I am suspended between two lives as I write this in the plane flying from Santiago, Chile to Quito, Ecuador. Leaving behind a country that I am completely in love with to venture to a new country where I really do not know what to expect. The past four and a half months have been full of adventure, exploration, personal growth, and pure wonder at the amazing places I have discovered. I feel such a connection with Chile and the people I have met there. I have fallen in love…and now am leaving my wonderful companion behind. And he is one of many amazing people that I will miss as I have made amazing friends. Life is crazy in the way that we make amazing connections with people and places and all of a sudden have to say goodbye. Getting on to the bus in Valdivia was one of the hardest things I have ever done. There I was, leaving behind the man I love and the city that is my home now. How can such an incredible experience so suddenly be over? And yet, this other intense adventure is looming in front of me, daunting, while I try to stay in the moment and process this experience of saying goodbye. Talk about an ending that is also a beginning. It is immensely overwhelming, this transition. For the last month, every moment of joy has included a twinge of sadness, knowing that the final grains of sand are rushing to the bottom of the hourglass. I am reluctant to flip the hourglass over and begin again. I hope to fall in love with Ecuador as well, but I also fear developing the attachment I feel to Chile. I should feel so much excitement to have this opportunity to experience a new culture and study at a prestigious university, but I can’t shake the feeling that I belong in Chile with the people I love. But it would be too easy to stay and I don’t know if I’d ever make it back to the US. I must continue on in this journey that I designed for myself- I dreamed this up, now it is time to live it. I have no idea what is waiting for me. I think that my host family will be at the airport to pick me up. And I know that I have host parents and three host siblings, two dogs and a cat. That’s all the info I have- the rest is a mix of fears, excitements, expectations, and a lot of imagination. I am scared of living in a big city and not knowing anyone. I am scared of feeling resentment when things aren’t as wonderful as they were in Chile. I am scared of school being too hard, of having a ton of work to do and not having freedom to travel and explore. But there is excitement in all of it- excited to have a challenge, to get to know a new culture, to gain a better understanding of what is South America (Chile alone is certainly not representative of the whole), to be in classes with intelligent Ecuadorian students and professors, and to try new things like capoeira and yoga while also hopefully getting back into dance and cello. I fear the big city, but I also look forward to the benefits of the bigness- the diversity and the resources. Better chances of finding a cello and modern dance classes. I also look forward to the overall smallness of Ecuador and the opportunity to get to know the majority of the country and its diverse regions, the amazon, the coast, the mountain ranges, the volcanoes and the islands. Arriving in Ecuador will be a shock, but I will just have to adapt, as I always do. As one Chilean told me, “there you will experience the real Latin America” in comparison with the small sheltered city of educated, middle class people in a developed country. Now, with a knot in my throat and butterflies in my stomach, let the adventure begin…
It was surreal to suddenly be with my family on that very early morning. There they were, as if it was just the other day that we had been in Oregon together, not 4 months ago! But my brother was bigger and older looking than ever, they all had brand new backpacking gear and, though dizzy and tired from all the traveling, were ready for an adventure. We took the bus back to Puerto Natales, arrived at our cabin that I had reserved, spread everything out and began to organize things to leave for las Torres the next day and then we walked around the city for a while, running errands and admiring the beautiful view from the costanera.
We left for the park early the next morning and enjoyed a beautiful bus ride in with sightings of guanacos (llama like creatures), condors, and various other native animals on the way. We arrived at Pehoe, where we took the catamaran boat to cross the lake to arrive at the refuge at the start of the trail to Glacier Grey. We did the day hike to the viewpoint to see Glacier Grey, a beautiful slab of blue ice nestled in between impressive snowy peaks. During the hike we experienced a mix of sun, heat, cloud cover, strong winds, rain, and sun again- welcome to Patagonia! The lakes along the trail were an incredible color that I can really only think to describe as glacial- a milky blue green, maybe celeste, something gorgeous. Suspended in this amazing color were fragments of that blue ice that had drifted across the lake and now adorned its shores like jewels. We arrived back at the refuge in the evening and decided to continue on to the next camp area in Campamento Italiano in the entrance to the Valle Frances. So we began the first hike with backpacks and after about an hour an a half we realized that it was farther and harder than we had expected after already having done a substantial hike. The landscape was beautiful though, with more incredible lakes, each a distinct color, and soon the Cuernos (horns) came into view- huge towers of golden rock with tips of black, as if they had been painted. In the evening light and the contrast of the dark rain clouds that were moving in, it was a striking image. It began to rain and we were very tired, but just when we were starting to feel a bit desperate, we arrived. It had been a long day and we set up camp in a delirium that made us grumpy until we finally got some delicious freeze dried food in our systems. And I’m not being sarcastic, it was actually really delicious- I would eat it any day- Pasta Primavera with yummy veggies, and raspberry crumble for dessert- I don’t know how they do it.
