A DAY TO RELAX

Thursday, January 21, 2010

There are no children playing outside, no traffic rushing through the town. The only sounds I hear is the humming of the odd generator and a few birds.

This morning we have a little extra time to see the damage the volcano has done to Chaiten. After talking to a few people, we learn that only 70 people are still residing in this town. The Government has given all citizen compensation to buy a piece of land and build a house elsewhere. They rather not have people living here anymore with the volcano so close by. But what are the chances of the volcano blowing up again? The people want to come back. This town has a lot of potential. It is a beautiful location that can thrive on tourism. If it would not be for the ferry, there would not be any services at all. But passengers need a place to sleep and a place to eat. And those who provide these service, need groceries and fuel, and except fuel, these are the only service being offered here. I use this nice morning to go for a long walk and agree to meet Ramiro by the dock. He drives around and assesses the damage. It was not so much the volcano that has destroyed the town, but the fact, that the hot lava and ashes blocked the river flow, which in turn spilled all over town dragging houses with it and entire roads.

We have to wait for two hours before the ferry arrives. We watcht the people at work and schuckle when we see the lack of safety measures.
They are in the process of placing something on the large rock to tie down the ships. The need to weld some steel and use a generator. The live wires coming out of the generators would have the Canadian Safety Board have a giant fit. Even the guuys on the rock have no harness or safety belts.

We meet another Dutch men and talk to other people who have traveled in the south. We exchange stories and idea. We can learn a lot from each other and the information is often more reliable than what we receive from the local people. They don't seem to be very informed of what is happening out there and what the road conditions are.

I watch the dolphins play in the water and see the ferry come closer and closer. Once all the vehicles are loaded up it leaves at 12:00 pm sharp. We are expected to arrive in Hornopiren around 9:00 pm tonight. It will be a very long journey.

Ramiro uses this time to watch movies, spend time outside to watch the scenery and talk with fellow passengers. I find a quiet place to plug in my computer and catch up on the blog text, convert some pictures and write a few letters. I desperately need internet access.

The ferry arrive earlier than we expected, giving us enough time to find a cabin for the night. Most of the places have already been rented out though and it take s us longer than expected until we find a rustic cabin, in a nice setting. Unfortunately it is pretty run down and not everything functions as it should. A young men comes to fill the wood stove for the night and after we have bought some groceries, I cook pork chops with red peppers and tomato salad. Way to late to eat of course. But we can’t go to bed with an empty stomach either. We do go for a walk around the square, where there are a lot of young people listening to the music playing.
When we retunr, it’s nice and warm in the cabin. The bedroom is upstairs on the loft, where all the heat has risen to. Upo there it's like an oven. Will we be able to sleep?