TRAVELING WITH AUSTRALIS Cruceros
Cruceros Australis ( www.australis.com ) is fifteen years one of the cruise lines from which to explore the Patagonian territories, since it offers the opportunity to navigate along the route (including reverse) Punta Arenas (Chile) - Ushuaia (Argentina), or just the area around Punta Arenas. The proposed packages, available from September to April, expect 3 to 4 nights on board, with rates varying between 840 and U.S. $ 1,120. Of the three ships in service, the latest is Stella Australis (2010), flagship with 210 seats spread over 100 cabins (all with sea views). Its five decks are equipped with any comfort, from the public rooms for reading to a small gym to keep fit in between a landing and the other boat, not to mention the excellent piano bar for drinks all-inclusive . Top-level cuisine (buffet for breakfast and lunch, à la carte the evening), which offers dishes of traditional Chilean-Argentine, without leaving some European specialties.
The most qualifying but confirms the commitment of the company on the environmental front and science: thanks to agreements with the CONAFI (Corporacion Nacional Forestal) and ceque (Centro de estudios de Cuaternario of Guego Antertica-Patagonia y), it is load of shares of maintenance and conservation of all the places visited (Alberto De Agostini National Park, Cabo de Hornos National Park and Natural Monument Los Pinguinos), as well as a precise documentation on the studies glaceologici, flora and fauna and anthropology of the region. The decision to not mass tourism, like the measures taken to prevent environmental pollution and disruption of the sites visited, are now Cruceros Australis's an excellent example of environmental sustainability.
THE CONQUEST OF CAPE HORN
No flag, but a certificate does. If Cape Horn is now firmly in the hands of the cabinet and Chile for a while 'for years are just the colors to soar on the flagpole in front of the lighthouse to the south of the world, today's travelers may try again the thrill of conquest. Who manages to reach the summit of the islet has a way to purchase a card with appropriate postage (nominal fee of one euro), if not an actual certificate with a dedication, by which witness the epic undertaking. In some cases you can also get an official stamp on the passport. Attentions have turned to the Head - spotted for the first time January 24, 1616 by the Dutch ship Hoorn - a legendary destination not only for captains and seafarers, but also for extreme collectors.
Although many companies cruise to the island to reach about 55 degrees south latitude and 67 west longitude, the landing is never granted (which is why every company chose to issue its own certificate): Time is almost always turbulent, with very strong currents and winds reach 100 km / h in touch. Not surprisingly, the Cape is known as the largest graveyard of ships in the world (there are more than 800 shipwrecks and over 10 thousand victims at the turn of the sixteenth and the twentieth century), nor should we underestimate the speed with which organizers handle the landing operations in an inflatable boat. A few minutes delay could be fatal. That is why, at the top of the rock, the Cofradia de los del Cabo de Hornos Capitanes has decided to open December 5, 1992 a monument to remember all the fallen sailors. Carved at the foot of albatross, the bird is also found in the logo of the French which were originally collected under the captains of merchant intrepid (International Association of Cape Horners, 1937), echoing the beautiful verses of the poetess Sara Vial: "I the albatross that awaits you at the end of the Earth. They are the forgotten souls of the missing sailors, and sailed around Cape Horn from any sea in the world. They are not dead but in the fury of the waves: now fly on my wings to eternity, the last slot of the twenty Antarctic .
THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE
They are everywhere, yet nobody sees them. Or rather, no one wants to see them. From the local governors cornered by their claims, to tourists who are often lured by those who exploit the name and image. The Mapuche are an the last South American indigenous peoples, as well as having always been an awkward one for the white settlers (the Araucania and Patagonia territories occupied by them remained independent until 1833), have managed to keep their traditions alive and make them one of the elements 'interest the most fascinating trips in Chile and Argentina. Despite the ongoing struggle against speculation on their expropriated lands, against the corporations hungry for energy resources and fertile land, as against a police crackdown on anti-terror measures criminals (well documented on the official periodical of the country Mapuche www. azkintuwe.org ), are significant contributions to the preservation of their culture.