The next morning we woke up late, what a lovely feeling. We did the day hike up through the Valle Frances that arrived at some breathtaking views of rock spires, snowy peaks, glaciers, rivers, and lakes- really too much beauty packed into one place that leaves you standing in one place for an hour turning slowly in circles taking in the 360 degree amazingness. At one point, though it was comfortable warm weather at that moment, it was snowing due to the strong winds blowing snow down on to us from the peaks above. On our hike back to camp we took our time, stopping to watch and wait for glacial falls, which came down with an echoing boom, showers of snow sliding down the snowy face in front of us. Then it was back to camp for another delicious free-dried dinner and sleep. The next morning we began the very long hike to the Hosteria de las Torres- some 6 or 7 hours with backpacks. We passed a multitude of rivers, cascades, and lakes- each with it’s own unique color of water- and lingered in awe below the massive rock formations of Los Cuernos. We stopped for a break at the Refuge below the Cuernos, chatted with a friendly American family, and then continued on to la Hosteria Las Torres. By the time we arrived, our bodies were aching and we hardly had the energy to make it to the campground. But we found a nice sheltered place and set up camp, exhausted.
The next morning we did the hike up to la base de Las Torres, to the famous view for which the park has it’s name. It was a hard, but beautiful 3.5 hour hike up to the top but it is worth every moment of the hard ascent to reach the enormous rock towers looming over a pristine glacial lake. It was my second time doing the hike, which was an interesting experience because every minute of the hike I knew the hard parts that were lingering around the corner. At the top I had a very different kind of experience than last time (when I basked in the sun and swam in the freezing lake) because it was windy and cold, and we didn’t end up spending all that much time up there. But it was beautiful none the less and the hike down, though a bit painful just like the last time, was enjoyable. It was a full day of hiking, straight up and then straight back down and we got back tired but content, especially after having the luxury of showering. Later that evening when we were all sitting around the campfire discussing our plans for the next couple of days, my dad all of a sudden jumped up out of his seat a little and said “what the f*@$…what is it??” and we all looked over to the road where he was watching with wide eyes as a full sized puma meandered by our campsite, crossing the bridge to the other side of the road. I was only able to see its hind legs, strong arching back, and powerful tail as they disappeared out of vision behind a tree. My dad was up and running after the puma, my brother following a little more hesitantly behind, conflicted between the desire to take a picture and the hope of staying alive. I’ve never seen my dad run so fast, but he wasn’t fast enough…the puma disappeared, running into the campground area. We couldn’t believe what had just happened. A puma! We had just seen a puma! My parents have kept their eyes open for pumas their whole lives and this was their first sighting, and of all places in the middle of a campground, walking the road! We were giddy. And a bit nervous as we went to sleep, knowing there was a puma very close by.
In the morning we hiked out to Laguna Amarga in order to catch the bus down to Rio Serrano, where my friend had arranged for us to rent a cabin and stay for Christmas. The bus ride was beautiful, winding around sharp corners to reveal brilliantly colored lakes and rivers in front of stunning backdrops. We arrived in Rio Serrano around midday and moved into our cute little cabin on a rural ranch with sheep and horses all over the property. The place, which I had visited before with Kate to do the excursion to the glaciers, was incredibly picturesque as one can see the entire W circuit condensed into one view: glacier grey, valle frances, los cuernos, y las torres all seemingly squished together by the distance. We explored the area, taking in the incredible views and enjoying the luxury of walking slowly, without backpacks or hiking boots or a fixed destination. It was Christmas eve and we had very little food left in our backpacks (and there were no grocery stores in the area) so we arranged to have a buffet dinner at one of the nearby hotels that had a view across the river to the Torres del Paine park. That evening we went there and ate a TON of delicious food with drinks and desserts included- dangerous. Though it was expensive, it was worth it to feel like we had a special Christmas dinner where we could all be together appreciating the beauty of the place. The next morning we had breakfast and mama brought out some surprise chocolates and I presented the family with hand knit artisan wool socks (like stockings) with gifts inside- a huaso belt for the papa, a silver bracelet with an Argentinian stone for the mama, and a cute little hand made Patagonian being/dwarf/elf with hilarious hair, beard and foot hair. We went for a lovely walk and had a very relaxed day. The next morning I was woken up by the sound of a familiar (but not from the family) voice saying my name in the living room. My guide friend Jose had dropped by the place to offer us the last minute opportunity to go on the excursion to the Serrano and Balmaceda glaciers at half price. We hurriedly thought it over and decided to do it. Twenty minutes later we were at the dock and loading into a Zodiac boat with some 5 or 6 other tourists from various places. We had an amazing time, zooming down the beautiful river with breathtaking views, stopping for a delicious lunch, and hiking to the base of the Serrano glacier in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park (which is only accessible by boat). It was a great day, and a great finale to our time in Rio Serrano.
