Chile Forum

patagoniax wrote:

john wrote:
Exactly right! I too may be delusional but I have the good sense to not try to f**k up anyone else's country.

We should all decry the influx of arrogant and ill-intentioned foreigners yearning to see safe residential electrical systems, meaningful customer service, decent food, and energy-efficient construction here in Chilito...

And molecular reverse engineering to get the dog shit out of their genes.

FrankPintor wrote:I don't disagree with Px..

At leat Pax has decades of wide-ranging experience on the ground, which enables him to form a mature though highly critical judgement (from a WASPish perspective) unlike, I suspect, some of his more enthusiastic cheerleaders who decry everything Chilean while simultaneously bemoaning the influx of fellow "Ubermensch" immigrants.

Well, its been quite a week for me. Two of my friends died in the last 8 days, one loss was devastating, my best friend from childhood, a brother soul mate. The other died of exposure, passed out drunk in a snow bank, yesterday. Arggh. He wasn't handling his divorce well at all. I think i'm shifting my sights to BC, and to one of the coastal islands. I've done this lifestyle before for a couple of years, and as an ex-builder, i want to build just one more house, this time for me alone. I found a good location today, $200,000 for 10 acres, way more than i need, ocean view, southern exposure, and it has a stand of doug fir....(YIPPEE!). On this island, i can leave the locks off the door. Nice. Water is a problem- typical, and there's no electricity...back to the generator and solar propane and Aladdin lamps. Coho jumping close by. BUT... that still leaves the 4 months of winter. What to do? Visit Costa Rica, Chile, and or Uy i think. If i come to Chili, Px, we'll have to discuss placer mining, as a thought-project, if nothing else, and maybe catch a salmon or two!

James-in-Wonderland wrote:Well, its been quite a week for me. Two of my friends died in the last 8 days, one loss was devastating, my best friend from childhood, a brother soul mate. The other died of exposure, passed out drunk in a snow bank, yesterday. Arggh. He wasn't handling his divorce well at all. I think i'm shifting my sights to BC, and to one of the coastal islands. I've done this lifestyle before for a couple of years, and as an ex-builder, i want to build just one more house, this time for me alone. I found a good location today, $200,000 for 10 acres, way more than i need, ocean view, southern exposure, and it has a stand of doug fir....(YIPPEE!). On this island, i can leave the locks off the door. Nice. Water is a problem- typical, and there's no electricity...back to the generator and solar propane and Aladdin lamps. Coho jumping close by. BUT... that still leaves the 4 months of winter. What to do? Visit Costa Rica, Chile, and or Uy i think. If i come to Chili, Px, we'll have to discuss placer mining, as a thought-project, if nothing else, and maybe catch a salmon or two!

that sounds fantastic.
just curious, satellite internet access? how about access to the mainland - a ferry or will you have a personal craft?
BTW, when we lived in a suburb of Toronto not so long ago, we often forgot to lock the doors. Once of the many charms of many parts of Canada.

Janes, please excuse my insensitivity. The hour is late. I should have prefaced my post with sincere condolences. That's very intense stress in a very short time, my friend.

California South wrote:Janes, please excuse my insensitivity. The hour is late. I should have prefaced my post with sincere condolences. That's very intense stress in a very short time, my friend.

Thanks for saying. I'm learning for the first time about losing the best friend. Words have no way. He is/was a big guy who left a big hole in a lot of hearts. Yes, i just got of the phn with a friend on the subject of this island, which we both know.The property has water, i just found out. And i also found out the coho are coming back. My god, they've been gone for about 27 years. BUT some guys from Squamish found a way to bring the herring back. They're coating the pilings with a material that covers the creosote, and the herring spawn are sticking to it. They're getting a huge herring return in the last year. I need to check it for all the details more, but it seems the herring are coming back. This is profoundly significant.

California South wrote:just curious, satellite internet access? how about access to the mainland - a ferry or will you have a personal craft?

I don't know about the Internet connection yet. I expect wireless. They say its available. It is the one issue. There are two or three sailings a day by small passenger ferry to Van Island. I would moor a boat, and keep a truck on the mainland. Small motor bike to get to the other end of the island to the boat mooring...shitty road. Nice. At the south end, there is a gov dock, but you could be stuck there three days in a SE blow. Been there, done that, one thanksgiving. (Oct)

Yup, i think just decided to go off the grid. This is going to take me awhile. I'll be 59 in a month, and I feel the time is now, or never. Day to day life becomes the project. You steal moments of relaxation. But then its all relaxing. There's no life like it. I had forgotten that. I'm going to need a female partner again, i can see that one coming. OMG... lol. That might explain the dream i had the other night, between nightmares.

