The Forgotten Continent Expedition
- Thread starter dhackney
- Start date
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Green - Green - Green
In NASCAR parlance, we've come off the red and out of the yellow.
We are Green - Green - Green.
Currently south of Santiago about 100 miles, camped for the night.
We are on our way to Ushuaia.
Parked in the Jumbo lot, provisioning. Please no Dumbo at the Jumbo jokes. Our Fuso is very sensitive about her weight.
Doug
In NASCAR parlance, we've come off the red and out of the yellow.
We are Green - Green - Green.
Currently south of Santiago about 100 miles, camped for the night.
We are on our way to Ushuaia.
Parked in the Jumbo lot, provisioning. Please no Dumbo at the Jumbo jokes. Our Fuso is very sensitive about her weight.
Doug
dhackney
Expedition Leader
RoundOut said:
The camper will pass the 15 foot test. I rebedded the cargo rails that were wrenched from the roof. I haven't done anything with the crushed drip rail / rain gutter yet.
The rub rails are all bent in, but you have to sight down them to realize it.
The cab is absolutely like new. Well, as new as I can tell until we hit some rain or I pump some water up onto the door seal. But it looks great. You can't tell where the dents and scratches were. The door looks like new.
The work was done by the Rosselot dealership group (various auto, truck & Fuso brands) body shop in Vina del Mar, Chile.
When we were driving up out of Vina del Mar today on the highway that runs right behind the body shop the manager, who waited until nearly 10PM for us to arrive with the truck off the docks, happened to be walking across the lot. We gave him a long serenade with the air horns along with big waves and smiles.
Life is good.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Impressions of Santiago, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar & Riñaca
We spent our first month in Chile in Santiago and the Valparaiso areas.
In general, Chile is a fully developed economy. There is very, very little that is available in the U.S. or Europe that isn't available here or won't be within a week or two.
The country is run by accountants, so it is a very different feel than the U.S., which is run by lawyers.
Our Chilean friend, Jorge, is my age. He grew up on a farm in South central Chile. Until he left home in his late teens, he farmed by horse. My grandfather farmed by horse. Chile's agricultural economy is now fully mechanized. The point is that Chile's development has been within the last two generations so it has been very, very rapid. There are isolated pockets of processes and elements of the economy that have been left behind. These Luddite backwaters and eddies of an otherwise completely modern economy can appear anachronistic to a U.S. or Western European visitor.
Both European and U.S. visitors will recognize familiar products and brands. Chile does not seem very foriegn to these American eyes. Moreso than Canada, about the same as Germany or Spain.
The biggest surprise to me is Chile is much more U.S. centric than Eurocentric. This could trouble some European visitors.
The weather is similar to an inverted Pacific coast of Baja, the U.S. and Canada. The weather in Valparaiso is very, very similar to San Diego. Inland in Santiago is very similar to inland in San Diego county. They also share the same lack of bugs as the San Diego area.
Prices range from incredibly low for some items to major U.S. or European city parity.
Real estate is still relatively low. There is a good sized beachfront home in Viña del Mar for sale for $200,000 USD, albeit 300 meters from a booming disco that rocks until 4AM. Homes in the nice sections of Santiago are $250 to $350k. There is still some ocean front property available.
And just imagine what you could have done before the U.S. dollar lost over 33% of its value in the last couple of years...
The economy is very healthy. Infrastructure investment is everywhere. Commercial and residential real estate developments are everywhere. The cars on the street are generally clean and new, the retail areas are crowded. The economy reflects a thriving middle class with plenty of disposable time and income.
Gaps in the retail economy include:
Valparaiso has around 8 million residents, about half the population of Chile. It lies along a river in the inland valley between the coast range and the Andes.
When the city was built the industries located in the southern end of the valley. Unfortunately, the prevailing winds blow North. Between the industrial smoke and the vehicle choked streets, the smog is bad.
Valparaiso is a very old sea port tucked onto the narrow strip of coastline and clinging to the steep hills that rise up off the water. It is not a natural port, and from the mariners standpoint, is more of a roadstead than a harbor.
Viña del Mar and Riñaca are North of Valparaiso and are the home of the summer Presendential home and overrun by summer vacationing Argentinians respectively.
My impressions of Santiao are:
My impressions of Valparaiso are:
My impressions of Viña del Mar and Riñaca are:
In summary, the urban areas of Santiago, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar & Riñaca would feel familiar and comfortable to any American or European. They offer a fully developed economy, a thriving middle class and every modern convenience.
For those so inclined, the true character of Chile, its food, its people and its customs are also all readily available.