That evening we rode back to Puerto Natales with Jose and Miguel, the guides of the excursion (good friends of a chilean friend of mine from Valdivia). We went out for a delicious dinner and drinks at a hip little restobar in Natales. The next day we met up with my good friend Seba (from Valdivia, the one who has the estancia that Kate and I went to) and he took us out to the Estancia Mercedes where we would stay for three nights. We were greeted by his family and a delicious lunch and then bustled outside to take a hike to two beautiful waterfalls. My dad, who speaks very few words of Spanish, was having in depth conversations about flora and fauna with Seba and Rodrigo, who speak very few words of English, purely by talking in scientific terms. It was quite amazing to see how much they were able to communicate! Later we ate dinner and went out to slackline until sunset. I felt so lucky to have the chance to be back in that place, really one of the most beautiful places in the world. When it got dark we all went into the living room and Seba and his family played guitar and sang gaucho songs and even sang a Cat Stevens song with my mom and dad. Gavan, my dad and I also each played something on the guitar and we all had a great time. The plan was to go on an intense horseback expedition early the next day, so we all decided to go to bed.
We woke up early to get things ready and get saddled up. I was to ride Cocoja, a beautiful mare with an adorable foal in tow. We set out with the siblings Seba, Angeles, and Rodrigo and started the 2.5 hour horseback ride, with Seba whacking the vegetation out of the way with a machete. We traversed diverse natural areas, getting totally ripped apart by thorny bushes in some areas. We arrived at the base of the Cordillera Moore, exhausted and overwhelmed by the thought of a hike but grateful for the break from horseback, our bodies aching. The hike to the top, having only been done by two people ever before, was deceivingly hard. There was no trail and we literally hiked straight up, starting at sea level and reaching snow level (!!!), every time thinking we had reached the top but then seeing a long steep stretch appear further ahead. After 4.5 hours of hard hiking we reached the top, with such strong winds that we had to flatten ourselves to the ground every time a gust came about just to keep from being blown off our feet. The view was incredible though, looking out over the fjords, the snowy peaks, Puerto Natales, the crazy terrain that we had crossed on horseback, hidden lakes etc. Due to the wind and the cold, we didn’t stay on top very long. We hurried back down the mountain. In the snowy parts we had a blast skiing down the steep face in our hiking shoes laughing hysterically. The rest of the descent was tiring though, as we had to fight the wind and try not to get blown down the hill. At one point there was such a strong gust that in the same moment my mom did a somersault down the hill and I too was pushed down the hill, still on my feet but unable to control my downhill motion and just barely missing big rocks and prickly bushes. My brother said it looked like I got pushed some 50 feet down the hill. I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t stop laughing, and I looked up to see my mom laughing hysterically also. She told me what had happened. We couldn’t believe it. She had literally flipped head over heels rolling down the hill- we were lucky to be without injury! It took us two hours to get back to the horses and the idea of another 2 hours on horse to get home was really overwhelming. But we set out, and soon found ourselves riding into a beautiful sunset, with god rays shooting down towards the ocean right overhead of the estancia. It was incredible. We were exhausted when we got back and were barely able to stay awake for dinner before going to bed. The next day we really just took it easy, sleeping in and lazing around the estancia, giving our sore bodies a bit of a break. My brother and my dad went out to do some fishing from the dock and caught three good-sized fish, which were cooked up for dinner. Seba and I went out on the ocean in their little row boat and he laughed at my awful rowing, claiming that it must be a lie that I had been training for rowing in Valdivia. I swear it is a completely different motion (and my rowing coach confirmed it) haha! We had a good laugh though, especially when our boat started filling up with water and we had to bail it out by hand, meanwhile I was unable to get the boat to go straight and had to hand over the oars. That night we played a game called Caras y Gestos (Faces and Gestures) which is a lot like Pictionary, but we had to come up with a system to make it work Chileans versus Americans with translations etc. It was hilarious. Even though we were outnumbered (just Gavan, my dad and I played for USA) and at a disadvantage with the language, WE WON! Hell yeaaaah. So much fun. Seba’s dad said the kids would have to sleep outside as punishment for losing. It was a night full of laughter. The next morning was sad because we had to say our goodbyes. Seba’s family had kind of adopted me into the family and I really did feel very much at home with them. It was hard to leave. Especially with Hernan, Seba’s father, telling me over and over again “you know