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Chile, photos, captions ... (11)

Oases Nordic (2 / 2)

To achieve Chiu-Chiu, village Oasis nearest Lasana, you have to take a rocky path along the Rio Loa, a distance of about ten kilometers. While accidents, the course is nice, especially in the morning when the sun is not too deadly.

After 3 hours walking around the trail straightens out of the valley and leads to the village. First we see a beautiful white adobe church preceded by two bell towers and then, instead. Dusty and surrounded by dead trees or dry. That day, everything was almost deserted. There were just two children, who were running in all directions and seemed to play "gliders".
They imitated the sound of the wind, eyes closed, pretended to drift with currents imaginary. They eventually collide and fall. Ocher cloud in which they snorted, cascades of laughter rang out metal. The unkempt hair, sweat and snot soaked sand, they had raised, eyes wide open and we had begun to fathom, like puppies shameless "A'ondé van gringos? (Z 'go where the foreigners?) Cried the boy. "ACA, no más! (Here, no more) I replied. Without asking more, the two kids had taken over our bags and waved us to follow. "Come at Doña Virginia, she'll look after you! "Threw the girl, as if we were rescued from the desert and it was absolutely necessary to take us to the field hospital nearest you.

In fact, Chiu-Chiu, the Doña Virginia played a bit role in "Give up 'for lost travelers. It was both the sole owner of the village café, restaurant and incidentally, was the holder of the keys to the church. In sum, the earthly and spiritual food were concentrated in the hands of a single person. As for "cures" that she had the secret, they consisted of rustic sandwiches, which according to arrivals were sometimes topped with eggs and peppers, and sometimes lawyers and onions and sometimes block of tripe she sewed herself. This last specialty was the "map" this afternoon.

After we have served, Doña Virginia sat in front of us and watched us eat. She asked about our trip and our projects in the region. She obviously loved advise travelers and elsewhere, passengers also seemed to show him much recognition, judging by the numerous letters she received from around the world. In a large exercise book, Doña Virginia treasured memories and impressions that he left his guests passing through. On some pages, she stuck pell-mell, small texts in Hebrew, a postcard with the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum or a thank you note from a journalist from the capital to try once more , to unravel the riddles surrounding the village. Toward the final pages of this sort of book, featured a picture black and white. It was a portrait. That of the German actor Hardy Krüger -one of the protagonists of the legendary " Taxi For Tobruk "- which at the bottom that read:" For Doña Virginia, affectionately signed Hardy Krüger.

"Oh yes, I remember. Someone very well what Mr. Kruger! And not difficult for a sub. Look, there he stayed when he came. I had pushed the tables and chairs and he had laid his sleeping bag there on the floor, "she said, pointing to the concrete slab forming the rough ground coffee.

Doña Virginia would now show us the church without delay. A church in the image of the village cursed. For chandeliers no longer pastor there had wanted to give mass.
Moreover, since the day of drunken peasants were insulted and beaten on the last priest in office, there was no cure at all had to Chiu Chiu. The story goes that after his beating, the priest made his bundle without asking his rest, but before disappearing behind the hill, cast a spell on the village and its inhabitants. Today, the curse seems to be perpetuated, at least in the memory and the heart of the natives, if crops fail this year, if the houses are infested of vinchuca *, if young are deserting the land or sell them cheaply, the reason will be known and will be invoked once more the revenge of the priest-martyr. If Doña Virginia opens yet another time to the church, it is to let go of the few tourists passing the final or devotees of the parish who officiate themselves during rites of Christianity that inspired both the ancestral animist traditions . Moreover, a "special Mass" will be held tonight, says Virginia "But here, foreigners are not allowed," she says. " Although it is the church of Chiu-Chiu (The second oldest of Chile) has a few sights, its ceiling and its imposing gates are made entirely of wood of cacti. A real lace! Inside the building, near the altar, there is also a strange painting of a Christ. Strange, because if one takes the trouble to look at the back of the painting, as we noted Virginia, there is another painting where you can still see the Christ .... but back. A Christ-sided!


As proposed Doña Virginia, we can sleep tonight exactly where Hardy Krüger has stayed there few years. Ie the floor between chairs and small coffee counter. An honor!
Despite the fatigue of the day and although the night was cold, sleep will come easily, however. And it will not because of the spartan housing conditions. In my down sleeping bag, a bottle of Pisco that I had buried to protect it from shock, was broken on the ground and released its heady fragrance and tough. The scent of coffee grounds mixed with the smell of oil permeating our clothes ever since the day the atmosphere will simply nauseating. Later, when the nearby church resound drums and wailing of bigoted service, the atmosphere will rise another notch. The "ceremony" will last until two o'clock in the morning.

