Cape Horn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cape Horn island (Dutch: About this sound Kaap Hoorn, Spanish: Cabo de
Hornos; named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands) is the
southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile.

Cape Horn is widely considered to be the most southerly point of South
America, and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage; for many
years it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships
carried trade around the world. However, the waters around the cape are
particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents
and icebergs; these dangers have made it notorious as a sailors' graveyard.

The need for ships to round the Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening
of the Panama Canal in 1914. However, sailing around the Horn is widely
regarded as one of the major challenges in yachting. Thus, a few
recreational sailors continue to sail this route, sometimes as part of a
circumnavigation of the globe, and almost all of these choosing routes
through the canals to the north of the actual Cape (though many take a
detour through the islands and anchor to wait for fair weather to actually
visit Horn Island or even sail around it to replicate a rounding of this
historic point). Several prominent ocean yacht races, notably the Volvo
Ocean Race, the VELUX5OCEANS and the Vendée Globe, sail around the world via
the Horn, and speed records for round-the-world sailing follow the same
route.

Geography and Ecology

Cape Horn is the southernmost point of land associated with South America;
it is located at 55°58′47″S 067°16′18″W, on isla Hornes in the Hermite
Islands group, at the southern end of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. It
marks the north edge of the Drake Passage, the strait between South America
and Antarctica. The dividing line between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
runs along the meridian of Cape Horn, from Tierra del Fuego to the Southern
Ocean. It is located in Cabo de Hornos National Park.

Cape Horn was originally given the Dutch name "Kaap Hoorn", in honor of the
Dutch city of Hoorn; in a typical example of false friends, the Hoorn became
known in English as "Cape Horn", and in Spanish as "Cabo de Hornos" (which
literally means "Cape of Ovens"). It is commonly known to sailors simply as
The Horn.

The cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy
maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility
building, chapel, and lighthouse, A short distance from the main station is
a memorial, including a large sculpture featuring the silhouette of an
albatross, in honor of the sailors who died while attempting to "round the
Horn".

However, the Chilean Navy station, including the lighthouse and the memorial
are not located on Cape Horn itself (which is very difficult to access
either by land or sea), but on another land point about one mile
east-northeast. On the real Cape Horn there is a 4 m (13 ft) fiberglass
light tower with a focal plane of 40 m (131 ft) and a range of about 21 km
(13 mi). This is the authentic Cape Horn lighthouse.

The terrain is entirely treeless, although quite lush owing to the frequent
precipitation. Cape Horn is the southern limit of the range of the
Magellanic Penguin.

Climate

The climate in the region is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude.
There are no weather stations in the group of islands including Cape Horn;
however, a study in 1882–1883 found an annual rainfall of 1,357 millimeters
(53.42 in), with an average annual temperature of 5.2 °C (41.4 °F). Winds
were reported to average 30 kilometers per hour (19 mph), with squalls of
over 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) occurring in all seasons.

Contemporary weather records for Ushuaia, 146 kilometers (91 mi) north, show
that summer (January–February) average temperatures range from highs of 14
°C (57 °F) to lows of 5 °C (42 °F); in winter (July), average temperatures
range from 4 °C (40 °F) to −2 °C (29 °F). Cloud cover is generally high,
with averages from 5.2 eighths in May and July to 6.4 eighths in December
and January. Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station
on the nearby Diego Ramirez Islands, 109 kilometers (68 mi) south-west in
the Drake Passage, shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging 137.4
millimeters (5.41 in); while October, which has the least rainfall, still
averages 93.7 millimeters (3.69 in). Wind conditions are generally severe,
particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is gale force up to
5% of the time, with generally good visibility; however, in winter, gale
force winds occur up to 30% of the time, often with poor visibility.

Many stories are told of hazardous journeys "around the Horn," most
describing fierce storms. In sea chanteys and other songs, "Cape Horn" is
frequently rhymed with "never been born."

Political

Cape Horn is part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, whose capital is Puerto
Williams; this in turn is part of Antártica Chilena Province, whose capital
is also Puerto Williams. The area is part of the Magallanes y la Antártica
Chilena Region of Chile.

Puerto Toro, a few miles south of Puerto Williams, is the closest town to
the cape, and the southernmost town in the world.

Sailing routes

There are a number of potential sailing routes around the tip of South
America. The Strait of Magellan, between the mainland and Tierra del Fuego,
is a major — although narrow — passage, which was in use for trade well
before the Horn was discovered; the Beagle Channel, between Tierra del Fuego
and Isla Navarino, offers a potential, though difficult route; and there are
various passages around the Wollaston and Hermite Islands to the north of
Cape Horn.

