Holiday in Chile (4): more of the Atacama Desert
October 21st, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Today (Thursday) was spent exploring more of the Atacama Desert with particular reference to the salt flats. Valentina told us the salt flats of the Atacama Desert are the largest in the world after some in Bolivia and Argentina respectively.
We set off south and eventually stopped to look at some salt flats by the roadside. We were delighted when a herd of perhaps a hundred or more goats appeared on the other side of the road and proceeded to cross the road in single file to wander through the salt flats. They were completely unaccompanied.
Then those of us with mobiles started to receive news that Liz Truss had announced her resignation as Prime Minister after the shortest tenure in the post in British history. A loud cheer went up from the group.
Out first major stop was at the Laguna de Chaxa where beyond the salt crystals pink flamingos were having brunch. This was a magical location: a blue sky and blue water with black rocks, green deposits, white salt and those pink flamingos in hot sunshine and pungent smells of sulphur. It was like a dream.
Next stop was a delightful little village called Toconao where most of the buildings are made of white volcanic stone. The village is located at an elevation of 2,485 metres (8,150 feet) and it is home to 700 villagers. We called into the church of San Lucas and an artesian store with a couple of llamas in the yard behind the shop.
At this point, the road became really rough, the small coach was bouncing all over, and later a banging noise under our vehicle proved impossible to locate or stop. But it was worth it because we now visited the Tebinquinche Lagoon. This is a very lengthy expanse of water with extensive sal deposits over looked by high mountains. It was like being in another planet.
Finally we went to a family farm not far from San Pedro de Atacama where we had a three course lunch which included llama (like a tough version of venison) and afterwards looked around the farm which had llamas, goats and peacocks.
Now I’ve been interested in cosmology all my life and the best place on earth to view stars is the Atacama Desert in Chile due to the high elevation and the low humidity. This is why the ALMA array of 66 radio telescopes – the best observatory in the world – is located here.
So, when I found that it would be possible to go on a stargazing tour, I jumped at the chance and four others in the group joined me. We were out for two hours with a local astronomer called Alvero. He pointed out all sorts of features with his laser and he had set up powerful telescopes which enabled us to see Jupiter and some of its stars, Saturn with its rings, and a binary star system.
In London, I can see no stars. Tonight I saw hundreds and hundreds and, of course, the Milky Way arching over the view, although – of course – I recognised no constellations because we were in the Southern Hemisphere.It was an utterly magical experience.
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Holiday in Chile (3): the Atacama Desert
October 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
It was a very early start to Wednesday and I mean early. In Santiago, Silvia’s alarm went at 4.30 am and mine at 5 am. The group left the hotel at 5.50 am with a packed breakfast and headed to the airport. We flew from Santiago in the centre of the country to Calama in the far north – a flight of one hour 40 minutes with spectacular view of the Andes.
We were met by a new – smaller – coach and driven south-east to our accommodation for the next three nights. When we left Santiago, we were at an altitude of about 500 metres (1,640 feet); when we left Calama, we were much higher and quickly rose up to 3,430 metres (11,250 feet), before dropping down to 2,440 metres (8,000 feet) so we had to breathe deeply.
The Altiplanico Hotel, just outside the village of San Pedro de Atacama, is a delightful, if rather basic, place consisting of chalets around a garden and swimming pool. Silvia and I immediately walked the 15 minutes into town where we made a few purchases and ate a salad lunch. at a welcoming gay bar called ”Lola”.
Our tour was in this part of Chile to see the Atacama Desert. This is the driest non-polar desert in the world and it has been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. The desert occupies 105,000 sq km (41,000 sq mi), or 128,000 sq km (49,000 sq mi) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes, sand and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes.
We were out from 4 pm until almost 7 pm visiting a part of the desert called the Valle de La Luna (Valley of the Moon). This is a mere 15 km west of San Pedro de Atacama at the northern end of the Cordillera de la Sal mountain range and overlooked by the higher Cordillera de Domeyko range. The area is part of the Reserva National Los Flamencos. The reserve is tightly controlled and visitors are only allowed to walk on set paths and not cross over lines of stones or low strings of chain.
