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Background: Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

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By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 8th 2008

Dag 22: Cruise Navimag

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt

Na het uitchecken uit guesthouse Canales del Sur, rijden we naar Puerto Montt; de laatste 25 km van dit stuk in ieder geval. Eerst maar eens inchecken voor de boot en dan de auto inleveren. Om de tijd te doden, lopen we Puerto Montt een beetje door en gaan we in een lokaal cafeetje zitten voor een broodje en koffie. Na de nodige souvenirwinkeltjes zijn we dan toch weer aangekomen bij de boot, waar we de laatste 2 uur in de wachtruimte blijven zitten. Dan mogen we rond half 3 aan boord gaan. We hebben hut 117, met uitzicht op zee… [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 7th 2008

Dag 21: Lago Llanquihue

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Osorno

Koud in Puerto Octay

Vandaag staan de pinguïns op het eiland Chiloe op het programma, maar….. De eigenaar van Canales del Sur raadt het ons af: het is de tijd van het jaar niet, er zullen geen pinguïns zijn… :( Maar hij heeft een mooie alternatieve route: een rondje om het meer Llanquihue. En dat gaan we dus vandaag doen. Via Frutillar komen we in het plaatsje Puerto Octay, waar we een mooi uitzicht op het meer hebben (tussen de bewolking door). Dan door naar het plaatsje Las Cascadas, waar de weg overgaat van asfalt in onverhard wegdek, met heel wat gaten in de weg. [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 6th 2008

Dag 20: Van Pucon naar Puerto Varas

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

Regenbuitje
Het uitzicht vanuit Canales del Sur (tussen de regendruppels door dan...)

Vandaag weer een stukje rijden: van Pucon naar Puerto Vars, 320 km richting het zuiden. We gaan van IX Region de la Araucania naar X Region de los Lagos. Ook het landschap verandert: van bomen voor hout in akkers voor landbouw. Aangekomen in Puerto Varas gaan we, op aanraden van de eigenaar van ons guesthouse Canales del Sur, naar restaurant La Olla voor een goede lunch. Hier is het ontzettend druk, allemaal vis eten. En het is niet voor niets zo druk want het smaakt heerlijk! Na de lunch gaan we 'uitbuiken' op onze kamer en een beetje TV kijken: het [View Full Entry]

By Indiana Jones 5
August 19th 2008

Isla Chiloe

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island

Pfahlhaeuser in Castro

Nach den wunderschoenen Tagen in Chiles Hauptstadt verlassen wir am Samstagabend Santiago mit dem Nachtbus und fahren immer weiter nach Sueden. Durch die wunderschoenen gruenen Huegel und Seen (wir fuehlen uns wie in Irland :-)!) geht es mit Bus und Schiff weiter - nach ca. 17 Stunden erreichen wir die Insel Chiloe - eine Insel, die ungefaehr so gross wie Korsika ist. In der Hauptstadt Castro angekommen beziehen wir ein wunderschoenes, gemuetliches Hostel mit Meerblick und erkunden danach die Stadt - so gut es mit Sandras Kruecken eben geht :-)... Nach einer kleinen Staerkung im Zentrum machen [View Full Entry]

By ross and polly
August 11th 2008

Chilly in Chile - Puerto Varas

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

The party bus over the border
Time for a comfort break!

Ross: From Bariloche we caught an 8 hour bus over the border to Puerto Varas in Chile. Rumours had been flying around about poor road conditions over the Andes but after a 30 minute wait on the Argentine side of the border the authorities allowed us through. Heavy snowfall meant that the roads were fairly covered but we eventually arrived at the Chilean checkpoint of Villa La Angostura and headed on to Hostel Ellenhaus in Puerto Varas for a two-night stay. Puerto Varas was originally a German settlement and this is echoed in the architecture and German-named drinking establishments. Howe [View Full Entry]

Polly tears up another children´s playground

By fogh
July 7th 2008

Mandag d. 7. Juli: Chile

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt

Mandag d. 7 Juli: Chile Kørte gennem ødemarker og skove. Virkelig flot i grænselandet mellem chile og argentina. Hele vores bil blev checket igennem. Så er det også prøvet. Endte i noget som nok bedst kan beskrives som værende Danmark. Grønne marker som var mindre end i argentina. Som om vi var kommet hjem, hvilket ville være meget kedeligt. Fandt et motel en times tid fra den chilenske grænse, som vi bookede. Heldigvis ændrede tærrenet sig som vi nærmede os den mest aktive vulkan i sydamerika. Gjerde en lidt nervøs, givet den høje aktivitet der har været. Dårligt vejr spolerede m [View Full Entry]

By georgielenf
June 25th 2008

Strange smells, beautiful lakes and a picnic in the cold

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

We hired a car and went to see the Saltos de Petrohue today. It is an amazing set of rapids/waterfalls. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the national park. It was pretty cold and windy at the waters edge but the rapids were amazing to see. I could have spent ages just watching them but it was too cold to hang around. There were lots of little paths through different sections of the park and you had no idea where they would lead. One path that had taken us through the forested area suddenly opened up and we were [View Full Entry]

By georgielenf
June 24th 2008

Dogs

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

Pavement decorations

We left Pucon early for a five hour bus journey to Puerto Varas. Managed to sleep quite a bit on the bus which was good as I was pretty tired. Puerto Varas was another small-ish town with views of two volcanoes from the lake. I preferred Pucon though - it just had a nicer feel about it. Luna and I walked around part of the lake in one direction and managed to pick up some friends along the way. This particular friend had incredibly short legs and looked a bit like a cross between an Alsatian and a sausage dog. He [View Full Entry]

By H T
June 18th 2008

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

South America » Chile » Los Lagos

Lago Chico
magical snow paradise

Our first bus journey from Santiago to Pucon was very comfortable and we arrived into the town early. Having slept almost all the way waking up and having to get out into the freezing cold wet weather was some wakeup call!! We had hoped for snow here and were a little disappointed that it was actually raining. Pulling ourselves and our brains into gear we realised that it was 8am on a Sunday morning and that we were the only ones still stood in the bus terminal. We realised that everything looked closed (as you would expect) and that it was [View Full Entry]

By Jabe
June 11th 2008

The beard of the watery autumn grows long

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island

My Chiloe - churches and rain
Iglesia Nuestra Senora de Patrocinio, Tenaun

The Chiloe archipelago is the northernmost part of the frayed edge of Chile, that tattered jumble of islands and fjords that starts south of Puerto Montt and continues for nearly 3,000km down to Cape Horn. The blending of local and Spanish traditions has resulted in an identity different from that of the mainland, with the rural feel and beach-free nature of the islands keeping tourist numbers down. With home for me being in a coastal area of the UK with inclement weather and a fishing industry, it was going to be interesting to see if any other parallels could be drawn. [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » South America » Chile » Los Lagos