The Carretera Austral, this unpaved pebble stone main road that goes from 2 lanes to 1 somewhere just past Coyhaique is the spine road, the only road, that links the towns of northern Patagonia. It was instigated by Pinoche,t with places like Puyuhuapi having only been accessible by road since 1982 ;infact the town of La Junta is so delighted with Pinochet's boost to their town that they still proudly have a monumnet to his memory at the entrance to the town! A journey along this long, long road on the public bus service is absolutely stunning, a vista for the eyes. Mountains soar on either side framing the road with jagged rock that was blasted to create the road; mountain ranges retain the snow through the summer months creating a vivid contrast of colours with the woods that cover the lower reaches. At times, a river will run alongside, broad ice blue melts from the snow and ice, basting in the rays of sunshine, a thousand diamonds twinkling on the surface. Along from Yelcho you can spy a glacier hanging between the valleys of cliffs. Then the road will turn and we meet vast lakes sitting majestically, shored by trees and an abundance of wild flowers and shrubs. Very occassionally we will pass a small holding, a farm, miles and miles and miles from anywhere or anyone else. People say the age of the pioneer is gone but that can't be; these people survive on their wits against the elements of nature; they cannot call anyone if anything goes wrong, they are their own plumber, roofer, doctor, mechanic; surely this is real survival and I am seeing it at its 'easiest', the summer months.
The vast resources of this area are now highly desirable as the government wants to build dams to harness the energy reserves and thus provide electricity for northern Chile as well as selling energy to other south American countries. The locals are not happy about this and the 'Patagonia Without Dams' posters can be seen in every car and house window, on billboards, on the sides of shops and along every main street. The dams would mean relocating the very people whose grandparents were encouraged to move out here to tame this wilderness many years ago; 3 generations ago a young man could be persuaded to leave his family with the promise of swathes of land to establish his own hacienda, his ranch with animals and produce; but their grandchildren cannot give up the freedom and identity of Patagonia, life on the range for a '2 up 2 down house'. This debate runs deep and the government's popularity rate is now lower than Pinochet's ever achieved!
