Chile Forum

In honor of my first snowfall in Futa:

http://www.allchile.net/chilephotos/dis ... =45&pos=61

Vicki

Good Morning Charles and allChileans! That is in Futa, just outside the front door our our rental cabin on Calle Piloto Carmona. Snows fell for over 24-hours straight. Big, sloppy flakes accumulated up to 6-7 inches. Utility crews spent Sunday casing the town with long plastic poles, tapping electric and phone likes to keep them clear. a snow plow kept streets clear, but for some reason did not do some cross streets. The owner of Dimasa, a small restaurant, bakery and grocery store is back and open for business. Several substantial looking Army fellows sat at tables having a Cristal while watching soccer on TV. One of the hardware stores was open, his supply of rubber boots gone except for some gnome-sized galoshes.

A few radical cows were seen wandering down the street (probably registered Independents) but were quickly captured and placed inside the corral down here by Lago Espejo. The cattle dogs are menacing the chickens, so I will feed them (the dogs) extra today.

As the morning proceeds, the frost hanging in the air is clearing and blue skies are peeking down! It's warmed just enough for the snow mounds to start sliding off roofs, such as the one over our pickup truck. Now I will need to shovel a bit to get out.

The awesome vets went out cat-wrangling yesterday evening, one borrowing Greg's boots because size 44 is sold out. He is effectively house-bound until I go get them back today...his only other shoes are top-siders. Anyway, you can imagine how shocking this is to these great folks who have traveled from the comfort and convenience of Santiago. Ashfall, ashfall, ashfall, then rain, rain, rain, then just in case they weren't uncomfortable enough, SNOW! Dr. Jose (I'll get all the full names later) told me they just about froze on Saturday night at the school dormatory where they are staying. I was surprised, and asked why. He said they didn't have any wood for the wood stove. I couldn't believe that. Turns out, they just didn't think to ask! Here in Futa, as I once said, no one will come up and ask you if you need help...not that they are not helpful folks, they just don't intrude. So, here in Futa, you'd better take the initiative to ASK. Then you will be deluged with assistance. They spent Sunday treating some local dogs, doing surgeries, and catching cats. I'll check in on them today and see if they are catching on or need anything. A couple of Chaiten dogs were brought here for closer observation and seem to be doing well.

A very large double trailer flat bed semi inched it's way into town yesterday hauling a monster tank with multiple filter-looking contraptions on it, and a cement box...could it be a water filtration system? I'll ask.

Everyone is staying warm in our little houses, with our sputtering, popping wood stoves, venturing out to tap our phone lines free of snow and ice, or to shovel in front of the doors.

Several families have returned to town, many farm families never left. I hear another herd of cattle down by the lake. I was told they still had about 3,000 head left to round up and get out from surrounding areas. I'm not sure how that is going. Our neighbors in Sector Azul, Nono and Ismael are holding well...they have sheep, chickens, about 12-15 cows, and their beloved oxen. Nono had all her apples harvested and potatoes dug before the fallout and is busy making her apple juice. Thankfully their Toyota was fixed before the volcano because now it would be almost impossible to get parts here.

Okay, all this clacking away on the computer is procrastination on my part. Gloves, check! Hat, check! Shovel, check! And so it goes!


Vicki

Today is beautifully sunny, cold and the streets in town slushy and uncleared. The surrounding mountains are lacy with new snow. I can only guess they are trying to clear roads in and out of town, more important! I chose not to drive in town more than I needed, and I did need to...I took Max's extra-large dog crate to the vet clinic, and fed poultry around town.

When I arrived at the clinic, a fellow had his two very large pit-bull, mixed breed dogs in for care. One had been injured in an encounter with a wild boar out by the border of Argentina. The 30, or so cats are in nice cages, named for where they were rescued from. A couple of puppies were playing with a big, white rabbit. A small kitty was hooked up to an IV in front of the fireplace. Word is out about the clinic and people have been bringing in animals for shots, spaying or neutering. This is something people here have never had. You can see the relief on their faces that they can get help for their animals. There is no way I can express my gratitude to the vets who are here, working under incredibly difficult circumstances, make-shift surgery areas, in weather that has been awful, and foreign to them. While animals take the back seat in disasters, and the focus should be people first, I believe it is a great comfort to the people of this area, those here and those who evacuated, that someone has made the sacrifice to look after them.

Aside from that, the big dispute is the water. I did not get around to where the water department is to ask, or look after the goings-on. The government says the water is safe (I think that's the news), but Essal says DON'T DRINK THE WATER, DON'T WASH DISHES WITH IT, DON'T USE IT FOR ANIMALS. So, I'm clueless (what's new) and will err on the side of caution.

I retrieved Greg' rubber boots from the vet, and he is now free to shovel out the driveway, and chop some wood. We are getting down to the last raggedy clean clothes...I'm afraid to wash our ash-clogged things in my new washer. You simply can't get the ash out by shaking things outside!

New photos from today are in "New Album" in the photo gallery. Thanks so much to Charles, Zandra and the allchile.netters for thoughts, suggestions and interest.

Vicki

Charles...