all there is in Ecuador is poisonous snakes and animals etc, it is going to be awful. Just STAY”. It would be so easy to just stay, and yet I know that at the same time it is just not possible. It was a bittersweet goodbye to the family and to the place, but I knew I would be back some day. As we left the estancia there was an incredible rainbow arching over the property, which lingered even when arrived at the ferry to go back to Puerto Natales. We had a delicious lunch of empanadas at Seba’s mom’s house in Natales and then we went to our hostel to organize our things, as the family would be flying back the next morning. We met some interesting people in the hostel and had a relaxed afternoon there. The next morning I accompanied my family to the bus station and we said our goodbyes (and happy birthdays, to my dad). It had been an amazing trip and we were all very content, but sad to have to say goodbye again, knowing it would be even longer until the next time we saw each other. All of a sudden it was time for them to get on the bus, next thing they were pulling away waving through the window, and all of a sudden I was on my own again. It’s a strange feeling to be all alone at the end of the world on new years eve. (New Years ended up being quite the adventure in itself, but there is not time for that story right now… there is never enough time to experience life and manage to write about it in a timely manner)
Once again I have neglected my blog for months and was finally able to write some entries on the plane to Ecuador. Yes Ecuador. Thats how far behind I am. I am posting this from another country other than Chile even though the majority of my story goes untold. But my recent almost-month-long trip in Patagonia was amazing, so I made sure to jot something down about it…pictures are on Facebook, sorry to not have them posted here…
My month in Patagonia was incredible: there are no words to describe the intensity of the beauty that lies in the extreme south of Chile and it is equally difficult to explain the connection I feel with the area. I spent 9 days in the south with my loyal travel partner Kate and we had the time of our lives, and when my parents arrived shortly after, I told them from the first minute, “pay attention to the place, because this could quite possibly be my future home”. Highlights of my time in the south with Kate: exploring the southernmost city in Chile, Punta Arenas (second southernmost city in the world), arriving in Puerto Natales and discovering that we had connections (friends of friends from Valdivia) that would hook us up with some amazing adventures, going on some amazing adventures (for free) like being boated to an immense blue glacier in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park which can only be accessed by water, eating delicious food everywhere we went, getting sun and warmth in a place known for its harsh weather, visiting our friend’s estancia and experiencing their truly rural lifestyle, riding horses to a hidden waterfall that few have every seen, playing like children in a meadow of squishy moss, galloping for the first time in my life, slacklining better than ever with gusting wind and a dramatic sunset, singing and paying guitar next to a cozy fire on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, having light outside until almost midnight each night, waking up to see a breathtaking sunrise at 4:30 in the morning, climbing up to an immense 360 degree view and realizing that all the cuts on my legs were completely worth it, feeling on top of the world, discovering an incredibly clear looking face in a rock cliff that would be from then on be named “la cara de Kate” , descending with fear of falling to our deaths or becoming lost but arriving safely to a sunny return to Puerto Natales, having a successful international telephone interview for a scholarship, arriving in Torres del Paine National park on a beautiful and unusually warm day and doing the entire 8 hour hike, swimming in the invigorating icy waters of the glacial lake that lies at the famous spires of las Torres, laughing about the poor man who asked us about the restaurant that he was expecting at the end of the hike (what the…?), making a fire and relaxing when we got back exhausted and sore footed from the hike, sleeping innnnn, getting back to Puerto Natales to find out that I had won $4,000 in scholarship money for my study abroad and thesis research (the work paid off, literally), meeting a local hostel owner who was originally from Eugene and getting offered free pisco sours just for being Oregonians, going to a Jineteada, where brave men mount wild horses and try to hang on and have good form for 15 seconds, going out to celebrate Kat’s last night and ending up dancing folkdances in a plaza as the sun rose at 4:30 in the morning, walking home with a bright pink sky and sleeping only half an hour before getting on the bus back to punta arenas, saying goodbye with smiles laughter and tears all at the same time. 9 days felt like a lifetime and then suddenly it was over and Kate was gone- my loyal travel partner of 4 and a half months got off the bus at the airport and suddenly I was alone. A day to get things in order, get my clothes washed, check my email and try to catch up on sleep before meeting up with the family.