James-in-Wonderland wrote:Yup, i think just decided to go off the grid. This is going to take me awhile. I'll be 59 in a month, and I feel the time is now, or never. Day to day life becomes the project. You steal moments of relaxation. But then its all relaxing. There's no life like it. I had forgotten that. I'm going to need a female partner again, i can see that one coming. OMG... lol. That might explain the dream i had the other night, between nightmares.

James, my sincere condolences on your personal loss and my very best wishes to you in your new endeavour. The coastal islands of BC are really beautiful and are an ideal place to start the next phase of your life.

James-in-Wonderland wrote:

California South wrote:just curious, satellite internet access? how about access to the mainland - a ferry or will you have a personal craft?

I don't know about the Internet connection yet. I expect wireless. They say its available. It is the one issue. There are two or three sailings a day by small passenger ferry to Van Island. I would moor a boat, and keep a truck on the mainland. Small motor bike to get to the other end of the island to the boat mooring...shitty road. Nice. At the south end, there is a gov dock, but you could be stuck there three days in a SE blow. Been there, done that, one thanksgiving. (Oct)

I know l people on Lasqueti Island, last of the passenger only serviced Islands. It’s the last refuge of the 60’ in the world, hope you enjoy it. Much eaier to do than Southern Chile, but I have been spending time this summer on Chiloe which is very nice.

john wrote:
James, my sincere condolences on your personal loss and my very best wishes to you in your new endeavour. The coastal islands of BC are really beautiful and are an ideal place to start the next phase of your life.

Thank you kind sir. Truly,the next and next-to-last phase of my life. I've lived this lifestyle 30 years ago, so i know the drill...going 'coastal' - off the grid that is. Weeks ago i was looking at Chili and or Uy in a bid to find refuge from what i see coming. Thanks to this forum, a bucket of cold reality was poured on my head. The BC coast was always my plan A, but then came Fukushima. I studied the fallout patterns. Suddenly it seemed like not such a good idea. The food chain all the way up is getting polluted. The radiation is there, in the environment. So I thought, 'South America'. I've lived in Central America, and so I know the drill in Latin America (in a general sense). Chili was looking good in my mind's eye for a moment. During this period, from Jan 01 forward my buddy who just passed on took a month trip solo from his home on the BC coast down thru Mexico, Honduras, CR, and all the way to Panama and back. Parts of the trip he road a motorcycle, the rest by bus with the occasional plane hop. About every other day we would talk on skype, i got a blow-by-blow of the incidents he ran into, such as the military surrounding two blocks in San Salvador and blasting away, while he hit the deck in a retail premises overlooking the scene. During these calls from Latin America we talked about 'Plan A' if the SHTF. It was a familiar topic, often discussed over the years,between us. We discussed Costa Rica, the deteriorating economy in parts of Central America. The last remark he made on the subject before his death was, 'I think i'd prefer to fight it out in my own neck of the woods, were we know the lay of the land and how to survive.' Buddy had about 20 firearms stashed here and there, vials of gunpowder etc. His wife is still finding them. He was an expert hunter and a fisherman, and a superb, if not famous marine mechanic. We shared a love of the outdoors together. Anyway, i concluded he was right. It may sound like i'm an extremist doomer - and maybe i am. But i'm paying attention to the voice in my head, which is saying, 'seek cover'. At least i have a plan now, one that is feasible. I feel like the mission is now clear.

nwdiver wrote:
I know l people on Lasqueti Island, last of the passenger only serviced Islands. It’s the last refuge of the 60’ in the world, hope you enjoy it. Much eaier to do than Southern Chile, but I have been spending time this summer on Chiloe which is very nice.

Hola, yup, I had the suspicion you did, from reading your posts. There used to be a sort of bad bunch shall we say, at the north end, but they seem to have settled down a bit these days, from what I heard yesterday. And it seems the herring are coming back. This is going to make a lot of difference to the area. Do you know a canuck shrimp farmer in South America by the first name of Lee by any chance?