Santiago, Valparaiso and Robberies

1 April 2007
Cities of Valparaiso and Santiago, the EU and Iberia tried to ruin our final 5 days. We didn't need such an end after an often physically difficult trip. But it won't spoil our memories. First for the good news.

We went to the Clinica Alemana in Santiago as recommended by Norma in Futuleufu to get further instruction on exercises having had help from the lady in the landeria who used maps of the city in the telephone directory to identify the nearest metro station, from which we would take a taxi. It was simply the most impressive hospital I know, of which Kine (physiotherapy) was just one very well equipped section. Private yes, but a staff with universally high morale and excellent standard. It was not expensive. For a quick 'control' or consultancy leading to over an hour of instruction the charge was a mere 12.2K. Using a conversion factor of 2/4 to this countries wage rates would lead to an equivalence to 25/50K.

Next day we were having breakfast with a young German woman traveler. She was nearing the end of a 9 month trip. The real interest was in that she had spent a couple of months working in Capetown living within a black African family, the only white person in the area. She like us was amazed by the peaceful move towards settling their bitter inter-racial tensions and described how frank discussion and theatrical explanation of their grievances had led to an ongoing no-blame resolution of conflict. Yes South Africa was violent and there was lot of mugging, but she said that by following the common sense rules she had found it easy to avoid trouble. Rules like 'don't travel on trains outside rush hours for they will be empty'. She also explained how the family she was staying with had protected her, and how as she became known to the rest of the community so they too looked after her. 

She had a round the world ticket via Australia and New Zealand and had come to Santiago for just a few days before going home. That day she was off to Isla Negra on the Pacific coast which was a museum for the poet Pablo Neruda who had lived all over the world, after being exiled from Chili's troubles in the mid 70s. The house was now filled with his collection of artifacts from all over the world. He had been the poet in the Italian film El Postino.

Joan would have liked to have seen this house, but since we had only one day left she opted for a visit to Valparaiso, where the centre of the old city is now a UNESCO-designated area. It was a remarkable city built on on the steep face of a multitude of hills with no less than 15 funicular railways to provide relatively effort-free access. Note that some funiculars, such as Conception the oldest by a few years, are little more than tourist traps which charge five times as much as the ones used by the locals.

At the top of the Ascensor Reina Victoria (0.1K) I liked the look of the menu on a blackboard outside a nearby restaurant, Le Filou de Montpellier. It was empty when we went in but within 30 mins a queue had developed composed of tourists and locals.There for just 3.5K we had the only sophisticated meal we had eaten in almost 60 days in Chile and Argentina. The salad was excellent and attractively served on square plates, the delightful sauce with the chicken was liquidised from tomatoes, onions, nuts, plums, mushrooms and port. This was French cheap set lunch cooking at its best. The author of the Footprints guide has a guest house not far away so we were not surprised when we discovered that he gave a restrained but accurate entry, 'very popular and deservedly so. Good value. Recommended.'

It was a shame that the Bellas Artes in the lovely highly original Palacio Baburizza building was still closed for renovation, or we would have been able to see a comprehensive selection of Chilean art.

As for the bad news here is a separate article I have just written.

State and Street Stealing

Two street robberies in South America, another in the name of the EU regulations, and finally Iberia put the boot in. What an end to 55 days of wonderful independent travel by two septuagenarians in Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia! What a welcome back to the real world!

1. The Centre of Santiago. At 10pm walking down a busy pedestrian precinct street when I am suddenly attacked by four 20 year olds. Instinctively I swing out in defense, two back off and take no further part but the third has me held securely from behind and is trying to wrestle money, a few notes perhaps worth £40, from my pocket. 

Nearby my wife had observed the orchestration by a fourth man who had pointed me out as the target. She sees he has a bag around his neck and seizes it, and, using the David Attenborough defense to attack by wild animals, screams. He ducks out of his bag, losing his hat as well in the process, all four run away having got nothing. She throws the bag and hat disgustedly into the passive crowd and we walk off shaken but elated.  

