Online video site Travelistic, whose CEO was gracious enough a while back to do a podcast with us, has got some lovely vids to check on from Chile, one of my favorite countries on the planet. The selection ranges across the vast and diverse Chilean countryside, from the hot, dry zone of Arica to the frigid loveliness of Tierra del Fuego and Easter Island. Having lived for a spell in Chile, the series here, while consisting of some less well produced videos than others, brought back some fine memories.
Horny Tourists Empty Town of Herbal Aphrodisiac
If you were planning on heading to Chile’s famous Vina del Mar music festival, then you need to (a) finish packing and get going; and (b) forget about scoring any palwen for the event. According to local media, the tourists who have already descended on the event have cleaned tiny Valaprasio, Chile out of the herbal aphrodisiac.
Produced by members of the indigenous Mapuche tribe, the sexual energizer also known as “Mapuche viagra” reportedly “increases the desire, the libido and the sexual appetites of men and women.” This, at least, is the belief of Italo Diaz, a pharmacist at the Mapuche pharmacy. What’s in it? Got me. According to Diaz, “The compound is a Mapuche secret.”
Diaz is trying desperately to restock his shelves with palwen. He’s probably also considering raising the price — at least for the duration of the festival — to something more than $3.70 a bottle.
[Photo: thepipes]
Rafting “the Fu” (in the Andes)
Apparently, if you’re a kayak-maniac (you know who you are), you’ve heard of “the Fu,” aka the Futaleufu River, spilling down out of the Andes from Patagonia, through Chile, into the Pacific.
Some of the river’s rapids are so technically demanding that they weren’t ridden until 1985 (by a U.S. Olympic kayaker, nonetheless). Well, now that he’s blazed the trail, he’s set up Expediciones Chile, an outfitter designed to help you accomplish the same feat.
An FT reporter did just that, with a little help, and lived to write about it. You can sample the 40+ miles of whitewater and breath-taking scenery that the river offers, including Class V’s spilling right down from the mountains. Tours start from $1,600 USD for an 8-day trip (travel there not included). He recommends using the service and the trip, but recommends leaving your ego behind.
Destination Santiago
I lived in Santiago, Chile for a year several years ago, and I
have to say I love the city. It does not have the cultural richness of Buenos Aires or the party-driven intensity of
Rio, but as South American cities go, it is filled with great things to do and see. Chile is rather sedate, overall, as
a country. They say it is the Great Britain of Latin America: serious, staid, reserved, but mercantile and successful.
If you’ve been following the news, then you know they just elected a new president, a woman, and a socialist. Bolivia
(and I am not putting Chile in the same category as Bolivia) also elected a leftist leader. Side note: what’s going on
in Latin America?
OK, that aside, I just read an article in the
Globe and Mail that is quite bullish on Santiago. Good for them. They list a couple of things happening in the city
over the next few months. Among them the Estacion Mapocho will be holding an exhibit dedicated to the transformation of
this former train station into Santiago’s premier cultural centre. They also mention a few of the cool walking spots in
the city like the area around the Plaza de Armas where you can see the 18th-century Municipalidad de Santiago as well as
the towering Catedral Metropolitana. And just because you have to, you should check out the Palacio de La Moneda, where
Allende holed himself up during the military coup in 1973.
All good stuff, and I am pleased to see Santiago
get some ink.