I´m back. I find myself with some free time and decided to see where i´d left off with the blog only to realize just how far behind I am. It is a daunting task trying to keep this page up to date when there are so many things to say and so many rich experiences that are hard to put into words. I feel overwhelmed by the fact that, while I want to talk about recent adventures, there are many events that I have skipped that deserve to be mentioned. I still have not told of my adventures in the magical world of Huilo Huilo (which feels like it was years ago), my second time skiing in south america and my second crossing into Argentina. I have yet to relate the ridiculous story of being nominated to be the “queen” on the Beer Fest here in Valdivia and getting up on stage in front of hundreds of cheering chileans, or to tell of the amazing film festival we had in town, bringing flocks of artsy chileans and hipsters from Santiago. We´ve celebrated Kate´s birthday as well as Jorge´s. I traveled 12 hours north by bus to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar and explored some of Chile´s most famous cities and also found an amazing beach gettaway with Kate. We went to Osorno to watch Jorge´s basketball tournament, where the Valdivia team left as champions (and Jorge as best player of the tournament) and qualified for the nationals. The most recent adventure was our third group excursion, this time to beautiful Frutillar and Puerto Varas, the highlight of which was watching the orange moon rise up from behind the perfect cone shaped Osorno Volcano, reflected in the almost oceanlike lake, just before 11:11 pm on 11/11/11.
And this weekend I find myself in Valdivia, with a few days to just be here for once. We´ve had a week of pure summer weather, hitting upwards of 76 with warm summer breezes and lots of fun activities in the sun. Also lots of studying. Homework has really kicked in as we are finishing up the semester. I hardly ever find time to blog because if I am not doing homework I prefer to be traveling, exploring new places, or spending time with Jorge and my chilean friends, with whom my time is quickly running out. We have about a month left here in Valdivia and then on December 10th I go to Punta Arenas (the southernmost city in Chile, and the second most southernmost city in the world) with Kate and we are going to explore the chilean Patagonia. And on the 18th I get a visit from the family!!!! Yes, that means Mama, Papa, and Gavan are coming to visit me here in Chile, and in Patagonia nonetheless! Im very excited! Meanwhile Im trying to make the most of my time left here. Ive been rowing a ton and am absolutely loving it! Ive starting rowing in a single, which is much more challenging but equally more rewarding. I love feeling the harmony between the water and my movements, a true equilibrium. Rowing is starting to be a true passion of mine and it makes me curious about whether it is something that I can start to incorporate into my life back home. I still miss dance and cello like crazy, but it is wonderful to have found another activity that I am passionate about. It is intense to think about switching countries again in January, when I will being flying to Quito, Ecuador for the second semester. It will be a completely different culture and lifestyle to adapt to! I can hardly imagine leaving Chile and all the wonderful people I have connected with here. But I look forward to the challenge of adapting to a new environment and being immersed in a totally different culture. Sometimes I start to feel like life is getting much too comfortable here, starting to feel like home, a place I could stay forever. If it weren´t for my commitments in Ecuador, I fear I might never leave. Or at least not yet. But at the same time I feel like it is time to start traveling again, to start getting out of my comfort zone and exploring again. There is so much out there and it is overwhelming. Invigorating and paralyzing at the same time. This experience blows my mind and sometimes it is hard to process and understand. And reflecting back on these experiences takes time and concentration, which I often don´t have given the constant stimulation around me. One day I´ll get around to updating all of this in my blog…most likely when Im sitting in the airport with time on my hands, full of nostalgia for the country I have just left.
