the building was destroyed by bombs during the military coupe of 1973...and underwent major restoration. 

A statue of Diego Portales stands facing the palace.  He was a 19th century statesman who shaped the government politics and wrote the Constitution of 1833.  Almost two centuries later...he still has a body guard...it seems!  

Our tour of Santiago came to an end...as did our time in Chile.

Though I may not recall all the historic facts and dates for long...my memories will always include our visit to the beautiful countryside...and the mountains of Chile.

Next stop?  Peru.

patagonia....

At the southernmost tip of South America is a sparsely populated region called Patagonia...a territory that spans both Argentina and Chile. It is home to fantastic mountain peaks, vast wind-blown steppes, glaciers and ice-fields and some amazing national parks. The name Patagonia can be traced back to Magellan in 1520.

As we cruised south along the Atlantic coast of Argentina...our first stop in Patagonia was Puerto Madryn.
 

Puerto Madryn was first settled by 150 Welsh colonists in 1865...after being promised religious freedom by the Argentinean government. It is still retains its Welsh charm...though the Spanish language and customs seem to be the norm these days.

We could have gone whale watching...or penguin observing...but we chose to take a drive out to the country and see how they farmed.

Our destination was the Estancia San Guillermo...a typical Patagonian sheep ranch.

Our hosts welcomed us to their place...and we watched as several of the sheep lost their wooly coats.

Though most of the sheep were in corals...or under the watchful eye of the resident sheep dog...it seemed that a few were the family pets and wandered about at will.  While we were being served fresh fried pastries and sipping on Yerba Mate...a wooly sheep wandered about among the tables.

Our next stop was Punta Loma...home to a major sea lion breeding ground.  A storm was brewing in the distance...and made for some great photography from our vantage point on the cliffs.

Back on the ship we sailed south to Cape Horn...the spot where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

The cape lies within Chilean waters...and marks the north edge of the Drake Passage.  It is actually situated on an island (Hoorn Island) and we joined the crowd on the upper deck as we sailed around the island. Notice...no trees. The navy maintains the weather station and lighthouse.  Because the wind always blows and the seas are often angry...Cape Horn is known as the most dangerous shipping route in the world.

From Cape Horn we traveled up Beagle Channel...offering splendid views of the Patagonian Andes.

Our next port of call was Ushuaia...the world's most southerly city.

This city was a penal colony once upon a time...known as 'the end of the earth'.  Prior to the establishment of a penal colony here in 1896...the entire region was occupied by the Yamana Indians and a handful of missionaries. The last of the Yamanas perished at the end of last century...the penal colony existed through 1947. 

Today Ushuaia is a tourist town...with an international airport and a cruise port.  Population? 50,000 It is also the closest deepwater port to the Antarctic. Parked right next to our cruise ship...was a National Geographic ship...bound for Antarctica.

We walked onshore...cleared Argentine customs once again...and found free wifi outside a coffee shop. Though Cape Horn lies in Chilean territory, the portion of Tierra del Fuego (an archipelago on which Ushuaia is located) belongs to Argentina.

Once we had explored the town on foot...we took an excursion known as the 'Drive to the End of the World'.  Our first stop was in Tierra del Fuego National Park...where the World's End post office is located.  Some mailed postcards from this location.  Remember those?  We opted to hike the trails instead.

At Lapatia Bay...we arrived at the last stop on the Pan-American Highway...a connected highway system that stretches about 12,000 miles across two continents...beginning in Alaska and ending right here.  What an incredible adventure that would be...to drive it from one end to the other! 

As we left Ushuaia...we bade farewell to the snow-capped Andes Mountain range and Tierra del Fuego National Park...our awesome end-of-the-world experience. 

the falkland islands...

Though many of us know of the Falkland Islands as a result of the war which took place in 1982...not too many people have actually been there.  In fact...most would have trouble finding them on a map!  Who knew they are actually 300 miles from the mainland of Argentina?  And since there are still hard feelings as a result of that war...one can't even get there by hopping a plane from Argentina. But since our cruise ship had a port of call in Stanley (the capital city)...we took the opportunity to see and learn what we could during our short stay.

We were up early that morning...as our ship approached the islands.  Though I wasn't able to capture it on 'film'...one of the first views that came into sight was a colony of penguins marching along the craggy rocks onshore.  Never before I had I seen penguins ...running wild and free. 

We ventured ashore in tender boats shortly after anchoring...

...and were welcomed by this resident sea lion. 

We had booked a tour that took us in 4x4's across the island. As you can see...there were no roads...so the four-wheel drive was the only way to go!

At one point...we met a group of British soldiers who were done their training exercises and waiting for a ride home. The islands rely heavily on the protection of the British military...who maintain a garrison in this area.

Our journey took us through the Murrell Farm property...a 10,000 acre farm with 3,000 sheep....

...a few head of cattle, and sheep dogs.  Of course.  The owner was a friendly islander...who helps organize the tours across their farm.  She was also a storehouse of information. We learned that on their farm they have a windmill to generate their own power...and use peat as their source of energy for both heat and cooking.  This decayed plant material is dug from the bogs...dried in blocks and used as fuel in stoves and furnaces.   Life goes on in the Falklands as it always has...though they all carry cell phones these days.  And while she was hosting our tour that morning...the farmer's daughter gave birth to a baby boy nearby.  Yes...life goes on.

Our destination was a rocky cliff overlooking the sea that is home to one of the world's largest rockhopper penguin colonies.  Rockhopper penguins stand only 21 inches tall...and are the smallest and most agile of all penguins. 

We spent an hour on the bluffs...observing the penguins who went about their business as usual. They hopped about on the rocks...siblings squabbled here and there...mothers fed their young...and we took photos. A nearby cabin offered good old-fashioned Falkland Island hospitality (including refreshments).  And that was our 'road less traveled' experience on East Falkland Island.  A good one!

Arriving back in Stanley...we took a walking tour.   It felt rather like we were in Great Britain...with the English-style pubs and red phone booths.  We visited the Christ Church Cathedral...with it's renowned monument constructed of giant blue whale jawbones.  

Margaret Thatcher is the hero to the Falkland Islanders...and on January 10, 2015 (officially known as Thatcher Day) they honoured her by unveiling a bronze statue of  Baroness Thatcher. It sits on Thatcher Drive...and has a plaque inscribed with her quote from 1982...'They are few in number, but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and determine their own allegiance.'  It seems the Argentinians are not so fond of the statue.  From what we gathered...the old dispute has not been settled once and for all.
  

And so ends our tour of the Falkland Islands...which seem like a small slice of Great Britain situated in the far south Atlantic.  2,500 people live here...crime is almost non-existent...there is no light pollution...the shores teem with remarkable wildlife...and visitors are more than welcome!