Our first and most spectacular visit was to a huge sand dune called Duna Mayor. We climbed up one side which was mainly soft sand and came down the other side which was mainly rock. It was not an easy climb, especially since we were so high and the weather was so warm, but it was most certainly worth the effort.
We went on to visit several other locations in the reserve, each with its own display of rocks and canyons. Finally we left the reserve so that we could set up a table with wine and nipples (no food or drink is allowed in the reserve) and observe the sunset. Frankly it was somewhat underwhelming and a short sand storm led to particles in our eyes, ears and nose plus shoes.
Dinner was an individual affair but we all ate at the hotel. We were exhausted – although in a happy way – and wanted an early night. As Silvia and I walked from the dining room back to our chalet, we looked up and saw stars. Then more stars. And even more.
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Holiday in Chile (2): Santiago
October 19th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
London to Chile is 7,240 miles (11,650 kms) as the crow flies but we are not crows. So the flight from London to Sao Paolo in Brazil – starting on Sunday evening – was almost 11 and a half hours and the flight from Sao Paolo to Santiago in Chile was just over 3 and a half hours.
On Monday morning, we were met at the airport by our guide for the entire tour Valentina Periez and taken to our hotel, the San Francisco, arriving about 1.45 pm local time but 4.45 pm London time (having first taken off at 10.30 pm the previous evening).
The group should have been 12 but somebody lost their passport at Sao Paolo airport and was denied entry at Santiago airport, so a couple had to return to London. There is one married couple and the rest are travelling with a relative or friend or alone. There is another Roger who used to work with my then sister-in-law (it’s a small world). So, including Silvia and me, the group consisted of 10 and, together with our guide, we immediately formed a WhatsApp group for the trip (something that I have not experienced before) which proved really helpful.
We had a welcome drink of pisco sour and a quick briefing from Valentina and then Silvia and I went out for lunch locally before chilling in our hotel room. We made sure then we had a really early night (9 pm in my case).
Our first real day of the tour (Tuesday) was devoted to Santiago.
Founded by Pedro de Valdiva in 1541 and surrounded by the spectacular Andes mountain range, Santiago is not just the capital of the country and its largest city but the dominant part of the country. Some 6M live in the city itself and 8M in the metropolitan region out of a total national population of 18M, so Santiago is home to a third of Chileans. Interestingly, both houses of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – which used to be in Santiago are now located in Valparaiso.
It was 18 October and the third anniversary of the explosion of the 2019–2022 Chilean protests, known Chile as the Estallido Social (literally ‘social outburst’) which were a series of massive demonstrations and severe riots that originated in Santiago and spread to all regions of the country. These protests were in response to a rise in Santiago subway fares, a probity crisis, the rise in the cost of living generally, the impact of privatisation and the prevalent inequality in the country.
Valentina was anxious that we should not become caught up in the expected demonstrations, so we conducted our city tour in the morning before the demos began, but the city was already quiet and full of police. A major destination was the Plaza de Armas where the presidential place is located. Around the square are statues of some of the leading presidents of Chilean history, including Salvador Allende who was president from 1970 to 1973 before the coup led by General Pinochet. Another stop was at the Mall Espacio M where Silvia & I grabbed a coffee.
To be honest, the centre of Santiago is rather drab and almost every wall is covered by political graffiti. This has been the case for the last three years because of the ‘social outburst’ and the municipal authorities are planning a clean-up programme.
Then we drove east to a much smarter part of the city which houses the Gran Torre Santiago which at 300 metres (984 feet)/ is the tallest building in Latin America. On the 61st and 62nd floors of this skyscraper is the Sky Costanera from which we had fabulous 360 degree views of the city. The Andes were rather shrouded in mist but clearly visible. Silvia and I found a cafe to buy some lunch to eat on the coach.
Later we heard that someone had committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of the building’s shopping mall onto the interior floor. We wondered if this was a political protest timed to coincide with today’s demonstrations.
Finally we drove out of town to visit a vineyard called Undurrago. This was established in 1885 by a Spanish family of this name who only sold it in 2007. We were shown round by a young woman called Nadia who had excellent English and an astonishing knowledge of wine. The tour finished with the testing of four of the vineyard’s wines and we were given the branded glass from which we had drunk the wines.
We have a very early start tomorrow so we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant in order to have an early night.