All of these, however, are notorious for treacherous williwaw winds, which
can strike a vessel with little or no warning; given the narrowness of these
routes, there is a significant risk of then being driven onto the rocks. The
open waters of the Drake Passage, south of Cape Horn, provide by far the
widest route, at about 800 kilometers (500 mi) wide; this passage offers
ample sea room for maneuvering as winds change, and is the route used by
most ships and sailboats, despite the possibility of extreme wave conditions

Shipping hazards

Several factors combine to make the passage around Cape Horn one of the most
hazardous shipping routes in the world: the fierce sailing conditions
prevalent in the Southern Ocean generally; the geography of the passage
south of the Horn; and the extreme southern latitude of the Horn, at 56°
south. (For comparison, Cape Agulhas at the southern tip of Africa is at 35°
south; Stewart Island/Rakiura at the south end of New Zealand is 47° south.)

The prevailing winds in latitudes below 40° south can blow from west to east
around the world almost uninterrupted by land, giving rise to the "roaring
forties" and the even more wild "furious fifties" and "screaming sixties".
These winds are hazardous enough in themselves that ships traveling east
would tend to stay in the northern part of the forties (i.e. not far below
40° south latitude); however, rounding Cape Horn requires ships to press
south to 56° south latitude, well into the zone of fiercest winds. These
winds are further exacerbated at the Horn by the funneling effect of the
Andes and the Antarctic Peninsula, which channel the winds into the
relatively narrow Drake Passage.

The strong winds of the Southern Ocean give rise to correspondingly large
waves; these waves can attain enormous size as they roll around the Southern
Ocean, free of any interruption from land. At the Horn, however, these waves
encounter an area of shallow water to the south of the Horn, which has the
effect of making the waves shorter and steeper, greatly increasing the
hazard to ships. If the strong eastward current through the Drake Passage
encounters an opposing east wind, this can have the effect of further
building up the waves. In addition to these "normal" waves, the area west of
the Horn is particularly notorious for rogue waves, which can attain heights
of up to 30 meters (100 ft).

The prevailing winds and currents create particular problems for vessels
attempting to round the Horn against them, i.e. from east to west. Although
this affects all vessels to some extent, it was a particularly serious
problem for traditional sailing ships, which could make very little headway
against the wind at the best of times; modern sailing boats are
significantly more efficient to windward and can more reliably make a
westward passage of the Horn, as they do in the Global Challenge race.

Ice is a hazard to sailors venturing far below 40° south. Although the ice
limit dips south around the horn, icebergs are a significant hazard for
vessels in the area. In the South Pacific in February (summer in Southern
Hemisphere), icebergs are generally confined to below 50° south; but in
August the iceberg hazard can extend north of 40° south. Even in February,
though, the Horn is well below the latitude of the iceberg limit. These
hazards have made the Horn notorious as perhaps the most dangerous ship
passage in the world; many ships were wrecked, and many sailors died,
attempting to round the Cape.

History
Discovery

In 1525 the vessel San Lesmes commanded by Francisco de Hoces, member of the
Loaísa Expedition, was blown south by a gale in front of the Atlantic end of
Magellan Strait and reached 56° S where they thought to see Land's End.

In September 1578, Sir Francis Drake, in the course of his circumnavigation
of the world, passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean.
Before he could continue his voyage north his ships encountered a storm, and
were blown well to the south of Tierra del Fuego. The expanse of open water
they encountered led Drake to guess that far from being another continent,
as previously believed, Tierra del Fuego was an island with open sea to its
south. This discovery went unused for some time, as ships continued to use
the known passage through the Strait of Magellan.

By the early 1600s the Dutch East India Company was given a monopoly on all
Dutch trade via the Straits of Magellan and the Cape of Good Hope, the only
known routes at the time to the Far East. To search for an alternate route
and one to the unknown Terra Australis, Isaac Le Maire, a wealthy Amsterdam
merchant and Willem Schouten, a ship's master of Hoorn, contributed in equal
shares to the enterprise, with additional financial support from merchants
of Hoorn. Jacob Le Maire, Isaac's son, went on the journey as "chief
Marchant and principal factor," in charge of trading aspects of the endeavor
The two ships that departed Holland at the beginning of June 1615 were the
Eendracht of 360 tons with Schouten and Le Maire aboard, and the Hoorn of
110 tons, of which Schouten's brother Johan was master. It was Eendracht
then, with the crew of the recently wrecked Hoorn aboard, that passed
through the Le Maire Strait and Schouten and Le Maire made their great
discovery:

"In the evening 25 January 1616 the winde was South West, and that night
wee went South with great waves or billowes out of the southwest, and very
blew water, whereby wee judged, and held for certaine that ... it was the
great South Sea, whereat we were exceeding glad to thinke that wee had
discovered a way, which until that time, was unknowne to men, as afterward
wee found it to be true."

