Chaihuín

I spent three days with a few friends at Chaihuín, a protected area of coastal Valdivian rainforest (http://www.reservacosteravaldiviana.cl/). Somewhat less than 500 families live in this area, just 50 km south of the city of Valdivia. It's an amazingly beautiful place, with all sorts of ecosystems built in. The most spectacular are the "twin lagoons" - two long lagoons separated from each other by a hill (covered in temperate rainforest) and again separated from the beach by a hill covered in temperate rainforest. In an incredibly short space you have ocean and sweet water systems, sand and lush rainforest, and you get to watch as the dunes advance into the forest, killing it. We also visited a 3000 year old Alerce tree; the Alerces are the equivalent of California's redwoods. They grow incredibly slowly, have excellent wood, and grow to enormous proportions. In colonial Chiloé (an island close by) Alerce shingles were used as currency because the wood is water-proof, so they were vital for roofing in this extremely rainy region. It is also the largest tree species in South America, found only in southern Chile and Argentina. In Chile the Alerce was heavily logged in the 19th and 20th Centurty and only two major groves are left. Conservation efforts in Chile began in the 1990s, compared to 1890s in California; tally the number of sequoias and redwoods (huge) and the number of alerces (minimal) and you can come to a quick conclusion about the importance of conservation and its compatibility with economic exploitation. 

Traditionally Chaihuín families lived off small-scale ranching, fishing and diving (for seafood). In 1974 a law was approved that created incentives for substituting native forest with plantations of eucalyptus and pine trees, to produce pulp, chips and wood for export. One guy we met, Iván (photo on the look out point), told us he was about 10 when, while he was diving for mussels with his father, three pick-up trucks pulled up and the "forestales" showed up. Before they knew what was happening, the forest was being cut down, burnt and re-planted with monoculture eucaplyptus. The company however went bankrupt and The Nature Conservancy - a very well connected NGO - offered to pay the bank the debt in exchange for the property. Several years of conflict followed as TNC tried to impose a very preservationist management practice, until it finally was persuaded by WWF and other groups to embrace sustainable management (ie., ecotourism, sustainable use of native forest products). Now, most people in Chaihuín in addition to their traditional livelyhood make additional cash by working in tourism. They have organized into cooperatives to sell forest products, to make arts and crafts, and to apply to state funds for micro and small businesses. There is still a strong tension between the economic gains to be made with eucalyptus monoculture versus the seasonality of tourism. And cooperatives are difficult animals to set up and make work. But they are trying and the place is just amazing.

The dunes eating the forest...

With the boys at the lagoon, the beach is like 30 steps away, the water was unbelievable, never swam in such fresh and crystaline water.

With Jaime who makes bonsai trees from native Chilean trees. Its amazing work and he has a fantastic farm with three greenhouses and lots of produce.

At the oldest Alerce, 3000 years old. It was raining a lot, but thats why its a rainforest...

A Loberia, or place where lots of sea lions go. Its full of them and they are mean little things. Its a good thing they sleep so much because otherwise they would kill each other completely!

Chaihuíners, Pepe and Javier. Pepe works for TNC administrating and promoting the protected area. Javier is a local fisherman. In 10 minutes he caught 6 fish.

Ranching on the beach. As everywhere the cows destroy everything they step on.

Approaching the lagoons from the beach

Iván at the back. Hanging out on a look out point over the lagoons and sniffing Meli tree leaves which are so sweet and delicious we were intoxicated.

The trip was amazing, for days after we continued to be in a cloud of happiness from our days in Chaihuín. We hung out, ate lots of mussels, walked, swam in the ocean and the lagoon, learnt and lived the forest. The only bad news: I dropped my camera in the sand and until further notice it is broken (and I want to cry every time I remember). My blogs will end if I cant fix the camera because they will be super boring otherwise.

I return to Santiago on Wednesday after one month in Valdivia. Its been amazing to be here, I met fantastic people and had so much fun. Next week we are on family holiday!! And the week after, the 24th of Feb., I fly to Coyhaique, where I'll stay until March 28th. Next blog (camera permitting) from Coyhaique. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coihaique)