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Holiday in Chile (1): introduction
October 16th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Over the past 16 years, my sister Silvia and I have enjoyed a series of holidays together and we are now about to embark on our 14th such adventure. Following an enjoyable visit to Colombia four years ago, we are now returning to South America to experience Chile with the travel company Cox & Kings.
Now some countries – such as Norway and Sweden – are long and thin, but Chile is unreasonably long and preposterously thin. Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountains to the east, it is 4,300 km (almost 2,700 miles) long and averages just 175 km (about 120 miles) wide.
It stretches from the dry heat of the Atacama desert in the north to chilly Patagonia in the south with a temperate region – where most Chileans live – in the centre. Roughly 29% of Chile is preserved in national parks and conservation areas. Over the next two weeks, we will visit each of these regions and the finest national park and will need to take clothing for different climates.
Chile is the southern-most country in the world. The total size of the country is three times that of the UK but the population is only about 18M or twice that of London with a third of the population living in the capital Santiago.
Chile was colonised by the Spanish in the mid 15th century and eventually gained its independence in 1818. Following the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) with Peru and Bolivia, Chile increased its land mass by a third in the north. After a coup led by Augusto Pinochet in 1973, there was a 16 year dictatorship in the country.
Since March 2022, the president of Chile has been left-winger Gabriel Boric (born 1986) who is the youngest president in the country’s history and the second youngest state leader in the world (Burkina Faso has the youngest). However, in September 2022, a radical new constitution favoured by Boric was defeated in a referendum.
If Chile is a country that at times has swung ideologically from one extreme to another, it is also a nation of economic contrast. On the one hand, it has the highest average household income in the whole of Latin America. On the other hand, it has one of the greatest cases of inequality in the developed or developing world (rivalled only by the United States and Mexico).
So, in terms of climate, politics and economics, Chile is a country of extremes and contrasts.
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A review of the controversial new movie “Blonde”
October 15th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Both written and directed by Australian Andrew Dominik, he must have known that this would be a controversial work and probably wanted it to be so.Based on Joyce Carol Oates’s fictional biography of American actress and icon Marilyn Monroe, it has been described as a pseudo-biographical psychological drama because, while the film captures many well-known scenes from Monroe’s life with an accuracy that makes them look almost as if they are from contemporary filming, there is so much speculation and interpretation of her complicated life and so much darkness and flashiness in the camerawork that one critic (Mark Kemonde) has described it as less a bio-pic and more a horror movie.
The central performance is outstanding as Cuban actress Ana de Armas looks and sounds so much like Monroe and movingly portrays a rich palette of emotions. Also the work is immensely stylish: most of the film is in black and white and there are shifting aspect ratios and at times deliberate blurring and fuzziness. Unusually for a work released on a streaming service (Netflix), it has the toughest rating because of its graphic sexual content.
So this is not a film for everyone: it is long (almost three hours), it is slow and it is disturbing. It is not a film for devoted fans of Monroe: it invents so much and arguably is exploitative. But, as cinema, it is a tour de force: innovative and powerful.
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World poverty reduction has come to a stop
October 14th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
The UN has identified 54 developing economies with severe debt problems. While accounting for little more than 3% of the global economy, they represent 18% of the world’s population, and more than 50% of people living in extreme poverty.
Some countries are spending more on debt interest payments than on health, education and social protection combined, and that is hindering the fight against poverty.
The UN has a goal of reducing extreme poverty to 3% of the world’s population by 2030, but Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s chief economist, says on current trends the target will be missed. “We are totally off course. Poverty reduction has come to a stop.”
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The global cost of covid in lives and illness
October 13th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Covid has killed almost 6.5 million people and infected more than 600 million.
The WHO estimates that 10% to 20% of survivors have been left with mid- and long-term symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive dysfunction.
Women are more likely to suffer from the condition.
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A review of the new action film “The Woman King”
October 12th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Imagine a mainstream movie both written and directed by women: respectively American Dana Stevens and African-American Gina Prince-Bythewood. Unusual but not unknown. Imagine a film in which all the leading roles are taken by black women: outstanding African-American Viola Davis in the titular role plus young South African Thuso Mbedu, black British Lashana Lynch and Ugandan Sheila Atim. Now that is really is unusual.Next imagine a story set in the West African state of Dahomey (modern day Benin) in 1823 featuring an all-female unit of warriors who beat the male warriors of the neighbouring Oyo kingdom and free slaves from Portuguese slave traders. Now we’re talking. Well, this is “The Woman King”.