Here is an article I wrote about Chaiten and a little restaurant there, but never sent out for consideration. It will give folks an idea of what was lost (I will post the photos in a new album in the gallery):

I once posted on a message board that Chaiten was a "strange, windswept little town". And now after having the opportunity to spend a little more time, something more than just passing through, I realize that was entirely unfair. First and foremost, Chaiten is important as a port town, the entry point to Region X after ferry rides from Isla Chiloe, Aerotaxi flights from Puerto Montt and other points north in Chile. A gateway. It is also an important seafood port, and has a thriving fishing industry. The long, wide streets and empty lots seem odd after other tightly packed communities and towns along the way down from Santiago. Parque Palena, and Parque Pumilin are accessible from here, fly fishing, glacier trekking and hotsprings also have a base in Chaiten.

Chaiten seems a town well thought out and ready for a boom. The streets are wide, and orderly, the waterfront is carefully maintained with a scenic walkway from end to end along the long bay. Wrought-iron lantern posts and benches line the walk. Arriving by boat, the walk from that point up into the town is beautiful. A sign saying "Bienvenidos de Patagonia" greets you, and the backdrop is the spectacular Volcan Corcobado (or Corcovado), snow-capped and shaped like a giant Hersey's Kiss. Also along the waterfront are vaious hostels and hotels, restaurants, gas station, farmacia, and tiendas. Off the main waterfront street, the sidestreets offer tour offices, fly-fishing outfitters, camping and other services for visitors. The first side street closest to the boat ramp and disembarcation point has El Refugio, a hotel with small comfortable rooms (around 15,000 CLP or $30US) and an ecclectic but somewhat expensive restaurant attached. The problem is the restaurant is often closed, or understaffed. But for anyone wanting a warm place, with hot water and a TV, and not wanting to drag your bags all over looking for a room, this is a good bet for a good night sleep, and it has flexible checkout times.

Gastronomically speaking, the new and best gem in Chaiten is Campo Base at Almirante Riveros 479. Anyone traveling in Chile knows that there are many of places claiming to have pizza but what you hope you will get, and what comes to your table are never the same species. However, here in little Chaiten, pizza is Pizza at Camp Base. Chef Cesar Fava, an Argentinian born to Italian parents, brings his love of mountaineering, nature and true Italian cooking to Chile. The restaurant is ecclectic and rustic, each piece of furniture was made by Cesar from reclaimed, and recycled wood. No tree was harmed in the design and decor of the restaurant, he is proud to say. He tells me he scoured the area for wood that was already fallen, discarded, or waste wood to design the restaurant. The olive oil servers and serving trays are artwork hand-fashioned by inmates at the local jail. The effect is beautifully rustic and complemented by antique mountain climbing equipment and skis.

We were greeted by Cecilia Illanes, who patiently tolerated our bad Spanish, then spoke to us in English and provided us with menus in our native tongue. Items on the menu range in price from 1800 CLP to 3800 CLP, various pasta dishes, a wide range of pizzas and salads. Campo Base has a nice selection of wines, and for the beer hounds, a wonderful hand-crafted beer called "Colonos" from de Llanuique. Colonos is not filtered, a premium lager that will set you back 1800 CLP, but well worth it considering the taste and the long, arduous and uncertain trip it takes to get to Chaiten from Llanuique. They also have Kuntsman, and you won't find Cristal anywhere in the establishment. Campo Base is one of the few, if not only places in Chaiten where you can get real coffee, or cappachino, however, they aren't open for that first morning cup. They begin serving lunch at 12:30 p.m. and close at 4 p.m. Dinner hours are 7 p.m. until midnight.

We ordered two Colonos and two small pizzas, mine the typical tomato,cheese,herb combo, and Greg chose the pork sausage pizza. The hand-made dough was baked crispy in a brick oven, and was light and thin. With generous mozzerella and just the right amount of sauce and toppings, one of these large dinner-plate sized pizzas would have been enough to share. I'm sorry we didn't have the time, or the room to sample the pasta or salad dishes, but there is always next time. Service was excellent, atmosphere was cozy and comfortable, and the pizza was...real pizza!

To find out more about Fava's father, and where he inherited his love of Patagonia, Google Fava and Patagonia and mountain climbing. To find out more about Fava's love for Italian cooking, go to Chaiten, ask directions to Hennisis Internet Cafe, and you will be right nextdoor to Campo Base on Almirante Riveros.

I was just going to come back on the forum and read chileanobservers posts to try and see what it was that bugged me the most about him, and his inane posts. (Oops! Maybe it's a "her") Now, I'll never know!

Another thread he started, or posted on brings up the topic of looting in disaster areas. I believe it was one of his questions. Tombrad and RWS both had thoughtful and interesting comments on it, My short take on it was that, in Chaiten, there is nothing left to loot.

Vicki

p.s. Tombrad has an awesome blog and site about northern Chile, anyone who loves Chile should visit his blog and site, check out the photos and his Spanish Language stuff. Nice Job Tom!

Is this it Charles?
http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/d ... cia=305033

Very evocative postings, Vicki and Charles. I'm minded of both Pompeii and Ys.