Tópicos de composición III
Composición No. 5
Sophia Borgias
17 Octubre 2011
El etnoturismo y los Mapuches
La cultura mapuche es muy importante en Chile porque es la presencia indígena más representada en el país. Alrededor del 10% de la población es mapuche y la mayoría vive en el centro-sur del país, con una de las comunidades más grandes en la cuidad de Temuco. Los mapuches tienen una historia llena de dificultades, la mayoría relacionada con la pérdida de sus tierras y su cultura. A veces con muy poca educación y falta de poder político, muchos tienen problemas de pobreza y discriminación. Para algunas comunidades mapuches el etnoturismo, que en los últimos años ha aumentado mucho su popularidad, es la única fuente de ingresos.
El etnoturismo les ofrece una oportunidad para practicar y demonstrar sus tradiciones de una manera entretenida e instructiva para el público. Muchas comunidades han construido rukas, la casa tradicional hecha de paja y madera, donde ofrecen una oportunidad a los turistas de explorarla y aprender sobre el estilo de vida tradicional. Otras comunidades mapuches ya viven de un manera muy tradicional y sólo abren sus puertas para que los turistas puedan pasar a almorzar y hablar con ellos. En general, los turistas quieren ver y aprender sobre la vestimenta, los instrumentos y la música, la danza, la comida, sus pasatiempos, deportes y artesanía tradicional. Con el objeto de ganar dinero, los mapuches dan a conocer lo que el público quiera. A veces la exposición cultural es creada para simular una verdadera y próspera comunidad tradicional mapuche, cuando en realidad tienen tantos problemas como la pérdida de las costumbres y de la lengua mapudungun. Entonces en algunos casos los mapuches sólo aprenden como practicar su propia cultura para tener los beneficios economicos del turismo cultural. En este sentido el turismo cultural mapuche tiene sus ironías y dilemas en la lucha por ganarse la vida, perpetuar la cultura y mejorar su situación en general.
Cuando fuimos a Pucón, visitamos una comunidad en las afueras de la ciudad y pasamos la tarde con una familia mapuche. Cuando llegamos a la comunidad, conocimos a los anfitriones, una pareja mapuche con un grupo de niños, todos llevando la vestimenta tradicional. La mujer tocó el kultrun, un tambor muy importante en los rituales, y el hombre tocó la trutruka mientras los chicos bailaron en el pasto. Me di cuenta que uno de los chicos que estaba bailando tuenia auriculares en sus orejas, y fue interesante pensar en la posibilidad de que él estaba escuchando música de hip hop en vez de escuchar el ritmo del tambor tradicional. Todo el día estuve pensando en esta doble vida que tienen los niños, la tradicional y la moderna. Debajo de su vestimenta tradicional, cada niño tenía su ropa moderna y al lado de la área con las rukas estaba la casa moderna donde vive la familia. No está mal que vivan normalmente de una manera más moderna, porque todos deben tener acceso a los beneficios de la tecnología, pero la experiencia me dio curiosidad sobre cual partes de la cultura practicarían si no tuvieran que demostrarla para el turismo. Y los niños, ¿entienden su cultura y las prácticas tradicionales o sólo saben su papel en el espectáculo? Al fin del día los niños pasaron por el grupo con papeles de anuncios del lugar para que le demos la información a otros turistas. Me gustó mucho el día en la comunidad mapuche y participé en la parte en que nos vestimos con vestimenta tradicional. Pero me parece que la parte que falta es una discusión de la verdadera situación con las dificultades de los mapuches. Si ellos hablan sobre la realidad de los desafíos de mantener la cultura, los turistas pueden tener un mejor entendimiento de su lucha y aumentar la consciencia en general.
Hay grupos de gente mapuche que protestan por la discriminación y la falta de apoyo para la población mapuche, pero estos grupos se han ganado una reputación radicalista o violenta y por esto es más difícil para el público relacionarse con su lucha. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las manifestaciones mapuches han sido pacíficas y el público ahora entiende más sus objetivos y tiene consciencia de su lucha. Los mapuches han participado en muchas de las manifestaciones sobre asuntos medioambientales porque creen que es muy importante proteger la madre tierra. El nombre “mapuche” significa “gente de la tierra” en el lenguaje mapudungun y los mapuche han luchado mucho contra la contaminación y explotación de la naturaleza.