"... on 29 January 1616 we saw land againe lying north west and north
northwest from us, which was the land that lay South from the straights of
Magellan which reacheth Southward, all high hillie lande covered over with
snow, ending with a sharpe point which wee called Cape Horne [Kaap Hoorn] ..
"

At the time it was discovered, the Horn was believed to be the southernmost
point of Tierra del Fuego; the unpredictable violence of weather and sea
conditions in the Drake Passage made exploration difficult, and it was only
in 1624 that the Horn was discovered to be an island. It is a telling
testament to the difficulty of conditions there that Antarctica, only 650
kilometers (400 mi) away across the Drake Passage, was discovered as
recently as 1820, despite the passage having been used as a major shipping
route for 200 years.

Trade route

From the 1700s to the early 1900s, Cape Horn was a part of the clipper
routes which carried much of the world's trade. Clipper ships sailed round
the Horn carrying wool, grain, and gold from Australia back to Europe; much
trade was carried around the Horn between Europe and the Far East; and trade
and passenger ships traveled between the coasts of the United States via the
Horn. The Horn exacted a heavy toll from shipping, however, owing to the
extremely hazardous combination of conditions there.

The only facilities in the vicinity able to service or supply a ship, or
provide medical care, were in the Falkland Islands. The businesses there
were so notorious for price-gouging that damaged ships were sometimes
abandoned at Port Stanley.

While most companies switched to steamers and later used the Panama Canal,
German steel-hulled sailing ships like the Flying P-Liners were designed
since the 1890s to withstand the weather conditions around the Horn, as they
specialized in the South American nitrate trade and later the Australian
grain trade. None of them were lost around the Horn, but some, like the
mighty Preußen, were victims of collisions in the busy English Channel.

Traditionally, a sailor who had rounded the Horn was entitled to wear a gold
loop earring — in the left ear, the one which had faced the Horn in a
typical eastbound passage — and to dine with one foot on the table; a sailor
who had also rounded the Cape of Good Hope could place both feet on the
table. A sailor who had sailed around Cape Horn was also able to brag by
showing off his tattoo of a full-rigged ship.

One particular historic attempt to round the Horn, that of HMS Bounty in
1788, has been immortalized in history due to the subsequent Mutiny on the
Bounty. This abortive Horn voyage has also been portrayed (with various
historic accuracy) in three major motion pictures about Captain William
Bligh's mission to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to Jamaica. The
mutiny occurred in the South Pacific during the voyage to the West Indies.

The transcontinental railroads in North America, as well as the Panama Canal
that opened in 1914 in Central America, led to the gradual decrease in use
of the Horn for trade. As steamships replaced sailing ships, Flying P-Liner
Pamir became the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn laden with
cargo, carrying grain from Port Victoria, Australia to Falmouth, England in
1949.

Many modern tankers are too wide to fit through the Panama Canal, as are a
few passenger ships and several aircraft carriers. But there are no regular
commercial routes around the Horn, and modern ships are rarely seen.

Recreational and sport sailing

Despite the opening of the Suez and Panama Canals, the Horn remains part of
the fastest sailing route around the world, and so the growth in
recreational long-distance sailing has brought about a revival of sailing
via the Horn. Owing to the remoteness of the location and the hazards there,
a rounding of Cape Horn is widely considered to be the yachting equivalent
of climbing Mount Everest, and so many sailors seek it out for its own sake.

Joshua Slocum was the first single-handed yachtsman to successfully pass
this way (in 1895) although in the end, extreme weather forced him to use
some of the inshore routes between the channels and islands and it is
believed he did not actually pass outside the Horn proper. If one had to go
by strict definitions, the first small boat to sail around outside Cape Horn
was the 42-foot (13 m) yacht Saoirse, sailed by Connor O'Brien with three
friends, who rounded it during a circumnavigation of the world between 1923
and 1925. In 1934, the Norwegian Al Hansen was the first to round Cape Horn
single-handed from east to west — the "wrong way" — in his boat Mary Jane,
but was subsequently wrecked on the coast of Chile. The first person to
successfully circumnavigate the world single-handed via Cape Horn was Vito
Dumas, who made the voyage in 1942 in his 33-foot (10 m) ketch Lehg II; a
number of other sailors have since followed him. Including Webb Chiles
aboard "EGREGIOUS" who in December 1975 became the first American to round
Cape Horn single-handed.

Today, there are several major yacht races held regularly along the old
clipper route via Cape Horn. The first of these was the Sunday Times Golden
Globe Race, which was a single-handed race; this inspired the present-day
Around Alone race, which circumnavigates with stops, and the Vendée Globe,
which is non-stop. Both of these are single-handed races, and are held every
four years. The Volvo Ocean Race is a crewed race with stops which sails the
clipper route every four years. Its origins lie in the Whitbread Round the
World Yacht Race first competed in 1973-4. The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize
for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht, with no
restrictions on the size of the crew (no assistance, non-stop). Finally, the
Global Challenge race goes around the world the "wrong way", from east to
west, which involves rounding Cape Horn against the prevailing winds and
currents.

