BETWEEN MT ANDES

Chilean sojourn
On a visit to two
of Chiles cities,
MAYA JAYAPAL
gathers historical
wartime anecdotes
and writes about
the antics of the
literary gaint,
Pablo Neruda...

CENTRAL VALLEY Santiago,

the capital and the largest
city of Chile, South America.

s it possible to gather so many impressions in a country after a brief

three-day visit? Obviously it is, and
even if I had not been so much in
love with Pablo Neruda, I would still
have had a yearning to go back to Chile.
We were at the tail end of a South
America trip, having traversed, again
briefly, brash Brazil, elegant Buenos Aires
and beautiful Patagonia with a totally inert day in Uruguay. Chile came as a starburst, mellow yet shining, with a hint of
cinnamon from its trading days. We visited only Santiago (Chiles capital) and
Valparaiso with a quick run through Via
del Mar, called the spoilt daughter of Valparaiso, but there are sufficient impressions in my mental kitbag to create a
landscape that I would gladly experience
again.
Square story
The citys European heritage is evident
in its central square called the Plaza de
Armas, or the Weapons Square, which
lies about five blocks south of the Rio
Mapocho, which bisects the city, according to our guide Maria Elena, she of the
tumbling locks, superb self-confidence
and slightly risqu humour. The square
is a nest of tree-lined paths, shady palms,
small squares and interesting buildings
of political and social significance.
Spanish colonial conquistadores laid
out their settlements in a military grid
around a plaza. It is said that people took
refuge here during wars and were supplied with arms to defend themselves.
It was bustling at that time of the
evening, when a motley crowd of people
were gawking, hawking goods, watching,
or just being watched. There soapbox or-

ators were wooing curious crowds, gar- ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| breasts, one solitary foot, huge and ornately decorated and in between, a curulous old men were passing the time of
riosity to my eyes, mantras in Sanskrit.
day or sitting lost and hunched in their
The explanation was vague and yet posown memories, impressive horsemen n Getting there:
sible. Indian sailors visited the beach here
(police?) as regal as the statue of the Bengaluru to Frankfurt
when ships stopped over.
founder Pedro de Valdivia on his bronze (Lufthansa), and
horse in the middle of the square, by- Frankfurt-Santiago,or
Writers den
standers looking at the giant Madonna Bengaluru-London and
The biggest lure of all, which I missed,
drawn on the ground by an artist. Mean- London to Santiago.
was Pablo Nerudas house. There is a
while, the impressive buildings around
charming story about how he came to
the square stand like silent sentinels, the Lots of airlines y
build it here. During his dangerous years
church with its opulent altars and statues Santiago to Valparaiso.
of hiding with a poor sailor, a plan was
glistening palely in the dark, the pastel n Best time to visit:
hatched whereby he would have a suit
pink post office and the museum that had March and April
stitched in the style of Rhett Butlers in
an Indian man as its guard.
n Souvenirs: Lapis lazuli
Gone With the Wind. So, when he stepped
Valparaiso was a different picture aloff into Ecuador, where he was originally
together, with its winding stairways and n Currency: Chilean peso
intended for, he would look like a distinpaths, its colourful houses and its fantas- n
Things to do: Opt for
guished gentleman. The plan was
tic views of the ocean. Valparaiso talked
a vineyard tour.
scrapped, but Neruda fell in love with the
to me through its musicians sitting on
the floor, with silver Indian anklets faintly ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| city. The rest is history.
Its a series of hills arising from the sea,
tinkling in the air, drumming on metal
and the houses seem to cling to the hillwok-like vessels with indentations, its
side, a cluster of blue, rust and ochre
shops with art objects, the invariably blue
houses with dramatic murals on every
lapis lazuli jewellery, the art galleries, all
street. Nerudas house is in the middle of
with their own enchanting, limitless views
a ring of hills and looks as if it were thrown
of the sea. And, wherever we went the
and landed precisely there. It resembles
faintly erotic Guantanamera strain fola ship, narrow and serpentine, with many
lowed us.
corridors. The city tugs at the heartstrings
The mural-lined crooked streets of Valin just three days. Like MacArthur, I shall
paraiso were something else. A two-andreturn someday. To quote Neruda:
a-half hour drive from Santiago, the
booming port was left to rust and wither
I went to the window: Valparaiso opened a
after the Panama Canal changed route
Thousand
in 1914. Today, its 2,64,000 residents
Trembling eyelids, the nocturnal
cling to the old-world architecture and
Sea air entered my mouth,
steep streets of the South American San
The lights from the hills, the tremor
Francisco. And if you are tired, you can
Of the maritime moon on the water,
take the citys iconic funiculars.
Darkness like monarchy
Graffiti has become a fine art to
Adorned with green diamonds,
represent raw talent; tortured faces,
All the new repose that life offered me.
a cup of wine balanced on mammoth

Factle

TRINKETS & TREATS Lapiz lazuli jewellery is popular in Valparaiso; a view of Valparaiso, with its winding roads and colourful houses.