We spent our first month in Chile in Santiago and the Valparaiso areas.
In general, Chile is a fully developed economy. There is very, very little that is available in the U.S. or Europe that isn't available here or won't be within a week or two.
The country is run by accountants, so it is a very different feel than the U.S., which is run by lawyers.
Our Chilean friend, Jorge, is my age. He grew up on a farm in South central Chile. Until he left home in his late teens, he farmed by horse. My grandfather farmed by horse. Chile's agricultural economy is now fully mechanized. The point is that Chile's development has been within the last two generations so it has been very, very rapid. There are isolated pockets of processes and elements of the economy that have been left behind. These Luddite backwaters and eddies of an otherwise completely modern economy can appear anachronistic to a U.S. or Western European visitor.
Both European and U.S. visitors will recognize familiar products and brands. Chile does not seem very foriegn to these American eyes. Moreso than Canada, about the same as Germany or Spain.
The biggest surprise to me is Chile is much more U.S. centric than Eurocentric. This could trouble some European visitors.
The weather is similar to an inverted Pacific coast of Baja, the U.S. and Canada. The weather in Valparaiso is very, very similar to San Diego. Inland in Santiago is very similar to inland in San Diego county. They also share the same lack of bugs as the San Diego area.
Prices range from incredibly low for some items to major U.S. or European city parity.
Real estate is still relatively low. There is a good sized beachfront home in Viña del Mar for sale for $200,000 USD, albeit 300 meters from a booming disco that rocks until 4AM. Homes in the nice sections of Santiago are $250 to $350k. There is still some ocean front property available.
And just imagine what you could have done before the U.S. dollar lost over 33% of its value in the last couple of years...
The economy is very healthy. Infrastructure investment is everywhere. Commercial and residential real estate developments are everywhere. The cars on the street are generally clean and new, the retail areas are crowded. The economy reflects a thriving middle class with plenty of disposable time and income.
Gaps in the retail economy include:
- Italian food. There is no good pizza and in general the Italian food is miserable. This is surprising considering the long history of Italian immigration.
- Espresso and coffee culture. Starbucks is coming into Santiago, but there is a complete void of decent coffee. The nation drinks Nescafe instant. Espresso and capacino are available at the interstate gas stations for about $1.50 USD.
- Speed featured services. Chile is climbing onto the go-go-go treadmill, so all of the business models that add speed to life will be very viable, i.e. drive through esspresso booths, pick up and deliver dry cleaning, etc.
- Affordable books. Books are incredibly expensive here. As in $60 per title expensive. Chile boasts the highest literacy rate in Latin America but I have no idea what they read.
- Optimized retail POS processes & systems. This is one of the anachronisms in the economy.
- KOA style franchised campgrounds. The camping market segment has propogated across every outlet of retail in the last three years. You can buy camping equipment everywhere from the Home Depot (Easy) to the grocery store (Jumbo). Assuming a stable economy, the RV segments will soon follow. All they need is a reliable, clean and well managed series of campgrounds. There are a few mom and pop campgrounds you could roll up, but a greenfield model would probably be better.
Valparaiso has around 8 million residents, about half the population of Chile. It lies along a river in the inland valley between the coast range and the Andes.
When the city was built the industries located in the southern end of the valley. Unfortunately, the prevailing winds blow North. Between the industrial smoke and the vehicle choked streets, the smog is bad.
Valparaiso is a very old sea port tucked onto the narrow strip of coastline and clinging to the steep hills that rise up off the water. It is not a natural port, and from the mariners standpoint, is more of a roadstead than a harbor.
Viña del Mar and Riñaca are North of Valparaiso and are the home of the summer Presendential home and overrun by summer vacationing Argentinians respectively.
My impressions of Santiao are:
- The quietest major city I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been in most of them except Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.
- Smoggy
- Lots of infrastructure investment (good use of the copper money windfall)
- Good variety of food
- Diverse (Chile has more of an immigrant history than I was aware of, especially Asians)
- Fully developed
- Fully wired (high bandwidth commonly available)
- Very high prices for books
- All major global corporations, most major U.S. corporations
- Safe for walking tours (We stayed in Los Condes and spent most of our time there, but did explore other areas. Like any city, you must remain aware of yourself, your surroundings and others.)
My impressions of Valparaiso are:
- Oozes character
- Undeserved reputation of danger - you just need to be aware and not stupid
- Fantastic neighborhoods, markets, etc.
- Amazing night life, common to see familes out in the docks area at midnight and later. Club scene starts at 11 and runs until early morning, as in 7-8AM.