(Tombs in the churchyard of Chiu-Chiu)

I even imagined for a moment, in a kind of nightmare, half awake, half asleep, that we should carry out human sacrifices as the noise from the church became annoying.

As if nothing had happened, and as had been expected yesterday, Doña Virginia woke us up early this morning. She brought on a tray, teapot, rolls and jam based on a result that we could not identify. "That's what your strength before you go to walk, the owner smiled from the hostel.

From the establishment of Doña Virginia must indeed walk at least two hours to get to "The Eye of the Sea."
In a vague way straying repeatedly and sometimes mingling with the traces left by herds of sheep, one must first cross a large stretch of rocky Pampa under a sky-blue steel. This morning, there was no shadow of a cloud, except a few fumaroles crachotées by a distant volcano. Probably the San Pedro.
Inlaid in a slight decline in the field, the "Eye Sea" finally appears. This is a saltwater lagoon, perfectly circular, the diameter must not exceed 60 or 70 meters. The water-its location and lack of a clear indication, could easily escape the view of passersby. But without doubt this is due to this kind of irresistible attraction exercised by certain geological phenomena that we we found without too much trouble this water hole in the desert. A curiosity since time immemorial is the origin of the wildest legends. There are of course the usual testimony "credible" of those who, like the shoreline of Loch Ness, spotted on the surface of brackish waters a form resembling that of an antediluvian monster. But there are also poets. Those who believe that the bouquets de Cortada (a type of grass) did his best to push the edge of the lagoon are in fact the reincarnation of the "Three Mary." Three girls having drowned here once and whose hair spoke of, say, the look and silky texture of these plants! Other stories also tell that the Inca, fleeing the conquistadors would have swallowed up by some of their fabulous treasure. Among the most recurrent myths circulating around the lagoon there is finally one evoking a love story between a girl of Chiu-Chiu and the famous Inca Tupac Amaru rebels who took refuge in the region some time before resuming his desperate fight against Spaniards. Desperate to be able to hold his lover, too busy making war, the beautiful Chiu Chiu, spite, went to drown. Since then, told, the lagoon has taken a nice emerald green color. Eye color of the unfortunate mistress of the last great Inca rebel (executed in Cusco / Peru in 1572). More prosaically, Doña Virginia we still had strongly advised to avoid swimming in the waters of the "Eye Sea".
"If you really want to swim, stay close to shore because the water is very" heavy "there. If you go to the center, you'll be sucked in and you will never go back, it's a bottomless pit. No one has ever measured, Assen boss coffee As a final warning. " (based travel diary from December 91)

(Chiu-Chiu, "El Ojo de Mar, the Sea-Eye)

* The vinchuca (Triatoma infestans) present in the clay brick houses is a biting insect hematophagous of America tropical family of bugs ( Reduviidae). Is the vector a trypanosomiasis the Chagas . A deadly disease related to the disease sommmeil) from Wikipedia.

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Chile, photos, captions ... (10)

Oases Nordic (1 / 2) -region-Calama

(the valley of the Rio Loa, the longest river in Chile! -440 km-)
Who says the desert oasis said! The arid northern Chile is no exception to the rule. Among the few havens of greenery spread, particularly along the Rio Loa about fifty kilometers from Calama, villages and Lasana Chiu Chiu are true blessing for travelers overwhelmed by too much sun. Today was also not a luxury to expect a little freshness. In addition to the usual heat, the van that we had charged this morning out of Calama carrying drums of petrol. Most of them were not closed and at every turn, Marie-Helene and I were watered copiously fuel. So

impregnated fragrance oil and a little queasy that we Lasana landed. A tiny hamlet consisting of no more than twenty homes stuck in the hollow of a picturesque gorge where the river meanders Loa. A torrent
mastered allowing farmers to get good harvests vegetables. It's always amazing to see grow in the desert, beets, carrots, onions and garlic!
In addition to this vital activity for dozens of families, the proximity of a fortified village (one pukara) from the twelfth century, gives the place a tourist attraction not devoid of interest. Moreover, all tour operators now have regional integrated circuits for a visit of this singular site.
All this may foreshadow a good life and a bright future but is not counting on the proximity of the largest of Chile's Codelco. It has indeed, about thirty miles from here, the biggest copper mine to open the world known as Chuquicamata. For the treatment of ores, a large amount of water is indeed necessary and Codelco uses the intense pumping of water from nearby rivers, including those of the Loa. Formerly a high flow, the river (which, despite its modest appearance, is the longest river in Chile with 440 miles long!) can now be crossed on foot. At most risk is there to wet your legs, and again.