The Horn remains a major hazard for recreational sailors, however. A classic
case is that of Miles and Beryl Smeeton, who attempted to round the Horn in
their yacht Tzu Hang. Hit by a rogue wave when approaching the Horn, the
boat pitchpoled (i.e. somersaulted end-over-end). Although they survived,
and were able to make repairs in Talcahuano, Chile, they attempted the
passage again, only to be rolled over, and dismasted for a second time, by
another rogue wave, which again they miraculously survived.

Rounding the Horn, under sail, on a non-stop passage of more than 3,000
miles passing through the Latitude of 50 degrees South both East and West of
Cape Horn grants sailors eligibility to apply for membership of the
exclusive International Association of Cape Horners; a redoubtable
organization whose origins lie amongst those who rounded the Horn as
professional seamen serving upon the tall ships of the Clipper era. There
are no exceptions to the strict joining criteria whose membership now
includes members of crews from several notable Round the World Yacht races
and others who have shared the same unique experience - the 'Mount Everest'
of ocean sailing.

Literature and culture

Cape Horn has been an icon of sailing culture for centuries; it has featured
in sea shanties and in many books about sailing. One of the classic accounts
of a working ship in the age of sail is Two Years before the Mast, by
Richard Henry Dana, Jr., in which the author describes an arduous trip from
Boston to California via Cape Horn:

"Just before eight o'clock (then about sundown, in that latitude) the cry of
"All hands ahoy!" was sounded down the fore scuttle and the after hatchway,
and hurrying upon deck, we found a large black cloud rolling on toward us
from the south-west, and blackening the whole heavens."Here comes Cape Horn!
said the chief mate; and we had hardly time to haul down and clew up,
before it was upon us. In a few moments, a heavier sea was raised than I had
ever seen before, and as it was directly ahead, the little brig, which was
no better than a bathing machine, plunged into it, and all the forward part
of her was under water; the sea pouring in through the bow-ports and
hawse-hole and over the knightheads, threatening to wash everything
overboard. In the lee scuppers it was up to a man's waist. We sprang aloft
and double reefed the topsails, and furled all the other sails, and made all
snug. But this would not do; the brig was laboring and straining against the
head sea, and the gale was growing worse and worse. At the same time sleet
and hail were driving with all fury against us. We clewed down, and hauled
out the reef-tackles again, and close-reefed the fore-topsail, and furled
the main, and hove her to on the starboard tack. Here was an end to our fine
prospects."

Charles Darwin, in The Voyage of the Beagle, a journal of the five-year
expedition upon which he based The Origin of Species, described his 1832
encounter with the Horn:

"... we closed in with the Barnevelts, and running past Cape Deceit with its
stony peaks, about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten Cape Horn. The
evening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine view of the surrounding
isles. Cape Horn, however, demanded his tribute, and before night sent us a
gale of wind directly in our teeth. We stood out to sea, and on the second
day again made the land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious
promontory in its proper form — veiled in a mist, and its dim outline
surrounded by a storm of wind and water. Great black clouds were rolling
across the heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such
extreme violence, that the Captain determined to run into Wigwam Cove. This
is a snug little harbour, not far from Cape Horn; and here, at Christmas-eve
we anchored in smooth water."

Alan Villiers, a modern-day expert in traditional sailing ships, wrote many
books about traditional sailing, including By way of Cape Horn. More recent
sailors have taken on the Horn singly, such as Vito Dumas, who wrote Alone
Through The Roaring Forties based on his round-the-world voyage; or with
small crews.

Bernard Moitessier made two significant voyages round the horn; once with
his wife Françoise, described in Cape Horn: The Logical Route, and once
single-handed. His book The Long Way tells the story of this latter voyage,
and of a peaceful night-time passage of the Horn: "The little cloud
underneath the moon has moved to the right. I look... there it is, so close,
less than 10 miles (16 km) away and right under the moon. And nothing
remains but the sky and the moon playing with the Horn. I look. I can hardly
believe it. So small and so huge. A hillock, pale and tender in the
moonlight; a colossal rock, hard as diamond."

And John Masefield wrote: "Cape Horn that tramples beauty into wreck / And
crumples steel and smites the strong man dumb"

A memorial presented in Robert FitzRoy's bicentenary (2005) commemorates his
landing on Cape Horn on 19 April 1830.

'Rounding the Horn'

Visiting Cabo de Hornos can be done on a day trip by helicopter or more arduously by charter power boat or sailboat - or by cruise ship. "Rounding the Horn" is traditionally understood to involve sailing from 50 degrees south on one coast to 50 degrees south on the other coast, the two benchmark latitudes of a Horn run, a considerably more difficult and time-consuming endeavor.