There really was such an all-female force known as the Agojie, but they didn’t achieve quite the success represented in this fictional work which, in its revisioning of history. is a bit like Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” or Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator”.
Shot on location in South Africa with striking costumes and an exciting score, it looks good and it sounds good. So, if this is not history as it was so much as history as we would like it to have been, this is an exciting feel-good movie with plenty of action and a fair amount of violence.
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Why do so many migrants wish to reach Britain?
October 9th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
As I regularly do, I spent the day in Milton Keynes entertaining my two granddaughters. Now the local taxi company that I use in the city is staffed by drivers who normally hail from Pakistan. But not today. This time my driver was from Afghanistan.
There are many ethnic groups in Afghanistan and I was interested to learn that my driver was an Hazara. Hazara speaks Hazaragi which is a dialect of Persian and they practice a branch of Shi’a Islam called the Twelvers which puts them very much at odds with the Taliban which is largely Pashtun and adherents of an extreme form of Sunni Islam. Over the years, there have been many murders and massacres of the Hazara community.
It is no wonder, therefore, that my driver fled Afghanistan and sought refugee status in Europe. He started in Greece but eventually made his home in Italy where he lived for years. There he made a family, obtained a good job and learned Italian. Here he works on three jobs to keep his wife and three children and – as I can avow – he is struggling to learn English.
So why is he is in Britain? He told me that he wishes his three children to be judged on their abilities and nto on the colour of their skin or the identity of their religion and he believes that they will have a fairer chance in this country.
Britain has many problems and our treatment of people of colour is far from perfect, but we tend to forget that, for many people around the world, Britain is still seen as a haven of stability and fairness and a land of genuine opportunity.
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A review of the important book of world history: “Guns, Germs And Steel” by Jared Diamond
October 8th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Diamond is professor of geography at the University of California Los Angeles and he is a noted polymath who won a Pulitzer Prize for this outstanding work first published in 1997. I read a 20th anniversary edition with a new afterword and by then the book was an established classic.It is a hugely ambitious work as indicated by the sub-title: “A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years”. It attempts to answer a fundamental question of world history: “Why did history unfold differently on different continents?” Or, to put the question in more provocative terms: why did ‘civilisation’ start in Europe and how did Europeans manage to colonise the rest of the world?
Over 500 pages later, the answer to this question can be summarised as follows: “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves”. Diamond rejects utterly any notions of racial superiority.
Diamond argues that nomad hunter-gathers settled down to grow crops and rear animals first in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the so-called Fertile Crescent because the temperate climate provided a greater number of crops (such as wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and flax) and mammals (notably the goat, sheep, pig, cow and horse)) that could be domesticated compared to any other part of the world.
From then onwards, the key determinant was latitude. It was much easier for the relevant techniques and tools to spread east-west across the massive land mass of Eurasia, where the climate was similar and geographical obstacles surmountable, than it was for this process to occur north-south in the Americas, Africa and Australia.
When Europeans of seven states sailed to the Americas, guns and horses gave them an enormous advantage, but the real killer was the infectious diseases that had evolved from animals in Eurasia to which the indigenous Americans had no resistance: smallpox, flu, tuberculosis, malaria, plague, measles and cholera. As Diamond reminds us, these diseases killed an estimated 95 percent of the pre-Columbian Native American population.
This thesis of the centrality of axis orientation has been called – but not by Jared himself – the “lucky latitudes”. In this trans-disciplinary book, Diamond makes his compelling case by quoting voluminous evidence from the fields of geography, history, archaeology, language and other fields.
He applies all this evidence to a succession of studies of different parts of the world, always drawing the same conclusion: “the striking differences between the long-term histories of peoples of the different continents have been due not to innate differences in the peoples themselves but to differences in their environments”.
“Guns, Germs And Steel” is quite a heavy read with masses of detail and some repetition, but it is a formidable work which has advanced our understanding of both world history and current geopolitics.
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