Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The city of Valdivia in the south of Chile dates back to 1552. It is 15 kilometers away from the sea but is located at the crossing of three mighty rivers: Rio Cruces, Rio Callecalle and Rio Valdivia. This place has seen many important events in history; conflicts with the native Mapuche and between the Spanish and Chilean fleets. From 1846 on German settlers began to live here and added a lot to the city – even a German brewery.
Continue reading “German settlers, river cruises & sea lions”
What do German settlers do first, when they arrive? They start a brewery. In Valdivia, Chile in 1846 the first settlers arrived and the Cerveceria Kunstmann was created instantly, promoting their beer in Chile under the claim “… das gute Bier“. They brew traditional Lager and Bock beers, but also some Chilean specialties and rather experimental things like chocolate beer. Be brave but better keep your lips away from the honey (miel) beer.
The Lago Villarrica is a very big lake in Chile. It is 23 kilometers long and offers fantastic views on the still active volcano Villarrica. It has destroyed this region more than once during the time of human civilization and there are big signs along the road explaining what to do in case of an emergency.
There aren’t many tunnels in South America. The tunnel Las Raíces is the longest one in the Andes mountain range and second longest of all South America. It has been opened in 1939 and is 4,5 kilometers long. It is located on a road leading from Temuco, Chile to Argentina and connects the wonderful valley of Lonquimay, Chile to the main part of the country.
Not far away from Temuco, Chile you can find the Parque Nacional Conguillío around the volcano Llaima. A place of a very special beauty that worried me a bit: after being stuck with my car in Putú I wasn’t fond of driving on sandy, unpaved roads and most time I was really alone in this area – maybe every 45 minutes another car or motorbike was passing by. But getting to this moon-like volcanic area was worth all this struggle.
Lota is the poorest city in Chile and its history reminded me much of the Ruhrgebiet in Germany. It is also within the same transformation processes that run a bit more slowly here. The whole region was living from coal mining and the mines have first been socialized under Salvador Allende and later privatized again under Augusto Pinochet. When cheaper coal from Colombia arrived here the whole economy broke down.
Travelling throughout Chile doesn’t always lead you to historically important cities, big monuments or institutions. It is stunning because of the landscape, the fantastic lakes, the mountain ranges and the possibility of switching fastly between the shore and the mountains. When you are in Santiago de Chile you can go skiing and swimming at the beach on the same day.
