Mateo in Santiago!

Chile Part 11

I'm just blogging up a storm right now! Here is the protest blog as promised. A month ago, authorities from Chilean President Sebastian Piñera's administration approved a project called "HidroAysén" which will build five dams in Patagonia in order to generate hydroelectric power and meet Chile's increasing energy demands. It was amazing to see how quickly people took to the streets to protest this decision, and how many showed up!

All of these photos are from one protest I went to, along with 40,000 other people. You just don't see that activism in the States, we haven't had anything like it since the Civil Rights Movement. Then again, most of the Chileans who marched on this day were students, which explains how they were able to unite so many people. In the days after the approval of the project, Facebook was inundated with events to demonstrate, so it was easy to see where something was going to happen. I also happen to live right next to Plaza Italia, where the marches usually start and then go to La Moneda, the Chilean White House. It was crazy to see how throughout the country, from Santiago to Valparaíso to Pucon, citizens rose up and shouted their dissatisfaction.

To give you guys a taste of some of the chants during the protest, I'll post them under various photos. I have to warn you, though, some of the words are pretty ugly.
The title of this blog means, "Patagonia without dams!" Patagonia is truly the pride of Chile and HydroAysén's approval brought a lot of people together to show their disgust.

Plaza Italia, normally crowded with honking cars and bounding buses, now filled to the brim with literally thousands of people shouting and stomping their feet.

Rene, Megan and I, ready to check out the scene!

Pure luck that this guy decided to turn his head at that moment, but it definitely made a nice contrast to the marching mob.

"All we are saying, is give peace a chance!"

Flag of the Mapuche, Chile's predominant indigenous group. Whenever there are protests, the Mapuche always come up because there are currently Mapuche participating in a hunger strike in protest of their brothers who are in jail due to an extremely vague "antiterrorism" law which implied that to be Mapuche was to be part of an illicit organization.

Chile dice "No" HidroAysén (Chile says "No" to HidroAysén), a reference to the Yes or No vote for the project, and the fact that the majority of Chileans do not want it, even if the government does.

Lesson #1 in Chilean protest chants! "No nos gusta, no nos interesa...una Patagonia llena de represas!" "We don't like, we're not interested in...a Patagonia full of dams!" It was unreal to see Avenue O'Higgins, Santiago's main street, utterly flooded with people.

Fight for the pinguinos!

Lesson #2: "Piñera, entiende, Chile no se vende!" "Piñera, understand, Chile cannot be sold!"

Kindling the flame of the people

What an epic photo - raise your hopes up to the sky, good sir!

40,000 Chileans in front of their White House, demanding that their wishes be respected...first time I ever thought that building looked small.

A "guanaco" in the distance, ominously silent. Guanacos are the vehicles that police use to scatter the crowd by firing high-powered streams of water at protesters. They are so called because they're like the Chilean animal of the same name which is very adapt at spitting! They wouldn't be silent for long, though...

Fire! Fire! I like how the traffic lights are red at this point, signaling the danger.

Final chant lesson: "Piñera...concha tu madre...saco la wea...aprenda gobernar!" "Piñera...motherf***er...take that fool out...learn how to govern!"

The take-away message

Needless to say, quite an experience! Chau!

Chile Part 10

It seems like each one of my travels ends up teaching me something these days. When I went to Pucon, I learned how it feels to travel solo. I was initially going with some of my friends, but they cancelled at the last minute, so I decided I would just do it! I was excited, nervous, hopeful, apprehensive, and when I got there...it was amazing.
The best way I can describe the experience is that it gave me a lot of confidence. I had barely any time to find a hostel, look at activities to do, restaurants to see, etc. It was crazy! I'm so used to planning everything out, and all I had time to do was book a hostel that looked decent and pack my stuff so I could get to the bus terminal early and try to buy a ticket. But it was so freakin' great. I was worried that I wouldn't meet anyone, but I got to know some really cool English people! I still remember laughing till my ribs ached from their dry English humor...I also met this Belgian man named Rob who was traveling all over South America because he actually believed that the world was ending in 2012 and needed to see as much as he could , and Alex, a very thoughtful Alaskan guy who had a huge afro.
In reality, I was really happy I went to Pucon in the low season because I saw the town in a different way and got to spend time with the people who worked at my hostel, Kat and José. I bet the town is really touristy during the summer or winter, but fall was the perfect time to go. Trees looked like rainbows, and the volcano loomed large above everything. A beautiful place, with great people, having lots of fun. That's what I call a fin de semana.