- Best assortment of typical Chilean food and seafood
- Strong upside tourism and entertainment opportunities
My impressions of Viña del Mar and Riñaca are:
- Most similar to the Ft. Lauderdale area. The Argentinians fill the role of New Yorkers.
- High end for this economy. Affordable to very affordable for Americans (even with the collapsing dollar), pocket change for Europeans armed with the Euro.
- Unviable during the summer (January & February) when overun by vacationers from Argentina and Santiago, pretty empty otherwise.
- Riñaca is the hot beach / youth area of the country. While not as hedonistic as a Spring Break destination, the demographics skew very young.
In summary, the urban areas of Santiago, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar & Riñaca would feel familiar and comfortable to any American or European. They offer a fully developed economy, a thriving middle class and every modern convenience.
For those so inclined, the true character of Chile, its food, its people and its customs are also all readily available.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Insurance for Chile and Argentina
There's a thread in Research on overseas insurance in general here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11064
For Chile & Argentina here are some specific resources.
Motorcycles are basically impossible to locally insure in Chile. We talked to several agents who researched the available underwriters and found no available coverage. Your best bet is AIG or the other suppliers in the Research thread.
You will need liability insurance to enter Argentina. I have been told you can buy it for passenger cars at the major border crossings.
If you are on a motorcycle or in a rig larger than a standard pickup or SUV, i.e. a truck chassis, you will need/want to secure this insurance in Valparaiso, Vina del Mar or Santiago before you head for the border.
I cannot guarantee that motorcycle liability is available at the border, so you should make sure you have international liability accepted in Argentina, e.g. AIG, or you secure it from a Chilean supplier prior to heading for Argentina.
We found a local agent who wrote us a full coverage policy for the Fuso while in Chile and liability for the Fuso and the two motorcycles while in Argentina.
Costs:
Fuso - Full coverage (liability, collision, comprehensive, fire, theft, etc.) - includes Argentina liability - term one year: $618.80
Motorcycles - Argentina liability - term 90 days: $165 each
Agent:
Miguel Grondona Cruz
Corredor Profesional de Seguros
6 Norte 634
Vina del Mar
Phone: 238-0700 or 238 0712
Office General Fax: 238 9733
Personal Direct Fax: 272 1842
Cell: 09 9 862 1455
email: grondona@vtr.net
Mr. Grondona has no English skills, so you will need business level Spanish or use an interpreter.
The underwriting company is:
Magallanes Seguros
Alonso de Cordova N 5151
Piso 18
Los Condes
Santiago, Chile
Phone: 715 4600
FAX: 715 4860
There's a thread in Research on overseas insurance in general here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11064
For Chile & Argentina here are some specific resources.
Motorcycles are basically impossible to locally insure in Chile. We talked to several agents who researched the available underwriters and found no available coverage. Your best bet is AIG or the other suppliers in the Research thread.
You will need liability insurance to enter Argentina. I have been told you can buy it for passenger cars at the major border crossings.
If you are on a motorcycle or in a rig larger than a standard pickup or SUV, i.e. a truck chassis, you will need/want to secure this insurance in Valparaiso, Vina del Mar or Santiago before you head for the border.
I cannot guarantee that motorcycle liability is available at the border, so you should make sure you have international liability accepted in Argentina, e.g. AIG, or you secure it from a Chilean supplier prior to heading for Argentina.
We found a local agent who wrote us a full coverage policy for the Fuso while in Chile and liability for the Fuso and the two motorcycles while in Argentina.
Costs:
Fuso - Full coverage (liability, collision, comprehensive, fire, theft, etc.) - includes Argentina liability - term one year: $618.80
Motorcycles - Argentina liability - term 90 days: $165 each
Agent:
Miguel Grondona Cruz
Corredor Profesional de Seguros
6 Norte 634
Vina del Mar
Phone: 238-0700 or 238 0712
Office General Fax: 238 9733
Personal Direct Fax: 272 1842
Cell: 09 9 862 1455
email: grondona@vtr.net
Mr. Grondona has no English skills, so you will need business level Spanish or use an interpreter.
The underwriting company is:
Magallanes Seguros
Alonso de Cordova N 5151
Piso 18
Los Condes
Santiago, Chile
Phone: 715 4600
FAX: 715 4860
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Chile GPS maps
There is a street level - full steet by street routing capability - retail Garmin map set available for Chile.
Cost is $300 USD.