Drake Passage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces -Sea of "de Hoces"- is the body of water
between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South
Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the
Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean
and extends into the Southern Ocean. The passage is named after the 16th
century English privateer Sir Francis Drake. Drake's only remaining ship,
after having passed through the Strait of Magellan was blown far South in
September of 1578. This incident implied an open connection between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Half a century earlier, after a gale had pushed them South from the entrance
of the Strait of Magellan, the crew of the Spanish navigator Francisco de
Hoces thought they saw a land's end and possibly inferred this passage in
1525. For this reason, some Spanish and Latin American historians and
sources call it Mar de Hoces after Francisco de Hoces.

The first recorded voyage through the passage was that of the Eendracht,
captained by the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten in 1616, naming Cape Horn
in the process.

The 800 kilometres (500 mi) wide passage between Cape Horn and Livingston
Island is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world's
land. The boundary between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is sometimes
taken to be a line drawn from Cape Horn to Snow Island 130 kilometres (81
mi) north of mainland Antarctica). Alternatively the meridian that passes
through Cape Horn may be taken as the boundary. Both boundaries lie entirely
within the Drake Passage.

The other two passages around Cape Horn, Magellan Strait and Beagle Channel,
are very narrow, leaving little room for a ship, particularly a sailing ship
to maneuver. They can also become icebound, and sometimes the wind blows so
strongly no sailing vessel can make headway against it. Hence most sailing
ships preferred the Drake Passage, which is open water for hundreds of miles
despite very rough conditions. The very small Diego Ramírez Islands lie
about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Cape Horn.

There is no significant land anywhere around the world at the latitudes of
the Drake Passage, which is important to the unimpeded flow of the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current which carries a huge volume of water (about 600 times
the flow of the Amazon River) through the Passage and around Antarctica.

Ships in the passage are often good platforms for the sighting of whales,
dolphins and plentiful seabirds including giant petrels, other petrels,
albatrosses and penguins.

The passage is known to have been closed until around 41 million years ago according to a chemical study of fish teeth found in oceanic sedimentary rock. Before the passage opened, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were separated entirely with Antarctica being much warmer and having no ice cap. The joining of the two great oceans started the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and cooled the continent significantly.

Beagle Channel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Beagle Channel is a strait separating islands of the Tierra del Fuego
Archipelago, in extreme southern South America. It separates Isla Grande de
Tierra del Fuego from the islands Nueva, Picton, Navarino, Hoste,
Londonderry, Stewart Islands and other smaller to the south. Its eastern
portion is part of the border between Chile and Argentina, but the western
part is completely within Chile. The west end is the Darwin Sound and the
east end is Nueva Island.

The Beagle Channel is about 240 kilometers (130 NMI; 150 mi) long and is
about 5 kilometers (3 NMI; 3 mi) wide at its narrowest point. To the west
the Darwin Sound connects it to the Pacific Ocean. The biggest settlement on
the channel is Ushuaia in Argentina followed by Puerto Williams in Chile,
two of the southernmost settlements of the world.

Navigation and Islands

Although it is navigable by large ships, there are safer waters to the south
(Drake Passage) and to the north (Strait of Magellan).

Several small islands (Picton, Lennox and Nueva) up to the Cape Horn were
the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Chile and
Argentina; by the terms of a Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between
Chile and Argentina they are now part of Chile. Ships of other nations can
navigate between the Strait of Magellan and Ushuaia through the Chilean
Magdalena Channel and the Cockburn Channel with Chilean Pilot and 48 hours
advance notice.

The Yaghan peoples settled the islands along the Murray Channel
approximately 10,000 years before present. There are notable archaeological
sites indicating such early Yaghan settlement at locations such as Bahia
Wulaia on Isla Navarino, where the Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens are located.

Naming and Darwin Visit

The channel was named after the ship HMS Beagle during its first
hydrographic survey of the coasts of the southern part of South America
which lasted from 1826 to 1830.
The ship was a Cherokee-class 10 gun brig of the Royal Navy, named after the
Beagle breed of dog. She was launched on May 11, 1820 from the Woolwich
Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. She took part in
celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which
she was the first ship to sail under the New London Bridge. She was then
adapted as a survey ship and took part in three expeditions.

During that expedition, under the overall command of the Australian Commander Phillip Parker King, the Beagle's captain Pringle Stokes committed suicide and was replaced by Captain Robert Fitzroy. The ship continued the survey in the second voyage of the Beagle under the command of captain Fitzroy who took Charles Darwin along as a gentleman's companion, giving him opportunities as an amateur naturalist. Darwin had his first sight of glaciers when they reached the channel on 29 January 1833, and wrote in his field notebook "many glaciers beryl blue most beautiful contrasted with snow".

Keep The Faith Keep The Fight

Jika saya bertanya pada Anda, "Apa yang bisa membuat Anda masuk surga?"
Dalam batas kemanusiaan, alias di luar jawaban pasti, "Rahmat Tuhan", Anda
pasti sepakat dengan saya bahwa jawaban Anda adalah, "Keimanan". Keimanan
adalah "keterikatan kuat pada tujuan". Dan itu, harus dibuktikan dengan hati
perkataan, dan perbuatan.

