This was the first full weekend on our #ibmcsc Chile assignment and thanks to Collin, Julia and Warran, we had a nice weekend getaway planned for Chiloe Archipelago. This being a bus and a short ferry ride away. Trip planned included a night stay and was to cover a few main areas of Chiloe (namely : Dalcahue, Castro and Ancud) apart from a national park, but there were few items apart from the fun we had in this trip as a team which stood out and am trying to highlight those along with other stuff here.
One thing that definitely created issues along the way on this trip was weather with on and off rains throughout and tides that prevented us from taking the boat trip to Penguinera but then this is the season for rains and this area is known for it. Back to what was observed.
Bio Diversity: Yes, we did go to a national park and covered the flora of the region, but there are few things that we got to know during this trip that stood out. First of them being the fact that even though the area is green and forested, the base of what constitute the regional forest is changing and change is not determined by nature, but picked by humans. Yes there are natural elements that do take part in this entire process and only time will be able to judge if the choices made now make sense in future but these changes are here.
Changes for instance are in trees that cover the mother earth. Local trees take hundreds of years to grow and cover land. Planting these trees does not restore green cover, it takes years to grow, what can be cut down in minutes. To promote conservation of such trees, govt is providing tax break to land owners who maintain these trees, but then it does not compensate for what has been lost due to whatever reason. To cover losses, trees such has Pine and Eucalyptus have been brought in from North America and people are being encouraged to plant these. These grow fast, but are not part of the local flora and fauna. How these tree selection impacts the food chain, the overall mineral content in soil and other factors will be visible in period of time, not now, not in 10 years.
Moving away from trees, bio diversity on this included lot of birds including but not limited to the endagered black neck swan (could capture an entire group of these), pelicans and offcourse penguins. Though we could not sail on a boat the islands used by Penguins for breeding and setting up colonies due to tidal conditions on the day, we could still capture a few on camera.
Architecture: This part of the island does have distinct west European touch. Puerto Montt was established and grown by German Immigrants but Chiloe though so close was not the same case. Chiloe was the base of Spanish forces and they had put Castro as their main location. Leaving Dalcahue even though that was a local fishing port, to ensure there is no conflict with local population, a strategy in contrast to the way they were ruling the main land. Same influence was in Ancud their main military base even after Chile's independence.
In-spite of this influence there were a few things that stood out. For instance the color of church in Castro, never seen such bright colors on any church so far.
Folklore: Key part of the folklore is driven by Dragons (a la Chinese folklore) and same is captured in local museums. Another key aspect is that of a Trucao spirit among others.
Disaster Management: This area was hit by one of the most powerful Earthquakes recorded in human history at 9.8 Richter scale in the year 1960. The only rail line lost and as the image below shows, the only house standing in this picture is actually flown down by the third Tsunami from another village, was not here.
People have worked hard and there is a Tsunami warning system with evacuation routes defined in all areas. Parts of Chiloe are on Pacific coast unlike Puerto Montt, and have a good system in place including warning systems which are tested at noon.
One thing that definitely created issues along the way on this trip was weather with on and off rains throughout and tides that prevented us from taking the boat trip to Penguinera but then this is the season for rains and this area is known for it. Back to what was observed.
Bio Diversity: Yes, we did go to a national park and covered the flora of the region, but there are few things that we got to know during this trip that stood out. First of them being the fact that even though the area is green and forested, the base of what constitute the regional forest is changing and change is not determined by nature, but picked by humans. Yes there are natural elements that do take part in this entire process and only time will be able to judge if the choices made now make sense in future but these changes are here.
Changes for instance are in trees that cover the mother earth. Local trees take hundreds of years to grow and cover land. Planting these trees does not restore green cover, it takes years to grow, what can be cut down in minutes. To promote conservation of such trees, govt is providing tax break to land owners who maintain these trees, but then it does not compensate for what has been lost due to whatever reason. To cover losses, trees such has Pine and Eucalyptus have been brought in from North America and people are being encouraged to plant these. These grow fast, but are not part of the local flora and fauna. How these tree selection impacts the food chain, the overall mineral content in soil and other factors will be visible in period of time, not now, not in 10 years.
Moving away from trees, bio diversity on this included lot of birds including but not limited to the endagered black neck swan (could capture an entire group of these), pelicans and offcourse penguins. Though we could not sail on a boat the islands used by Penguins for breeding and setting up colonies due to tidal conditions on the day, we could still capture a few on camera.
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| In Flight |
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| The Endangered Black Headed Swan |
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| Magallen Penguins |
Architecture: This part of the island does have distinct west European touch. Puerto Montt was established and grown by German Immigrants but Chiloe though so close was not the same case. Chiloe was the base of Spanish forces and they had put Castro as their main location. Leaving Dalcahue even though that was a local fishing port, to ensure there is no conflict with local population, a strategy in contrast to the way they were ruling the main land. Same influence was in Ancud their main military base even after Chile's independence.
In-spite of this influence there were a few things that stood out. For instance the color of church in Castro, never seen such bright colors on any church so far.
 |
| Main Square - Castro |
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| Colorful Church - Castro |
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| Pilafitos - Saving tax on land and building stilt houses on sea area - Castro |
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| Dragons as per local folklore |
Disaster Management: This area was hit by one of the most powerful Earthquakes recorded in human history at 9.8 Richter scale in the year 1960. The only rail line lost and as the image below shows, the only house standing in this picture is actually flown down by the third Tsunami from another village, was not here.
People have worked hard and there is a Tsunami warning system with evacuation routes defined in all areas. Parts of Chiloe are on Pacific coast unlike Puerto Montt, and have a good system in place including warning systems which are tested at noon.
 |
| Picture of 1960 devastation - House shown in the pic was flown by water from another village |
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| Tsunami evacuation route in Ancud |
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