Chile Forum

P, nailed the descriptions of futa in both the animals and the police. I have exchanged horses and photos in the mountains with the carabineros outside of Futa on patrol, just a short ride from the Argentina boarder. They ride out once or twice a month to the remote ranches and check on the old farmers, pass along the news, ask about their health, and so on. When I would go out fly fishing in evening and find myself at the end of the day too far from town and hitchhiking, the chief would pick me up in his truck and give me a ride in to town.

I watched the special on Chile vision tonight, and just had to stop at one point. It was just too sad.

The plant life might come back, but we are all afraid that what might grow in its place first are dams and mines. The economic and political vultures are circling. Among others a bunch of senators from the south signed a joint declaration supporting dam development in the Patagonia as a means to recover, a resolution was introduced including the money for the road through Pumalin, and we are expecting any day now to hear word of the mining industry buying up land. None of these long term "economic aid" plans are going to aid the people that live there. They are going to aid Santiago. This area was already fighting for its life economically, and this is just a blow we are afraid they are not going to recover from.

The life the people in the campo have is very subsistence type farming and ranching that is a delicate balance from season to season. These people don't have the means to withstand even say two bad years, and the drought this year had already put many on precarious footing for the winter. We are afraid that many will never return once they start taking jobs and getting settled in places like Puerto Montt and Osorno.

The fly fishing is likely done for at least 5-10 years. It takes at least 5 -7 years for a trout to grow to a size you can catch, 10 years to be anything that might be considered sufficiently world class to catch international fly fishing guys. The drop in the PH levels and the videos we have seen of the thick gray water now has most certainly killed many. We have reports of dead fish on the banks of some of the lakes and rivers in the area. The trout in those areas where already under heavy pressure from over fishing because the rivers are naturally too clean to support a large population.

On the up side, the rafting industry (if they don't dam the rivers) will likely hang in there. They can run those rivers still. Unfortunately not a lot of that money was making it in to the community before the disaster, as the international rafting companies tended to keep the money outside the country.

Still, it is just too early to tell. If the volcano stops now, with no more ash being dropped on the region, there is a chance.

Yea, there is a reason they loose a few volcanologist every year. It is far from an exact science.

Seems there was another major eruption last night.

So, we wait.

Well the morning reports are looking good. The winds are with Futa, and there is sun and no new ash falls. Crossing our fingers.

I seen that they sent in a team of vets to Chaiten to gather up all the pets the could and take them out (450). They were vaccinating the animals they could not get out.

Yea, one of the problems is how few Chileans even know where these places are, let alone have visited them. Most Chileans in the central region would just freak at the remoteness and the condition of the roads in those area, and the transportation issues. We have been told by Chileans in the central regions that the dirt roads around Puerto Varas and Pucon are too bad to drive on even with 4x4. Compared to the main road between Chaiten and Futa, they are 5 lane autobahns.

We have a bank account!!!!!!!!!

Banco Estado:
Cuenta Corriente: 500 500 "Ayuda a damnificados de Chaitén"

Banco Estado SWIFT Number: BECHCLRM


It is the Palena Association which is composed of several groups from the region, including the tourism association of Futa.

We are still working on getting a pay pal system up and running to make it easier for people to donate.

This one I have to put on the spineless political board:

I see the SII (Chilean IRS) has come out with a tax exemption plan for the area. It seems in their infinite wisdom they are going to exempt people from paying property taxes in the area.

Only one problem with that. The people that most need the aid don't pay property taxes already. They are rural agricultural properties, and are exempt or pay next to nothing ( like 20,000 - 30,000 pesos a year ). This one smells of some guy in a Santiago office thinking he was some how helping the poor rural people, by relieving them of the sorts of property taxes he pays in las Condes or on his vacation property in Vina del Mar. At best it was done out of ignorance, and worse it was done out of pure political theater.

We will wait and see if that front gets any better.

We had reports that all flights south of the ash had been grounded to protect the planes from potential particle damage. They said it was not so much dangerous, as just hard on the planes.

As far as we know the nearest working airport to Futa is in Osorno, which is a 10-14 hour drive North through Argentina and back in to Chile.

My wife Zandra Valenzuela has just had a meeting with the dean at the Austral University Law School where she teaches. He has given her a team of 10 law students from the 3rd to 5th years to help with organizing the legal assistance program. He has also said once we get the list of people in need, issues, and concerns organized the University may be able to commit some funds to the project.

We are also going to put out feelers to other departments as the Austral University for other sorts of assistance, as it has one of the best agriculture, biology, and other science related programs in Chile.

Basically, they got all the goodies and funds that the region needs in terms of experts, mandate, and existing programs to do things that need doing down there without needing to reinvent things.

We are working on some other Universities also.