Bagaimanakah kita bisa mengambil model "downstream" dari konsep spiritual di
atas?

Di suatu pagi buta, sekitar pukul tiga pagi, dua atau tiga tahun yang lalu,
seorang teman menjemput saya ke rumah. Kami berencana menghadiri sebuah
acara reuni bersama teman-teman seangkatan semasa SMA dua puluh dua tahun
yang lalu. Acara reuni itu diadakan di sebuah resort pantai di propinsi
Lampung.

Setengah mengantuk dan sedikit tergesa, saya bergegas melompat ke mobilnya.
Kami berangkat menelusuri sisa malam yang sepi. Memasuki jalan tol
Jakarta-Merak, saya segera sadar, bahwa saya hanya membawa dompet kosong. Di
dalamnya hanya ada kartu ATM.

Saya katakan kepada teman saya itu, "Nanti kalo ketemu ATM, kita mampir ya,
aku mau ambil duit."

Niat saya itu tak kesampaian. Karena kami berkejaran dengan waktu acara,
kami terus berada di jalur tol. Dan entah karena gelap atau karena memang
tidak kelihatan, kami tidak menemukan satupun mesin ATM di sepanjang jalan
tol itu. Kami sampai di lokasi, dan saya tetap tidak membawa uang sepeser
pun.

Di tengah acara reuni itu, seorang sahabat karib saya, wanita yang kini
berprofesi sebagai seorang dokter gigi, terlihat berkelliling membawa sebuah
wadah. Ia mengumpulkan uang.

Saya katakan kepada teman perjalanan saya itu, yang kebetulan sedang satu
meja dengan saya, "Aku pinjam duitmu, nanti aku kembalikan."

Teman saya yang dokter gigi ini mendekati meja kami. Menyodorkan wadah, dan
berkata, "Arisan. Dua bulan."

Saya menjulurkan tangan meletakkan uang pinjaman saya, seraya berkata
padanya, "Nanti yang dapat aku lho!". Dia tersenyum. He...he... sok yakin
saja saya. Siapa yang tak butuh fast cash seperti ini?

Sore hari, arisan itu diumumkan. Teman saya yang dokter gigi itu, memang
aktivis sedari dulu. Ia jugalah yang mengumumkan hasil arisan. Ada beberapa
pemenang pada putaran itu.

Ketika membacakan pemenang terakhir, ia menatap ke meja kami, dan berkata,
Ikhwan Sopa!".

Ada lebih dari delapan puluh orang di pendopo acara itu. Kebetulankah bahwa
saya adalah salah satu pemenangnya? Pertimbangkan sekali lagi. Saya pribadi
tidak meyakini yang namanya kebetulan. Saya lebih yakin bahwa segalanya
sudah ada Yang Mengatur. Saya ambil uang itu, dan saya kembalikan hutang
saya hari itu juga.

Berhari-hari sepulang acara itu, saya mencoba memodel ulang, apa yang
sebenarnya berlangsung dan terjadi pada hari itu, hingga akhirnya saya bisa
mendapatkan rejeki nomplok uang arisan. Berangkat tanpa uang, pulang dengan
segepok lumayan.

Entah hari ke berapa, saya mendapatkan sebuah penjelasan, dan saya mencoba
meng-generik-kan penjelasan itu. Saya banding-bandingkan dengan berbagai
situasi, dan ternyata cukup konsisten. Saya juga membandingkannya dengan
berbagai kejadian serupa yang telah terjadi berkali-kali pada diri saya.
Saya beranikan diri untuk mensharenya dengan Anda hari ini.

Kunci dari fenomena "daya tarik" yang terjadi pada hari arisan itu, menurut
saya adalah fenomena "feeling" yang saya kembangkan - secara tidak sengaja
dalam kasus saya, terkait dengan sesuatu yang saya inginkan terjadi.

Feeling itu adalah manifestasi dari sebentuk keyakinan. Keyakinan kuat
terkait dengan sebuah keinginan.

Pertanyaannya tentu saja, bagaimanakah sebuah keinginan kuat bisa
teridentifikasi sebagai "cukup kuat" dan tercipta dalam bentuk feeling
terkait dengan sebuah situasi?

Begini ilustrasinya.

Saya sudah lama sekali bersahabat dengan Tuan A. Pagi, siang, sore dan malam
saya sering berjalan dan bercengkrama dengannya. Suatu saat, saya dan Tuan A
memasuki sebuah kantin. Saya memesan siomay dan Tuan A memesan bakso.

