Sunday, June 8, 2014

R&R Activities - Santiago & Valparaiso (March/April 2014)

Most Habitat for Humanity Global Village trips include a few days during which we do some exploring locally or near the city or town of the build project. In this case, we had three major R&R activities - human rights walking tour in Santiago, a day trip to Vina del Mar/Valparaiso and a tour of the Conch y Toro winery near Santiago.

 Human Rights Walking Tour
On our first full day in Santiago, we went on a guided human rights walking tour. The tour provided a good introduction to the key social and political issues that Chile has faced over the past 40 years or so.  Our tour guide led us to many important sites related to the events of the period from 1973-1990 when the country was under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Horrific human rights offenses occurred at many of these sites or they are sites of importance to the struggle for memory and reconciliation. For example, the tour took us to the presidential palace where Salvador Allende was located when the military takeover was solidified by bombing the palace. While the country has made a significant political and social shift to democracy since 1990, we were told that many Chileans continue to struggle with matters of healing and reconciliation associated to the military dictatorship. 




 
We also visited the cemetery that is home to a large wall listing the names of the missing, disappeared and dead from the 1973-1990 period. It is extremely unsettling to see the names of so many people. While the date of death is indicated for many people, there are hundreds for whom the date listed is when they were last seen by their family or friends. There is one area in particular where the very basic grave markers are placed in long rows somewhat similar to the crosses of Flanders Fields.



One of the memorials at the cemetery is for Victor Jara, a singer-song writer and political activist. Under the Allende government, Jara was a leader in the revolution of popular music in Chile. Shortly after the military coup in September 1973, Jara was arrested, tortured and shot dead. His brutal murder is a sharp contrast to the themes of his music - love, justice and peace. He continues to be a symbol of the struggle for human rights globally.


Even though the content is very challenging and not for everyone, I highly recommend the tour along with spending time at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. 

Vina del Mar/Valparaiso
One of our day outings took us to the adjacent coastal cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, with the highlight clearly being the colourful, funky Valparaiso. The first stops were in Vina del Mar and these included visits to memorials to the Noel Prize literature recipients Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. Next stop was the beach, which was especially appreciated by those on the team who do not live near the ocean. After having lunch, the next destination was Valparaiso, where we were dropped off on a hill overlooking and then we walked through a myriad of streets to make our way down to the centre of the city just a short distance from the ocean. 

Valparaiso is a major city, educational centre and an important port. It also is the headquarters for the Chilean National Congress and shipping plays a key economic role. In 2003, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and via a national law it has had been designated as Chile's Cultural Capital.

 Over the past 15-20 years, Valparaiso has experienced an notable renaissance attracting many artists and tourists. It's colourful houses and buildings, murals, cobbled streets, festivals, street artists and musicians are reflections of its appealing character. On another trip to Chile will require more time in Valparaiso.







 







An Outing to Concha y Toro Winery
One of the top-of-mind thoughts about Chile - an accurate thought - is that it produces good wines. Consequently, it makes a lot of sense to visit a winery when visiting the country. On our second day of R&R, we took a half-day guided tour of the Concha y Toro winery near Santiago. 

In a country that is a major global wine producer, Concha y Toro is Chile's largest volume producer. It has been in operation for about 130 years and has vineyards/operations in six important growing valleys. Our tour was at the original estate of the family that started the company at Pirque in the Maipo Valley. The guide showed us through key areas of the estate, gave us a quick primer grape vines showcasing the wines produced in that location, and we got to walk in and through some of the wine storage cellars, especially the famous cellar where the Casillero del Diablo line of wines gained its legend. The tour was enhanced with a few samples and, of course, concluded at the gift shop. Here are few photos to tell the story.

 

 



 








language :
The Wine Tourist Center of Concha y Toro is the principal winemaking attraction of Santiago. It’s located in Pirque in the Maipo Valley, a privileged area for the production of world-quality wines. The Centre is located one hour from the city.
The old cellars and vineyards of Concha y Toro are part of Chile’s winemaking tradition. Founded in 1883, it is now one of the most important wineries in the world.
- See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/tour-en/#sthash.vlGmWchP.dpuf

The Wine Tourist Center of Concha y Toro is the principal winemaking attraction of Santiago. It’s located in Pirque in the Maipo Valley, a privileged area for the production of world-quality wines. The Centre is located one hour from the city.
The old cellars and vineyards of Concha y Toro are part of Chile’s winemaking tradition. Founded in 1883, it is now one of the most important wineries in the world.
- See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/tour-en/#sthash.vlGmWchP.dpuf

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Santiago, Chile (March/April 2014)

Chile's Largest City

It doesn't take much time in Santiago to understand why the city is so important for the country. In addition to accounting for about one-third of Chile's population, Santiago is the government, business and educational centre, while also playing a central role in the country's culture.

