Spending some time in Puerto Montt is very pleasurable. Temperatures are nice that you can walk with a thin jacket in the sun.
I do not know if the news got far out in the rest of the world, but an environmental calamity has happened here in the island o Chiloe, just after we had left a few weeks ago.From what I heard on the street, so only local info.
Lots of dead seafood and fish are washed on the shores of Chiloe. Fishermen are not allowed to fish now. This community is surviving on the fish industry, creating now a chain of problems, fish traders, transport, the local markets and restaurants are suffering the consequences.Apparently huge amounts of some contaminated Salmon with some chemicals to accelerate the decomposition of the Salmon was allowed by officials to dispose at the bottom of the sea and far away from the coast. This has not been done properly and now the disasters are appearing. All this, apparently was blamed under the umbrella of "Marea Roja" or ('Red Tide)- which occurs regular in this area, but only affects to seafood and not fish. This time fish and sea mammals are dying and the investigation is happening very slow.Therefore there is a lot of protest going on on the island of Chiloe and also here.
Taxis where on strike yesterday are in solidarity with the fishermen and today on the street there where large groups of young people protesting.
These are some sad situations hee and very political. I do not want to elaborate on it just because I do not have all the facts of it. I am a traveler just seeing what is happening and is to complicated to get into.
....now waiting to the arrival of the ferry with my bike, ....callled to Puerto Natales, ship is on its way.....
Bike supposed to arrive at 4AM in the morning on Monday......hope there is no fog here to hold up the ferry, but here there is much more room to maneuver, but I am not pilot :) All is good here....just enjoying the nice weather.
I had still my new tire with my support car, I could have put a few more miles on the existing ones, but decided to change it anyhow, the last thread left will be given to some user along the road. So this afternoon after getting new rear tire and cleaning up my bike from the brown rusty stuff from the ferry, I will be ready to leave again tomorrow morning.
To make the best of it, vent to see Puetos Varas for the day.
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ADVriders posts:
ONandOFF:
Debemos saber algo acerca de los problemas políticos? Por lo menos me interesa... Pues disculpe, leyendo adelante tiene que ver con el catástrofe de los peces muertos, ya veo. Que pena.
Translation
Should we know something about the political problems? At least it i nterest me…so reading ahead does it has to do with the catastrofe of dead fish?, I see…how sad>
DiasdePlaya:
Es mucho más complicado que solo los peces muertos, es una zona muy abandonada por el gobierno, se les han prometido muchas cosas que nunca se han cumplido. Los peces muertos solo fueron un detonante.
Translation:
It is much more complicated then the dead fish, it is a region very abandoned by the government, with many promises never realized. The dead fish was just the cause for a explosion.
My Response:
DiasDePlaya, I know things are more complex like always life is complex. I did not want to go into more details I do not have the knowledge and suppose are not the right person to go into the details. I just feel really sad for all the hard working people seriously affected by all this.
Nina,
To explain what happen in Chiloe I can write pages and pages, is too long and complicated, and I don't want to boring anyone here with local political problems.
DiasDePlaya: I think we all understand your point. This is a riding forum, and we want to respect that. With a good chilean meal and beer, this can be discussed more in depth.
ONandOFF:
God bless you Abosit, and I agree fully it's a riding forum not a political forum, however I say thanks because I do believe it was in the interest of the riding community that you guys shed some light on what's going on as it may impact travelers. Also it is of interest to those who are endeared to SouthAmerica, the bulk of readers here I imagine. Of course we are unlikely to be able to solve it for them, and it's not our place to butt in anyway, but in good traveler spirit we can empathize and wish them well. It's heartbreaking to see a struggling economy being hit while down, so like with the earthquake in lindo Ecuador, we shall pray for them. Bendiciones.
ONandOFF: I like how you put it in your wording, much better then I can.