2. Valparaiso. Three days later. Just before getting off the bus we had seen a street vegetable market and on return from the heights go back to investigate. We wonder at the wonderful range of high quality fruit and vegetables and I start to take photographs. There is no crowd and the stallholders are very friendly, but we are being tracked by three smartly dressed boys of school age. When we arrive at a break in the stalls they attack from behind and wrestle the camera and its security strap from my grip, run off across the road in three different directions, we see one and jump on the next bus on the opposite side of the street just as we are closing in.

My wife had observed the build up, one youth crouched down behind me like a sprinter in his blocks, but this time bemused she does not scream her trade mark warning. Hence the lack of photos with this posting.

3. Security at Madrid Airport. I had bought two bottles of duty free Tanqueray Gin at Santiago airport and carrying it openly as hand luggage had boarded the Iberia plane and flown 11,000 km to Madrid. There I follow the instructions to transfer to the flight to London, not realising that the US style security now in place meant that I had to go back through passport control and a new check on hand luggage. There I am asked.

‘Where did you buy those bottles?’

‘Santiago’

‘Santiago de Compostela?’

‘No, Santiago de Chile’

‘Sorry but you cannot fly with those you will have to leave them here. Here is a copy of the new EU regulations’

I protest vigorously about this state robbery.

‘Why didn’t you give us this information on the way out.’

‘Well you do have an alternative, and that is to go back and check them into the hold – but you probably haven’t got time.’

I present the plastic bag at check in.

‘You can’t check in a plastic bag only a proper bag’

I remove two fleeces from my hand luggage and pack the bottles.

‘Sorry, the flight is closed so you can’t check anything else in.’

Back we go round the loop, through passport control and into security.

‘They will have to be destroyed.’

I open the large yellow bin myself and break the bottles by smashing them together. The explosive noise startles those nearby. It gives slightly more pleasure than burning two £20 pound notes. I am lucky to escape without sever cuts. We race as fast as we can to the gate and arrive a few minutes before departure time but the last passenger has just boarded the plane. An official radios and then tells us our hold baggage has been removed so we cannot board.

4. Enter Iberia at Madrid Airport. We collect our baggage via customer service and are told we will have to BUY new tickets. Unfortunately we no longer have the bottles to pack. Luckily I bought tickets with the right to change for 100$, otherwise new ones would have cost over 800 euros each. Nevertheless because mine was a budget ticket, even though there were still seats on the many earlier planes, we would be leaving 12 hours later than originally planned. (Note that the same budget eticket bought through internet travel agents rarely includes the right to change for a fixed fee.)

In London fearing the worst I am delighted to find that National Express when told that we missed our connection and the flight was delayed (true) will issue us new tickets home for free. It’s nice to be home, though nothing I say should put anyone off travel to Chile which is a wonderful destination for outdoor types and safer than almost any country I know, certainly in Latin America.

It seems to me that the legal implications are many, and that in any case a terrorist could drive a bus through this crazy system. Iberia feel it quite safe to fly anyone carrying bottles the 10,000km from Santiago Chile to Madrid, but not for a tenth that distance on to London. Had I had said the bottles were bought in Santiago Spain I would have been allowed to board. I know which of the incidents upset me most, the first two are just modern versions of age old street crime.

Another irony is that the gin was made and packed in London, then flown to Chile to be sold in the Duty Free shop at Santiago. Then flown back to Europe where it is destroyed. How green is that? Tell London Gin to pack it in 100ml containers and put 10 of them in a transparent plastic bag 20cm x 20cm and as the regulations stand it would be let through.

Had I been a terrorist flying to Madrid I would have been allowed into the Spanish metro, train or bus station with my bottles. How long is it before those modes of mass transportation require security checks on entry and on changing vehicle? Don’t let anyone kid you that our freedoms are not being eroded, or that the safeguards are much more than just an inconvenience to ordinary travelers. Is it that they are really trade protection measures? The EU never did like duty free.