| We
were fortunate to be able to travel in Chile for two weeks in March.
Most of the time we were in Patagonia, a vast, largely unpopulated
region of striking natural beauty with two mountain ranges--the
Andes and the Coastal Range--ancient glaciers, dramatic waterfalls,
and wildlife that many of us have only seen before in zoos—rheas,
condors and quanacos, for example. It was late summer in Chile and
the weather ranged from warm, sunshine in Santiago to cold, high
wind far to the south near Punta Arenas where the Magellanic penguins
live by the strait (and the explorer) from which they take their
name.
Chile’s territory
is located in three continents: South America, Oceania, and Antarctica.
In South America, its coastline is 2,700 miles long though the
country is never more than 110 miles wide. The Chilean landmass
is smaller than any other South American republic except Equador,
but it is larger than any European country except Russia. In the
Antarctic, its territory is a triangle stretching to the South
Pole, and in Oceania, its presence is Easter Island, the most
isolated bit of land on earth.
While we
are inexperienced photographers, our digital camera captured some
of beauty and majesty of the landscape, groups of guanacos and
penguins and a grey fox, that though considered a member of the
resident wildlife, readily posed for photos and took, as payment,
cookies tossed by grateful tourists. We offer a few of our photographs
here. see photo gallery>>>
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