Saya segera menghabiskan siomay di piring saya dengan nikmat. Kemudian,
sembari menyeka bibir dengan tisu, saya melirik mangkok Tuan A di hadapannya
Ia sedang makan, dan di mangkoknya masih tersisa empat butir bakso. Jika
saya menginginkan satu saja dari bakso itu, apa yang harus saya lakukan?
Tentu saja memintanya!

Menurut Anda, jika saya benar-benar memintanya, apakah Tuan A akan menolak
permintaan saya?

Setuju. Dia tak akan menolaknya. Seyakin itu pulalah saya.

Dan bahkan jika Tuan A benar-benar menolak permintaan saya, saya mungkin
malah akan syok dan malu berat. Bukankah kami sudah begitu dekat, bukankah
kami sudah bersahabat begitu lama, bukankah kami sudah saling percaya?

Seyakin itulah saya memintanya. Tak terbersit sedikitpun keraguan dan
ketidakyakinan, bahwa Tuan A akan menolak permintaan saya. Tak sedikitpun.
Sekali lagi, tidak sedikit pun ada keraguan atau ketidakyakinan.

Begitu pulalah, yang terjadi di hari arisan itu. Saya yang sudah bersahabat
dua puluh dua tahun dengan teman yang dokter gigi itu, dengan sangat ringan
dan penuh keyakinan bisa mengatakan, "Nanti saya yang dapat!". Sekali lagi,
tak terbersit sedikitpun keraguan dan ketidakyakinan.

Feeling dari keyakinan itulah kuncinya.

Maka jika Anda sedang melakukan penjualan, dapatkanlah feeling yang sama.
Tanpa keraguan dan tanpa ketidakyakinan. Bukankah ini yang diajarkan para
top sales? Bukankah ini yang diajarkan oleh para guru marketing? Bukankah
ini yang diajarkan oleh para pebisnis yang berhasil? Bukankah fenomena ini
tampak sangat jelas dari ciri SKSD (Sok Kenal Sok Dekat) mereka?

Tips: Jika Anda berhadapan dengan seseorang, aktivasikan state ini. Termasuk
jika Anda bertemu dengan orang yang baru saja Anda kenal. Cara mudahnya,
adalah dengan menciptakan state sebagaimana Anda berhadapan dengan orang
yang sangat Anda percaya, sangat percaya kepada Anda, dan sangat Anda yakini
tak akan menolak permintaan Anda. Anda perlu membangun skill "instant
rapport".

Ini jugalah yang saya kembangkan dengan berbagai status FB saya yang
terkesan sok yakin dan tanpa keraguan, saat meminta, atau saat mengajukan
penawaran. Di mana lagi Anda bisa menemukan orang mengantri untuk diprospek
MLM? Di mana lagi Anda bisa menemukan orang mengantri untuk di tag dalam
sebuah note? (Please jangan salah tangkap, dengan segala kerendahan hati,
saya bukan bermaksud menyombong. Please... I'm your friend.)

So,

If you want a thing, ask!
Do not hesitate!

Lakukanlah, sepanjang Anda meyakini bahwa yang Anda lakukan adalah benar,
bermanfaat bagi orang lain, dan bagi diri sendiri, dunia dan akhirat.

Tentu saja, Anda tetap harus bekerja keras dan logika Anda musti tetap
berjalan. Anda tetap harus menjalani prasyarat "hati, lidah, perbuatan".
Jika Anda belum berhasil, tetaplah bekerja keras, dan lakukan saja lagi
dengan cara yang berbeda. Begitu seterusnya, lagi, dan lagi. Apa yang
penting adalah, mempertahankan state yakin dan percaya Anda.

Semoga bermanfaat.

Btw, bagaimanakah jika Anda bisa mengembangkan keyakinan ini terhadap Yang
Maha Menciptakan Anda? Akankah Ia menolak permintaan Anda?

Ikhwan Sopa
Master Trainer E.D.A.N.
http://www.motivasi-komunikasi-leadership.co.cc
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Motivasi-Komunikasi-Leadership/196571006305

Ushuaia, Argentina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego. It is
commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia is located
in a wide bay on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego,
bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the
Beagle Channel. Its population is estimated today at about 64,000. It is the
only municipality in the Department of Ushuaia, which has an area of 9,390
km2 (3,625 sq mi).

Description

The city was originally named by early British missionaries using the native
Yámana name for the area. Much of the early history of the city and its
hinterland is described in Lucas Bridges's book Uttermost Part of the Earth
(1948).

During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around a prison
built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here
and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego. The prison was
intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example
of the British in Tasmania and the French in Devil's Island. Escape from
Tierra del Fuego was similarly difficult, although two prisoners managed to
escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population thus
became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with
timber from the forest around the prison. They also built a railway to the
settlement, now a tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train
(Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.

Ushuaia is surrounded by Magellanic subpolar forests. On the hills around
the town, the following indigenous trees are found: Drimys winteri (Winter's
bark), Maytenus magellanica (Hard-log Mayten) and several species of
Nothofagus (Southern Beech).