(mine of Chuquicamata, the biggest copper mine to open the world)

few days ago, when visiting the mine precisely, we also asked the guide the company what it was exactly these intensive pumping and we were very curtly replied (this is the case to say) that Codelco had reached the maximum possible sampling and that the peasants had nothing to fear ....

The family who agreed to host us today Lasana turn is well representative of the spirit of friendly and hospitable people of the far north of Chile.
This family owns a small house that serves as groceries, but also coffee. The house is of stone and covered with mud. If we are careful, you could even believe that the modest building is part of the citadel nearby as the materials used are similar.

But the house of Doña Loyenza is a place inhabited and warm. It's good to live. Only to realize it takes time to stop, talk and socialize. And that tourists who pass through here with organized excursions do not know.
-They stop about ten minutes, says the grocer, they take two or three pictures of the fortress, smoke a cigarette and then go away ....

The boss of the store does not hide it: she prefers people who are not in a hurry. For them, it will abandon a moment his "boutique" and take the time to guide itself travelers in what it calls "its" ruins. As it will for us this afternoon. In an amused tone, she said such strange cruciform window, this series of prints appears on one side of the building inaccessible or there, a piece of thatch, she says, comes from the roof of origin of the citadel! And no matter if the information does not always seem of great historical accuracy: the enthusiasm and kindness of Doña Loyenza outweigh. In fact, back home, as we were about to prepare our meals on the veranda, she remarked that it was not necessary and invited us to share dinner with her husband and her nephew. In the small kitchen lit by a paraffin lamp, the table was laid and covered already waiting unexpected guests. On the menu: a rustic soup of carrots and onions followed by a rabbit fed ... the desert grasses and finally a box of white wine to fan the embers of a happiness without substitute.
As it was already too late to pitch the tent in the garden. It is still the brave Doña Loyenza we propose to hold One of the rooms unoccupied house.
-As you will be ready at dawn to begin the hike you have planned! (based Trip November 91)

(Fortress-of-pukara Lasana (12th century) and the valley of the Rio Loa)

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Chile, photos, captions ... (9)

Iquique, war Pacific and ghost towns (3 / 3)

In Los Pintados

Past the small church, we came to a place. Some carob trees had taken root there without any organization. One of them even contrived to push through the carcass of what was burned was a limousine.
there, other shrubs were undermining the foundations of a bandstand. The most notable building, however, this theater was preceded by an elegant shopping arcades well drawn.
What parts we had played on his plates? Who were these unfortunate artists who once had to happen on this stage in the heart of the desert?


I tried to imagine the sound of pianos that could have silted up, or the timbre of the violins split the soul too dry, one of these trumpets consistently seized pistons.
Maybe we produced here burlesque shows, entertainers to Ahura jokes as outdated as those made a specialty of the ineffable Hector "Comebomba. An artist of music hall which was produced in 1900 in the mining towns of the North and whose only issue was to chew with the teeth of a light bulb then swallowed it without, say, the slightest grimace.

After all, rather eat glass the stone was not worse. At least, this guy saw the country and would feel more free than all those "broken" before which he performed in exchange for a mattress, a little food and alcohol.

Among the legendary figures who tirelessly traveled the desert at the beginning of the century, there were however some whose reputation far beyond the Salpetriere North to become true emblems of the working class struggle in Chile. Luis Emilio Recabarren was them. A holy man who had built a solid reputation for having agitator made up his mind to awaken the consciences of the workers dazed by the infernal production rates but also alcohol. In a speech given as usual in a tavern infamous, he said in particular that the release of the working class would rise by culture. At the end of his speech, he also persuaded his audience to break all the bottles of alcohol and asked everyone to cast his glass on the ground. Against all expectations, everyone agreed, and after the speech, a procession of workers was organized to head to the headquarters of the company that occupied them. The slogan was rather revolutionary Recabarren asked everyone to hold up a book during the procession, and for those who did not, a newspaper ...

The movement had such an impact that, to the coast and in ports, workers busy unloading ships crossed arms when it was a cargo of liquor!
If this period of self deprivation lasted only a short time (the then President Allesandra pretext of freedom of trade, sent the army to unload boats and persuaded the workers that beer and alcohol does were that refresh without consequence) Recabarren had still been very good at persuading the convicts from the desert to abstinence ethyl!

Outside, a light breeze had risen and formed here and there small clouds of dust that fell apart almost immediately. About to come off a sheet insecure had begun to beat a random measure. A dog fawn appeared, peeling knotty, covered with scabs and glassy eyes. He stopped a few meters from us and we looked without flinching. In the distance, a human figure approaching slowly. The man was advancing in the middle of the rails, as a hauler whose burdens have been abandoned this train that was visible in the background.
"Do not stay in the sun," cried the man in rags, you'll go crazy! "
It beckoned us to follow him and we encouraged the dog with lots of shots of truffle in the folding of the knees.

