As a self-described urbanite, as part of a truly urban family, it is slightly amusing that we repeatedly find ourselves in desolate places. Makgadigadi salt pan in Botswana in 2018. Iceland, repeatedly. Svalbard, Norway, next spring. The very edge of South America, today.
Punta Arenas reminds me a lot of Iceland. Trees are few and far between; shrubbery lies low and grows diagonally, suggesting a life braced against harsh winds; rocks are the most common sight; and distances between civilized outposts can be measured in hundreds of kilometers.
Southern South America has one thing going for it so far: guanacos. These llama cousins are a bit more graceful, suggesting maybe a deer or antelope cousin who contributed some slightly upscale genes. They dotted the roadside, with their golden coats serving as a beacon to catch your eye.
After a very easy 2.5 hour drive, we arrived at Puerto Natales. Luke and I went to the grocery store to get provisions for tomorrow (there may or may not be anything open this time of year inside the park), and when we came out, there was a procession of cars honking their horns and waving banners. It seems Chile is voting on a new constitution in just a few weeks.
As an American, it is strange to think of a constitution as something that you can toss out in its entirety, but Chile seems to quite enjoy the practice and has done so repeatedly. The version up for a vote now includes a lot of provisions in response to the violent protests in 2019, including vast protections of social and civil rights, more explicit requirements for government to be accountable and responsive to the people, strong environmental protections, and strong regulations around equality for women, minorities, and indigenous people. In this part of the country, which is probably most like the US mountain west and Appalachia, those ideals are not necessarily all welcomed. We are in Chile’s oil and mining region, and the rules in the proposed constitution would have major impacts on this community. Of course, one could argue that protecting the environment could also profoundly impact the region as Patagonian tourism is a huge industry here, but probably not as much as copper mining and oil drilling.
After Luke and I had a hearty debate about this topic (is there truly any topic which we won’t debate?!), we went for dinner at a local pizza place, which was delicious!
Tomorrow we have a busy day in Torres del Paine, one of Chile’s national parks which makes up the region we think of when we think Patagonia.
Vacation Days 