We bought ours at:
Comercial Centro GPS S.A. (the signs will say Centro GPS)
Augusto Legia Sur 79 510
Los Condes
Santiago, Chile
phone: 714-3200
FAX: 714.3204
www.centrogps.com
email: info@centrogps.cl
You will need your Garmin GPS model number, serial number and unit ID.
Map activation requires a 25 character key supplied by Centro GPS.
You need to email Centro GPS to get the key. They do not supply the proper email address for this on their web site. The email address to use is: soporte@centrogps.cl
You email them:
Accuracy is good so far. Street by street directions are typical, meaning it makes the same mistakes as the U.S. and European map sets.
There is also a shareware project producing maps sets for Argentina and Chile. I am testing the Argentina maps on our trip. I will post on them once we cross over into Argentina.
There is a street level - full steet by street routing capability - retail Garmin map set available for Chile.
Cost is $300 USD.
We bought ours at:
Comercial Centro GPS S.A. (the signs will say Centro GPS)
Augusto Legia Sur 79 510
Los Condes
Santiago, Chile
phone: 714-3200
FAX: 714.3204
www.centrogps.com
email: info@centrogps.cl
You will need your Garmin GPS model number, serial number and unit ID.
Map activation requires a 25 character key supplied by Centro GPS.
You need to email Centro GPS to get the key. They do not supply the proper email address for this on their web site. The email address to use is: soporte@centrogps.cl
You email them:
- GPS model
- GPS serial number
- GPS unit ID
- Receipt number (this is the receipt number on the yellow receipt, not the receipt number on your credit card receipt)
Accuracy is good so far. Street by street directions are typical, meaning it makes the same mistakes as the U.S. and European map sets.
There is also a shareware project producing maps sets for Argentina and Chile. I am testing the Argentina maps on our trip. I will post on them once we cross over into Argentina.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Vina del Mar repair / mod facility
If you need any type of body or mechanical repair I can recommend:
Comercial Rosselot Limitada
8 Norte 1137
Vina del Mar, Chile
Phone: 238 2808 or 238 2809 or 238 2810
www.rosselot.cl
You will need business level Spanish or use an interpreter.
This ownership group has a variety of retail car, truck and bus stores in the region. I don't know if they carry all brands, but I know for sure they carry Mitsubishi, Fuso, and Nissan. I cannot guarantee they carry Toyota. Mercedes is sold by a different ownership group.
They also have a rally racing team so if you are here during the off-season you may be able to have things fabricated.
The dealership group routinely installs roll cages, brush guards, winches, etc. for their retail mining and forestry customers.
If you need any type of body or mechanical repair I can recommend:
Comercial Rosselot Limitada
8 Norte 1137
Vina del Mar, Chile
Phone: 238 2808 or 238 2809 or 238 2810
www.rosselot.cl
You will need business level Spanish or use an interpreter.
This ownership group has a variety of retail car, truck and bus stores in the region. I don't know if they carry all brands, but I know for sure they carry Mitsubishi, Fuso, and Nissan. I cannot guarantee they carry Toyota. Mercedes is sold by a different ownership group.
They also have a rally racing team so if you are here during the off-season you may be able to have things fabricated.
The dealership group routinely installs roll cages, brush guards, winches, etc. for their retail mining and forestry customers.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Across the Andes
We crossed the Andes a few days ago.
Crossing the Andes
Very uneventful crossing. I will post info on the process, documents, etc. soon.
Along the road in northern Patagonia
We are currently camped in northern Patagonia decompressing and recharging before the push south to Ushuaia.
Camped in northern Patagonia
It is hard to see at this resolution but there is about 60 ft / 20 meters visibility in the lake. I count at least nine waterfalls between the snow pack and the lake.
We crossed the Andes a few days ago.
Crossing the Andes
Very uneventful crossing. I will post info on the process, documents, etc. soon.
Along the road in northern Patagonia
We are currently camped in northern Patagonia decompressing and recharging before the push south to Ushuaia.
Camped in northern Patagonia
It is hard to see at this resolution but there is about 60 ft / 20 meters visibility in the lake. I count at least nine waterfalls between the snow pack and the lake.
dhackney
Expedition Leader
Patagonian Light
Our friend, Jorge, who is a pro shooter, told me before we headed down here that the light in Patagonia would be like nothing we´d ever experienced before - transcendental.
We´ve only been here a few days, but the early indications are he was not overstating the case.
Our friend, Jorge, who is a pro shooter, told me before we headed down here that the light in Patagonia would be like nothing we´d ever experienced before - transcendental.
We´ve only been here a few days, but the early indications are he was not overstating the case.
Desertdude
Expedition Leader
Awesome :lurk: :lurk: :campfire:
