Geoglyphs and Glaciers in the Land of Fire and Ice

By Joyce Dalton

A trip divided between Chile’s extreme southern and northern regions lends itself to a number of slogans: Fire and Ice, Geoglyphs and Guanacos, Deserts and Glaciers, for example. Basically, it’s Sand and Sea with a difference.

The 2,600-mile hop from top to bottom of this sliver of a country takes travelers about as far as they can go and still sleep in a hotel.

Before the opening of the Panama Canal, Punta Arenas, a southern city of about 115,000, was a boom town, mainly due to the many trading ships that passed en route around the tip of South America. Some 1,400 ships still sail annually through the Magellan Straits so Punta Arenas remains a center of commerce.

The city retains traces of its frontier days when fortunes were made from sheep and gold, as well as shipping. Near the airport stands a wooden church whose bright yellow paint defies not only the often fierce natural elements, but local brujos (witches). Settlers from the island of Chiloe brought along their belief in men who turned into animals that fly at night, bringing sickness to the community.

Presumably, natural causes account for the grandiose crypts and monuments in the city cemetery. Early Serbian and British settlers rest between tall cypresses, testament to the pioneering spirit of the area.

From Punta Arenas, most visitors move on to Puerto Natales. Buses make the four-hour trip daily, but a car allows for interesting stops en route. Rheas, flightless ostrich-like birds, run near the road. Cowboys, with only their dogs and horse for companions, herd sheep or cattle. Low flowering plants lend splashes of yellow and white to an otherwise barren landscape. Small shrines, known as aninitas, or “little souls,” dot the road. Honoring loved ones lost in traffic accidents, the interiors hold cards and various mementos.

At Kon-Aiken, a large estancia (farm) whose name means Place of Wind, a narrow road leads to pinguineros, where, from November to March, colonies of penguins bear their young in burrows hollowed from the sandy soil. Tourists can observe and photograph the ever popular creatures in living black and white.

The drive ends in Puerto Natales, a comfortable town of about 15,000. From here, visitors can arrange day or multi-day excursions to national parks in both Chile and neighboring Argentina. Offering magnificent scenes of mountains and glaciers, the region is popular with those seeking hiking, trekking and horseback adventures, as well as sight-seeing.

Tourist boats ply the Seno Ultima Esperanza. At first, passengers view a “great expanse of nothing,” as one disgruntled visitor put it. Be patient. Things pick up and soon, families of sea lions can be seen lounging on the cliffs. The voyage’s goal is a close-up look at Balmaceda glacier where jagged blue ice reaches toward the sea. A bit farther along, the boat ties up and a short walk leads to a second glacier, Serrano. Broken chunks form mini-icebergs. After all, this is the Antarctic Circle.

En route to Torres del Paine National Park, about 75 miles from Puerto Natales, take a look at Milodon Cave, discovered in the 1880s by a German named Hermann Eberhard, brother of the pencil king. Within, he found the well-preserved bones of a milodon, or giant sloth. Today, a life-size replica guards the cave’s entrance.

Torres del Paine’s fame as a beauty spot is well-deserved. Lakes and spectacular mountains abound, most notably the peaks known as Cuernos (horns) and Torres (towers). Guanacos, relatives of camels and llamas, graze near park roads and are not camera-shy. Hiking trails cover much of the park’s 934 square miles.

In stark contrast to the south’s lakes and glaciers, Chile’s northern region claims one of the world’s most arid spots, the Atacama Desert. Ancient geoglyphs cover the hillsides. Though most were formed by strategically placed stones, others have been scratched in the dirt. Llama caravans, human figures, lizards, snakes, birds, arrows and sun symbols are among the more easily recognizable depictions whose dark stones stand out vividly against the light-colored sand.

The city of Arica, only 12 miles from the Peruvian border, makes a good base for geoglyph jaunts. Situated with the Pacific on one side and desert on the other three, Arica was a major port in colonial days for the shipment of Bolivian silver. Even today, it remains the main port for landlocked Bolivia’s imports and exports.

Designed by Eiffel, he of the Paris tower, Arica’s pretty blue and white church’s metal sections once served as ballast for 19th century clipper ships. The city’s sea wall of angled concrete pillars would look right at home in a museum of modern art. In fact, for one just arriving from the south, the resemblance to jagged glacier formations, minus the blue glare, is striking.

More geoglyphs lie off the Pan American highway between Arica and the city of Iquique, 186 miles to the south. Measuring almost 400 feet in length, the Giant of the Atacama is the world’s largest geoglyph as well as the largest known representation of a human figure. Though its origins are unknown, the Giant is thought to represent a chief of an indigenous group and almost certainly predates the Spanish conquest.

At Pintados, some 400 images cover the entire side of a mountain ridge. The earth below is baked, split and often salt-tipped. All in all, it’s an eerie scene.

A number of almost-ghost towns dot the area. Huara, for example, was an important nitrate-mining center 100 years ago. Today, only a few people live among otherwise abandoned houses. Incongruously, a rather impressive church rises against the flat desert landscape.

To some, Iquique exudes a sort of laid-back Key West ambience. A 19th century bell tower, the city’s symbol, dominates the central plaza. Surrounding the square are several nice colonial structures, including a late 19th century opera house, said to be one of only three wooden opera houses in the world. Originally shipped in sections from England, the building once hosted such greats as Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt. Also on the square, the Casino Espanol is all Moorish arches and tiled mosaics. Built as a private home early in the 20th century, it now houses an elegant restaurant.

South, north or a bit of both, travel in Chile insures a trip rich in experiences, be they cultural, scenic or adventurous.

For further information ….

Embassy of Chile. www.chile-usa.org