It took a few minutes to get used to the darkness of the room where the man had made us enter. There was little: a bed, a crate serving as a back table at night, a hurricane lamp and a wall covered with pictures of girls naked.
"Ah, the visits are rare these days," sighed the unexpected guest. It's been a while since I watched with my binoculars. When I saw you leave the theater, I am afraid for a moment that you are returning to the road. That's why I dropped Pinocho to attract your attention. The man spoke without looking at us too, too busy to prepare an omelet gargantuan. He took a moment to go and fill a jug of water he was then boiled on a small bill for camping.
"That's for tea! he says with an air rejoiced. With the omelet and bread 'house "It will make you a nice dinner table, right? "

The only inhabitant of Los Pintados" named Ramon Cabrera. It was a strange character. It would have been impossible to give an age. Although quite bare, it reminded me a little Leo Ferré. Especially his eyes and he had this habit of nervously eye squint. And then that look. That of a hunted animal or a predator to prey? Maybe just a man alone in a city forgotten by all.
During the meal, Ramon told us the reasons which had lead austere in this country.
He had once been an active campaigner in an underground trade union in the shipyard. A membership that had earned him in big trouble at the time of the dictatorship: in addition to numerous arrests "administrative" and bullying that he had been, his boss had dismissed arbitrarily. It 'is that there are two or three years he had been able to find a job in Railways. The job was not very well paid but did not require any special knowledge or effort intensive and, at his age, he said, it mattered. It was when his employer took him to his affection for Los Pintados he thought at first it was a joke. There was certainly a track that crossed the place but no station. There were a village ... but not people!
As for work, it came down to little things in fact: Once or twice a week, freight trains were traveling to Iquique by separating a part of their convoy because the slope accessing the port was too steep overloaded and trains were running the risk of derailing. While Ramon was just watch the cars that remained on hold until a locomotive just take them in turn.
- At first, I thought I could not take more than fifteen days in this atmosphere. Imagine, the only thing you see moving around you these are the big black birds that will not stop spinning in the sky. And the noise! Saltpeter, it keeps "working" you know, even at night it cracks! As it gets colder, the ore, it shrinks, and again "it sings," you can not imagine!
And then, after a time, s'habitude, there are occupations, I get stuff left to right, and little I just got my nest! I even on TV now, I picked up an old post, and I tinkered with my generator, I can receive full programming. Well, almost, because there is no image. I just sound. Then at night I listen to movies, but always with the same images before me, smiled Ramon: dunes, stars, and the ruins in the distance, the headlights of trucks crossing the Pan American ... But
-j 've of the imagination, I can transform the elements of my decor at the mercy of movies and sometimes it fits rather well. Consider, for example the other day he spent "Lawrence of Arabia" j'vous not tell the mood.
The hardest thing with the American series. Here, I can not quite imagine Miami or Beverly Hills amidst all these ruins.
-though one night, it has nevertheless taken on a so realistic that I was scared. I was listening to a spy movie when suddenly, right in the middle of the film, I hear a car approaching. This time, it was not in the position. It was for real. There was a huge tray, such as "Buick" with chrome everywhere who had stopped at a few tens of meters from my hut and then ... nothing for almost an hour. There were two guys in the car, but they did not move. I just saw the glow of their cigarette butts. I was terrified. I cut the TV on and off the lantern and had squatted here, just where there is this gap in the wall. Suddenly it happened something extraordinary. First a loud noise and then the impression that a storm was rising sharply by raising of enormous clouds of dust. A helicopter had to lead from behind the dunes and posed a few meters from the car. Then it just went in a few seconds: the two types of the Buick came out of the car, opened the trunk and extracted two cases obviously very heavy for the lift to board the aircraft. Then, just before climbing turn in the helicopter, they doused the car with petrol and have done flaming. It has scorched much of the night!
"Besides, you missed the carcass while ago, nothing has changed and since nobody ever came to ask me anything about this story that I'm the only witness, then, what do you, I do not say anything to anybody ....

We finished our meal
Outside, the sun and the heat became unbearable. The dog was cowering at my feet and smell the tea invaded the home of strange vigil "Los Pintados".
Through the cracks of the roof could still guess the relentless round of large black birds in the sky. It was time to move on. (after "travel diary of November 91")

(Ramon Cabrera, Los Pintados vigil and sole inhabitant of the village)

In addition to this ticket, a rare document filmed in 1924 during funeral of Luis Emilio Recabarren (mentioned in this post), father Movement Chilean worker, founder of the Chilean Communist Party. Note, this film illustrating the song performed and composed by Victor Jara