Fotos!

Pucon, with Volcano Villarica towering overhead. Yes, this active volcano is literally smoking with bubbling hot lava. It's a metaphor for Pucon, in a way - a town that's tranquil on the outside, but lots of exciting adventures to be had.

Patagonia sin represas! I don't want to spoil the next blog too much, which will focus entirely on a big protest I went to in Santiago, but basically many Chileans are frustrated with a company called HidroAysen, which just decided to build two dams in Patagonia to meet increasing energy demands. Thus goes the cheer "Patagonia without dams!" Everyone is upset because they feel that Patagonia, the pride of Chile, is being exploited for the purposes of big business. It was great to see that not only in Santiago were people protesting, but rather all over the country people gather and voice their discontent!

The first day I rented a bike and rode around the countryside. What a relaxing and natural place...

The beach of Lago Villarica! Does that sand look dark?

It is! Look! A black sandy beach! How cool and strange. I felt like I was walking on the moon...next to a lake...hmmm, is there water on the moon? Never mind.

Classy little marshy harbor

Where else can you find a hostel that has two enormous, fluffy, good-natured Newfoundlands?? It was so relaxing and home-like to come back to the hostel after a day of adventures and pet the dogs. When I first got there, I thought they were really lazy because they did nothing but sleep all day! Little did I know, however, that all would change. On Sunday, I heard a fierce banging on the hostel door, and it turned out to be a neighbor of the hostel, who said that the dogs had killed one of his sheep! Apparently, they got through the gate and snuck over to the farm, deciding to have a bit of fun and hunt. So much for being lazy.

After my first day in Pucon, I decided to go watch the sun set with Rob, Alex, and Cat. We were not disappointed.

Casual passerby, silhouetted by such beautiful hues of blue and orange.

Chile is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever seen

Taking a leaf out of Van Gogh's book! I call it Starry Night over Villarica.

This graffiti fascinates me! I've seen it in a bunch of places, in and out of Santiago. I'm curious if the anti-Nazi symbol is due to the fact that there are a lot of German immigrants here...

Day two! Here I am, hand-knitted beanie on head, all decked out in the latest geologic fashion, ready to climb Volcano Villarica. I climbed it with my friend Toby, a cheerfully sarcastic British nurse who was touring South America with his friend Abby. We were excited because the tour company gave us ice picks! We had no idea what was in store...

Looking up to the smoldering top! Thought 1: "How cool is this volcano?" Thought 2: "Woah, we're going straight up!"
Check out the awesome lava rocks.

Beautiful Chilean rugged mountain range. I love the layers of it all, how the mountains seem to never end...

Am I crazy, or does the snowy mountain we're walking on look like cookies and cream?

Posing with Villarica

Me and Toby! He was very cool. Another thing I learned from my travels is that age doesn't mean anything. Toby is 33 years old, but he still has the adventurous personality of a kid! I forget how many times he said, "Smashing!" So British.

It's fire! It's smog! No, it's a volcano!!! Sadly, we couldn't see any lava due to the smoke, but we had finally made it to the top of Volcano Villarica!

Our group! I'm the yellow guy sticking his tongue out in the middle, with Toby to my right in the green jacket. To his right is Jack, another interesting English guy, and to my right, wearing orange, are Chris and Laura, an English couple traveling the Southern Cone. So many Brits! What's going to happen if someone brings up 1776??

Another nearby smoker! Volcano Osorno I believe. Chile has many, each one more striking than the next.

Posing with Osorno

Always time for that artsy photo

Hostal Étnico! Here's the living room of my cozy hostel. It was wonderful to sit by the fireplace at night, sip a beer, and chat with other travelers.

The hostel's backyard where we had our BBQ

The last day, after waking up late due to a night of celebrating our volcano ascent with Toby, Abby, Jack, Chris and Laura, I explored what I like to call the Chilean Yosemite, or Parque Nacional Huerquehue. This national park is spectacular, lush with brilliant trees, mirror lakes and peaceful silence. I felt like I was walking in a dream.