Almost all the kits sold in Patagonia are in fact ceramic matrix Mapuche , from pipe Kitra (used to burn incense during religious ceremonies), the pots challas and pitchers metawe or pitren (from anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features, as also home ritual). Are then refined jewelry, almost always silver and mostly composed of chips or bells to ward off negative spirits, as well as textiles, testimonial has long been a fascinating model Mapuche Ximena Huilipàn . Great success are finally meeting with traditional remedies in herbal medicines sold in special herbolerias Mapuche , as well as new forms of artistic expression and poetic urban music (the so-called movement warriache ). Who then had the good fortune to see a performance of Pailin (sort of hockey indigenous to settle disputes policies) or a true propitiatory ceremony in costume (for example, the festival Winoy Tripantu in June), where s'inscena rheas dancing and playing the drum kultrun could really understand why the Mapuche themselves "People of the Earth Mother."
PATAGONIA IN BRIEF
Divided between Chile and Argentina, Patagonia is a land of giants, not only for the name he bears, but also because of its same size. Magellan named it thus because of the huge population that lived on his arrival in 1520, while looking for a more comfortable route to guide him to the Spice Islands: it seems that even then the meter would reach Selk'nam and eighty high, and fifty-five against the yardstick of the Iberian peninsula, and therefore resemble the comic character "Patagonia" by Francisco Vazquez described in the "Tale of a knight-errant." Now occupies an area of \u200b\u200babout 900 thousand kilometers, so that to encompass the entire southern cone of South America, presenting a rather low population density (740mila one million inhabitants, or 21.2 per sq km). Steppe plains alternate with huge expanses of vegetation, pebble-free, while the high rainfall in the western Andes contributes to the maintenance of the largest glaciers outside of Antarctica. However, temperatures vary from 25 degrees in summer (which corresponds to our winter) to minus 2 in winter.
HOSPITALITY '
Who should take part in one of the expeditions offered by Cruceros Australis will almost certainly be assigned to the two hotels of reference of the company.
A Punta Arenas is a must as the hotel Cabo de Hornos ( www.hoteles-australis.com ), a historical building of the 60 built by Sociedad Ganadera Tierra del Fuego and hosted on the central Plaza Munoz Gamero. Those who leave or land instead to Ushuaia will be referred to the recent hotel Fueguino ( www.fueguinohotel.com ), a modern four star design hotel is conveniently located behind the main street, Avenida San or Martin.
As for local cuisine, the king crab often contends the record with the Patagonian lamb, along with the black cod, trout and seafood on the size exaggerated. Just take a look at the popular market of Punta Arenas, the newly renovated building where there are numerous cafes, restaurants or try historians Sototios and La Tasca. Alternatively, to Ushuaia you can follow the advice of Fuegolento ( www.ushuaiaafuegolento.com.ar ).
any suggestions
A trip to Patagonia, with its deep silences and endless sunsets, it takes much more pleasure in the company of good books. If "In Patagonia" by Bruce Chatwin is a must, despite his vision a bit 'and neo-aesthetic, for an alternative look to the region it is worth spending a little' time in four texts most recent published in Italy only 2010, since the 70s "Patagonia Rebelde" was a forbidden book, due to the harsh reconstruction on the historical struggles of immigrants described by Osvaldo Bayer. There is also a great reduction cinematogratica Héctor Olivera, awarded the Silver Bear in Berlin in 1974, now competing with the other landmark of cinema Patagonia: Geronima , played by the Mapuche Luisa Calcumil in 1985. More current is instead the work of Leslie Ray dedicated to the people of the Mapuche, "The tongue of the earth," and the curious "cannibals, giants and savage. Monsters of the New World, "written by Paolo Vignolo, is an excellent example to better frame what was the European imagination at the dawn of the great journeys scanner. Who is at ease with English, can finally dive nell'interessantissimo "The Indians of Tierra del Fuego, an account of Samuel Kirkland Lothrop on the indigenous inhabitants in 1928 (purchased on www.patagoniashop.net ). For lovers of ethnic music, then the album stand out Plata (2000), the Argentine Mapuche singer Beatriz Pichi Malenm and Feley (2004), collaboration with rock group Superpatria with the Mapuche community organization on October 11.
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