CHILE: THE PASSION AND THE PAIN - AND NOW A NEW PERSPECTIVE

In the midst of sitting in rapt attention watching the unbelievable news coverage of the massive Chilean earthquake on TV today, I got a phone call from my daughter Sara, who works as a professional florist for the hotels of the MGM casino empire in Las Vegas.

"Dad, I'm calling you partly because I haven't talked with you for some time and have been thinking of you a lot. I'm also calling you because today I went to the dentist and had a couple of cavities filled, and all the talk there in the dentist's office was about the earthquake in Chile. And you know, Dad, it made me think a lot about how much you love Chile, and at this moment I just wanted to tell you that I'm so glad you're not down there in Chile right now."

I paused for a moment to take in what Sara had said. Then I replied, "Well, I guess I'm glad that I'm not down there in Chile right now either."

Those are words I never could have imagined uttering - not until now. In retrospect, thanks to my multiple extended visits to Chile and Argentina during the past decade I really have come to love these two countries of the so-called "Southern Cone" of South America. I particularly know that this is a love for not just the land but also for the people of both countries, while acknowledging the subtle cultural differences which give definition to the national identies of citizens of these two neighbors.

I still have not received word from friends of mine who live in Santiago or from others who live in the valley of the Río Bio Bio, not far from the city of Concepción. That bothers me, but I can imagine that they are dealing with things much more basic right now and that they likely have not, or cannot go online presently.

My friend Robert Runyan, who now lives in the small Chilean hamlet of Puerto Bories, located near the town of Puerto Natales, which is in the far southern Magallanes region (Chilean Patagonia) has responded and says he is fine, at least for now. But even as far away as he is, Robert's activities will certainly be affected by the devastating hammer blow that this earthquake has made on the infrastructure of Chile. (Incidentally, you might find it worthwhile to check the link I have to Robert's blog here on my Atacama Viajero page.)

No doubt the extent of the devastation of this new gigantic earthquake (tentatively catalogued as being the fifth worst in recorded history) will transform my beloved Chile, and I suspect that it has also perhaps transformed the telling of my own story of these landmark trips of personal discovery - which I see as being a good thing. That's because now what I will be telling you will carry a more direct and powerful message - telling every reader how I came to love these marvelous and beautiful South American countries. Much of what I was working on and had been saving in draft form will now be dumped, and I will take this event and turn it into my jumping off point to tell of my adventures down there in such beautiful lands before this most recent grave tragedy.

But as I prepare to tell that story I want to remind everyone that time and again throughout history Chile has suffered greatly. But the Chileans have proved themselves to be absolutely resilient in the face of all kinds of adversity. Today they will need our prayers and our help. But I have no doubt that with perseverance and hard work they will recover.

Therefore, I'll dedicate my blogging retrospective to these fine people and their wonderful countries, and share with you how I came to love them and their spectacularly beautiful lands.

TREMENDOUS 8.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HITS CHILE

Wow. I was just about to post here when the news of a new massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in south central Chile 200 miles south of Santiago flashed across the screen.....!!!!!!!

Chile of course is one of the most susceptible places on Earth to this sort of thing. During my various sojourns through that most beautiful country, I experienced various temblors ranging from mild to moderately scary, including one quick and frightening one which I had the "pleasure" to ride through while relaxing in my second story hotel room in the Chilean city of Valdivia on Christmas eve 2005. Valdivia, by the way, was the most unfortunate of all cities in the world back on May 22, 1960 when it was ravaged by an incredible 9.5 magnitude earthquake, which destroyed much of that city's remarkable historic buildings and actually managed to re-orient the lay of the land - dropping the land level a full three meters, causing the town's waterfront to drop below the level of the estuary and to turn surrounding farmland instantly into wetlands. That terrible earthquake is regarded as being the worst in recorded history, and it sounds as if this new one could be nearly equal to the 1960 Valdivia quake.

This new massive earthquake appears to have its epicenter just 115 km (about 70 miles) from the major Chilean city of Concepción, which is located on the coast about halfway between Valdivia and the capital of Santiago. Preliminary reports I have seen say some buildings in Santiago have collapsed.

I have written to friends who live there expressing my concerns and sending my own good wishes but I know that as the morning arrives they will have more immediate concerns to deal with rather than to respond to me.