Lamentablemente esta discusión no es parte de la experiencia de visitar una comunidad mapuche. Para los turistas, los mapuche presentan una realidad en que la cultura ha sido preservada y pueden vivir en paz con sus tradiciones. Esta realidad es ficticia y no sirve para crear más consciencia de la necesidad de mejorar la situación de los mapuche. Necesitan apoyo para mejorar el acceso a la educación para sus niños e integrar la cultura mapuche en sus estudios. Necesitan más influencia en la política y en la protección de sus derechos. Y más que nada necesitan ser aceptados por la sociedad chilena en vez de ser marginados. Es necesario integrar la discusión de la verdadera situación de la lucha mapuche en el turismo cultural para aumentar la consciencia del público y crear una relación de entendimiento y cooperación entre los indígenas y los chilenos.
We visited a Mapuche community just outside the city of Pucon and got to learn about the culture, try on traditional mapuche clothing, and eat a delicious lunch of mapuche food in a traditional ruka hut. It was a beautiful day.
It was a wonderful experience, but also strange to see the way that the Mapuche family had needed to design the experience to please tourists. I wrote a paper about ethnotourism and the mapuche people for my composition class. For those of you who understand Spanish, I will post it and it may be of interest. The basic idea is that ethnotourism at times creates situations in which indigenous people have to find ways to essentially sell their culture, fabricating cultural experiences for the entertainment of the public so that the tourists can relish in the richness of the culture, that in reality hardly still exists due to discrimination and poverty. I would like to see these kinds of ethnotourism businesses include, as part of the experience offered to the tourists, a discussion of the struggle that the indigenous people face. I think it is important to address the reality of their struggle in order to increase awareness and participation in the fight to improve their situation. The mapuche children should be learning about their culture as more than just a role to play in the show for the tourists. One image that stuck with me from the experience was seeing one of the young mapuche boys using earbuds and apparently listening to music while dancing a traditional dance to traditional music (which he didnt seem to hear), all the while wearing his modern clothes and nike shoes under the traditional garb. I had to wonder how much of their culture they actually understand outside of what is necessary in order to appeal to the tourists. And would they have learned much about their culture if their tourism business did not exist? One thing for sure is that the mapuche culture is quickly disappearing, like so many indigenous cultures around the world, and there are few programs in place in order to teach the culture to the younger generation, who often don’t even have access to education. Yet this aspect of the mapuche situation and culture is so often ignored and completely hidden from the view of the tourists. I will post the paper, although in Spanish, for those who are interested.
On our way back from Bariloche we stopped back in Osorno and got to spend the next day on Jorge’s grandfather’s horse ranch, riding horses and exploring the beautiful place. It was my first time really riding a horse (other than a trail ride as a kid) and I loved it! The horses were so beautiful and the ranch itself was stunning. The horses are a specific Chilean breed which makes them smaller than normal horses. 
The horse ranch is all in the Huaso (Chilean cowboy) style and tradition. You can see below the traditional huaso gear and hat etc, very simple and beautiful.
We skied at Cerro Catedral in Bariloche which ended up being an amazing deal, with all our ski clothing/gear rental and lift ticket costing less than $60! We had a beautiful day on the mountain with spring skiing conditions and incredible views. We met a group of argentinian guys who live in Bariloche and who were able to show us around to all the best runs on the mountain. It was an awesome day!
We stayed in the most wonderful hostel in Bariloche, located on the 10th floor of an apartment building, with the most incredible views from the balconies. Waking up to this every morning? Amazing.
Traveling with Kate and Kendra. Awesome adventure team. We cooked so much yummy food together too! Good times.
The view from Cerro Campenario! 360 degree incredible-ness
The “secret lake” that we found on a hike we took!
All the brown, grey stuff in the water is ASH from the nearby volcano (the one that has been in the news a fair amount). Many of the lakes in Chile and Argentina are forming islands of ash.
With a closer look, I was amazing to see how big the pieces of ash were! We are talking large pieces of floating pumice. It is so dense that at first glance it seems you could walk over the surface!
CHOCOLATE!!! Bariloche is renowned for its chocolate! There are so many chocolate stores it is overwhelming. The trick is to visit all of them for the free samples. Mmmmm….
Baked goods too…
One night in our hostel we had a potluck dinner in which everyone made a dish and it was quite possibly the best meal I have ever had! So many wonderful people from all over the world!
Jorge and his mom and brother took us on a grand tour of all the most beautiful places around Osorno. We originally thought we were just going to visit the Osorno Volcano but it ended up being so much more.