Probably the biggest downside to Santiago is its significant air pollution problem, much of which is related to the huge volume of vehicles. In addition, the Andes mountains in the east of the country "trap" the polluted air in the city. Like many large cities of its size, it suffers from over-crowded streets and roads, especially in morning and afternoon commute periods. We encountered a notable volume of traffic each day when traveling to and from the Habitat build sites. Even though the city has a very good subway system (Metro), it is wise to avoid it during the daily commute periods. Outside of the commute periods, however, the Metro is the optimal way to travel in much of the city. The Metro is modern, clean and efficient.It also has many murals to enhance the atmosphere.

 While my travels were limited to certain  areas of the city, mostly because of time constraints, I did explore quite a lot, found it easy to get around by foot or via the Metro and felt safe in all areas. People were welcoming and helpful. I think it helped that I can communicate a bit in Spanish, but it is still easy to survive with English only!


Our Hostel
For the entire period I was in Santiago, whether on personal time or with the Habitat team, I stayed at the centrally-located Hostal Rio Amazonas. It is best hostel I have used thus far in all my travels. There are a variety of rooms from singles to one large enough to accommodate five people. It has a great patio, comfortable dining room and lounge with bar service. A substantial continental style breakfast is included with the room cost and they offer a few light food items that can be purchased at any time. The rooms are reasonably spacious with comfortable beds and private bathrooms with plenty of hot water. I'd definitely stay there if traveling to Santiago again.




Staff at the hostel were very helpful with tips about places to go and things to see both in Santiago and beyond. The Metro is a short walk from the hostel and there are many good restaurants and shops that can be walked to in a few minutes. Adjacent to the hostel, there is a great shop featuring crafts and art from Chile, Peru, Bolivia and a few other South American countries.

 Exploring Santiago
As one would expect, there are many attractions in Chile - historic and cultural sites as well as places to experience the day-to-day life of the city. Santiago has a wide range of architecture as can be seen in the photos below.



La Moneda (Presidential) Palace

In the business district



The Plaza des Armas is the centerpiece of the initial layout of Santiago (below). The square is an important meeting place for people and has been the site of many demonstrations. I went to the square on three occasions, but unfortunately it was surrounded by a barrier on all of these occasions. The few photos immediately below do not really show the square at its best.




Another interesting place to see to get a feel for one slice of daily life in Santiago is Mercado Central, more commonly referred to as the "fish market." Most of the market is comprised of stands selling fish and seafood, but there are some shops that sell food products such as chicken (there is a fruit and veggie market not far away, but I didn't see much of it). There are several fish/seafood restaurants in the centre of the building with the fish stands along the outside walls of the building. It only takes a few minutes to walk through the fish market - worthwhile for interest visuals.




Another site popular with locals and tourists is San Cristobal Hill located in the central-north part of the city (within easy walking distance of the Hostal Rio Amazonas). In a park-like setting about 800 metres sea level and about 300 metres above the rest of Santiago, it provides excellent views of the city. At the top, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, a small chapel and an amphitheater used for outdoor masses and other religious ceremonies. The hill is accessible by foot, bicycle, car and cable car. One of the photos below illustrates the air quality problem in Santiago.




The place having the biggest impact on me during my time in Chile was the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago. Our Habitat team visited the museum for a cultural activity and then I went back on my own to spend more time there. While I knew quite a bit about the atrocities in Chile prior to my trip, the return visit to the museum helped me learn a great deal more and gain a better understanding of the impact of these events on the people of Chile. While it is difficult to read and learn more about these things, it is necessary to understand as much as possible to guide all of us in the struggle for human rights. The museum is dedicated to commemorating the victims of human rights violations during the period when the military regime led by Augusto Pinochet ruled the country (1973-1990). It houses a wide range of memorabilia, newspaper clippings, photos, video and other items documenting widespread human rights violations from the time when Salvador Allende was forced out and the Pinochet regime ended. n the entrance area of the museum, there are several small panels acknowledging human rights violations in many other countries. Photography is prohibited in most of the building, so I have only a few images to share from areas were it was okay to take photos.






Photos/panels noting human rights violations in different countries


  
When exploring Santiago, one soon discovers there is a great deal of public art throughout the city and much of it comes in the form or murals and graffiti art. This form of expression varies widely and, in my humble opinion, adds a great deal to the visual appeal and colour of the city. In some instances, the entire facade of buildings or fences are covered with murals. Most are painted, but there are a number of large format tile mosaics. They portray a myriad of themes - city scapes, specific places, culture, history, well-known public figures and more. Some are a bit surreal, fun or off-the-wall; only a few had an overtly political message. Here are a few examples.

 

 








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