Beyond this I would recommend the reader to access their most trusted news source to ascertain the latest regarding this tragedy.

I will of course resume my writing project sometime, but for now I am more concerned with the safety and health of friends who live there, not only in Santiago but who live near the Chilean city of Los Angeles, in the Bio Bio River valley...

These are wonderful people who live in a very special and beautiful place. I pray for them and will ask you all to do so as well.......

THE ATACAMA VIAJERO - IN RETROSPECT

A whole year has passed since I was last in South America - and a whole year has passed since I've taken the trouble to write about it. One could call it a simple sin of omission, but in more real terms I think it has been more like I have been carrying a huge chunk of lethargy on top of my shoulders ever since I returned from that last rather short two week visit over New Year's of 2009.
And speaking of 2009, I'd venture to say that overall, the year ranked as one of the more forgettable years in recent memory save for the celebratory "graduation" of my son Peter from college back in June. Other than that, I'd say it was a year in which I truly lost my focus and drifted aimlessly, rudderless on a bleak, gray sea.
At least in the last couple of months I've recognized that my path, as it was, was going nowhere, and that the soultion was to take charge of things and get back on track.

SETTING A COURSE

Back last autumn, when tickets for the 26th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering first went on sale, I saw in the brochure that my friend Teresa Jordan was going to teach a three-day nonfiction writing workshop at the beginning of Poetry Gathering week. Teresa is one of those rare artistically gifted people who seem to actually live to create. As a result of her natural inner drive, she has established her credentials as both an author and as a visual artist. I have always admired Teresa, and the fact that I've known her for quite a number of years made easy for me to make the choice to sign up for her workshop, which took place from January 25th through the 27th of this year at the start of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering over in Elko, Nevada - in other words, it took place just two weeks ago.

Now why did I bother to post all that? First of all, I saw that the workshop could provide me with a decent means to finally shake that awful weight of lethargy off of my shoulders and get me pointed back in the right direction. Secondly, I figured if Teresa was worth her stuff as much as a teacher as she was as a writer, then I'd come out way ahead on my investment represented by the actual cost of the workshop in time and money because I would have gained a good amount of insight into the writing process and the tools one can utilize in following such a pursuit. Finally, there was the hope that being there and interacting with other writers could jump-start my own dormant creative juices, which are painfully symbolized in my own mind by the number of unfinished research and writing projects languishing away in countless files - both in my computer and on my bookshelves.

And so this current endeavor is now a big part of the jump-start I just mentioned. Aside from my other projects, one of my most fervent wishes has been to finally put down on paper the definitive narrative of my five (so far) South America journeys.

Many years ago, when I was just graduating myself from the University of Utah, I can recall my father telling me that whenever I set out on a substantial journey, it would behoove me to keep a running journal as I went along. That way, he said, things that would otherwise pass from my memory over time would not be forgotten. Back then I was about to set out on a hitch-hiking adventure to discover the Oregon Coast, and thankfully, I took my father's advice and kept a journal of the entire trip. That was 40 years ago. If I hadn't kept the journal, I'd say that now at least 98% of that experience would have blurred beyond recognition in my memory. But I still have it, and I open it up from time to time and start to read...and suddenly I am carried back to those youthful days, thumbing my way down the coast, vicariously re-living that old adventure.

On each of my South America trips I diligently kept up a journal. And I also knew that by taking copious amounts of photos as I traveled on and noting exactly when and where each picture had been shot in a companion photo logbook would also prove to be quite valuable. Also, once I started to make blog posts I recognized thay they would also become priceless resources, and although my original blog no longer exists online, I managed to burn my posts onto a CD before closing it down. And before the advent of blogging, for my firts trip especially, I was wise to print out the best of the individual emails I had sent out to friends, thus preserving the words of my own voice on my initial trip - which was the real journey of discovery.

So I would like to welcome you all, friends and visitors, to come along with me as I initiate the grand retrospective, starting with a prologue in which I will attempt to explain my initial motivations for going in the fall of 2002 in the first place, and then to dive in and go forward with my narrative. Those great adventures have profoundly shaped me and changed me, and perhaps if I can write my story out good enough, you, the reader, will come to see a bit of that remarkable change. Watch for new and continuing posts right here, with maps and photos included. Cheers!