Putre

After a long time, I went back on the road. I guess I got lazy or maybe I settled in Santiago and dedicated more time to friends. I also went home for holidays for almost one month, so travelling around Chile was on hold since a long time ago. It is still winter here, so it is better to avoid the soapy weather down south and relax under the desert sun up north. One of the few spots left for me to know in the northern Chile was Putre, a small desert village, 150 kms inland from Arica, 3500 meters above sea level and very close to both the Peruvian and the Bolivian borders. This area is as North as you can get, while still in Chile, and has a strong influence from the ancient indigenous Andean people. The Aymara people are one of the few indigenous communities that survive in the Andes and is spread around Peru, Bolivia and Chile. They appeared before the Incas and integrated their empire peacefully, but their decline came with the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. They have their own language and culture, which manages to survive despite the technological invasion. They raise cattle and live from the pachamama (The Mother Earth) and you can still hear them speaking their dialect. It does feel special. I did not go alone on this trip, it's now more than 8 months that I haven't travelled on my own. I went with Veronica, a friend from Antofagasta, and we stayed in Putre in a lovely and quiet lodge, La Chakana, with a breathtaking view over snowy mountains and deep canyons.

Putre is located in the Chilean altiplano, at the entrance of the Lauca national park. The park has an average altitude of 4500 m above sea level and the lack of oxigen is definitely felt. As soon as you take a few steps you cannot speak and walk at the same time anymore and you are lucky if you don't get strong headaches and breathing problems. Inside the park you can see snow and small glaciars, frozen rivers and ponds, rare wildlife like vicuñas and viscachas, a whole bunch of bird species, snow-topped volcanoes overseeing big lakes. Parinacota volcano and Chungará lake are the most famous. Scattered around Lauca there are small adobe villages, home of Aymara people, where you can see beautiful churches and eat a strong alpaca soup for 1 Euro. Alpacas are similar to llamas and their meat is delicious and very healthy, without cholesterol.


The road that crosses the park is the international road that goes to Bolivia, also known as the carretera de la muerte (Death Road). It is built along the sides of high mountains, with hard turns and big slopes. Lots of trucks take this road every day and many don't reach their destination. Anyway, at some point there is a police control, where you have to register with your name and passport. Some local people settle here to sell handicraft or some goods. Here I met Loly, a fat and spoiled llama who has also settled here to beg for (or demand) food from people passing by. As soon as we stopped the van and the guide went to register, Loly approached and put her big camel head through the window to check if we had something for her. As we got out, she rubbed her long neck on my arms, demanding attention. Since I wouldn't give her anything, she started sneezing at me (lucky me she didn't have anything to spit) and I gave her an orange. She won! She always wins, as I was told.

After three days in Putre and due to a logistical problem we went down to Arica. There is only one ATM machine in Putre and surprisingly it only works monday to friday, during the bank's working hours. We ran out of money, so we had to go down. Veronica had lived in Arica for some time and showed me some parts of it I hadn't seen before. There's always something going on in Arica and we saw a performance of different local chilean artists on the street. Among them there was an Aymara folk group, performing typical dancings (see below), and a peruvian group, dressed up in Carnival outfits. Curiously, I have now been in close contact with those indigenous faces so many times that I am already used to them and don't realize where I really am and how far-fetched this seemed when back in Portugal. Well, sometimes I do and a smile shows up.

Putre Photo Album