Tourism

Ushuaia is a key access point to the southern regions and a popular vacation
spot for people from Buenos Aires. It receives regular flights at Ushuaia
International Airport from Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile, and its
commercial pier is a major port for Antarctic tourist and research traffic.

Tourist attractions include the Tierra del Fuego National Park and Lapataia
Bay. The park can be reached by highway, or via the End of the World Train
(Tren del Fin del Mundo) from Ushuaia. The city has a museum of Yámana,
English, and Argentine settlement, including its years as a prison colony.
Wildlife attractions include local birds, penguins, seals, and orcas, many
of these species colonizing islands in the Beagle Channel. There are daily
bus and boat tours to Harberton, the estancia of the Bridges family. Tours
also visit the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. Les Eclaireurs is sometimes
confused with the "Lighthouse at the End of the World" (Faro del fin del
mundo) made famous by Jules Verne in the novel of the same name; but the
latter lies some 200 km (320 mi) east of Ushuaia on Isla de los Estados
(Staten Island).

There are a number of ski areas nearby, including Cerro Castor and Glaciar
Martial. The glacier is popular even during the summer months, when the
chairlift operates in both directions. Hiking trails lead from the city's
edge to the base of the glacier, which has receded dramatically over the
past century, as shown in photographs on display. On Cerro Castor, a
mountain located 27 km (17 mi) north of Ushuaia, it is possible to ski just
200 m (660 ft) above sea level. The summit reaches an elevation of 1057
meters (3468 ft) above sea level, and consistently cool temperatures allow
the longest skiing season in South America: winter temperatures fluctuate
between 0° and −5 °C (32 to 23 °F).

Cruise ships visiting the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and Antarctica
dock at the port, as well as Princess Cruises, Holland America, Celebrity
Cruises which transit between Valparaíso, Chile, to Buenos Aires and beyond.
Lindblad Expeditions, Orient Lines, MS Marco Polo, Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Hurtigruten, and other ships provide expeditions to Antarctica out of
Ushuaia, such as Quark Expeditions. The cruise boats periodically provide
scenic cruises to Antarctica, as do expedition yachts such as S/V Seal and
S/V Pelagic. Between September and April, Australis Cruises operates three
night and four night cruises between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas, Chile with
trips ashore every day as they visit Cape Horn, the Pia Glacier, Magellenic
penguin colonies, etc.

Climate

Ushuaia has a subpolar oceanic climate. Temperatures average 1 °C (33 °F) in
the coldest month, and 9 °C (48 °F) in the warmest month. The record low is
−20 °C (−4 °F) (July), and record high 31 °C (87.8 °F) (December). The
record low ever recorded in summer is −6 °C (21 °F) (February). A similar
climate is found in Torshavn, Faroe Islands; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Reykjavik
Iceland; and Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Despite receiving only 560 mm (22 in) of precipitation yearly on average,
Ushuaia is very humid. On average the city experiences 160 days of rain or
snow a year, with many cloudy and foggy days. The southwestern winds make
the outer islands wetter, reaching 1,400 mm (55 in) at Isla de los Estados
(Staten Island). Because temperatures are cool throughout the year, there is
little evaporation. Snow is common in winter and regularly occurs throughout
the year.

Strong winds whip the town. Trees in Ushuaia tend to follow the wind
direction, and are therefore called "flag-trees", for their uni-directional
growth pattern.

Southernmost city

Ushuaia has long been described as the Southernmost City in the World. While
there are settlements farther south, the only one of any notable size is
Puerto Williams, Chile, a settlement of some 2000 residents (mostly families
of the nearby military bases) that also calls itself the world's
southernmost city. (The Chilean government defines a city as an urban entity
with more than 5,000 inhabitants.) A 1998 article in the newspaper Clarín
reported that the designation "Southernmost city in the world" had been
transferred to Puerto Williams by a joint committee from Argentina and Chile
but this was denied by Argentine authorities, and the Secretariat of
Tourism of Argentina continues to use the slogan in official documentation
and web sites.

Ushuaia qualifies as a city, defined as a "center of population, commerce,
and culture; a town of significant size and importance". It has a fully
functional hospital, an international airport, and primary and secondary
schools, as well as institutions of higher learning. Its 64,000 residents
enjoy an organized public transportation system and a functioning
municipality, and its industrial sector, led by the Renacer Grundig
electronics plant, is among the largest in Patagonia. Ushuaia also serves as
the provincial capital of Tierra del Fuego.

History of settlement

The Selk'nam Indians, also called the Ona, first arrived in Tierra del Fuego
about 10,000 years ago. The southern group of the Selk'nam, the Yámana,
occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern
inhabitants of the island. The British ship HMS Beagle under the command of
Captain Robert FitzRoy first reached the channel on January 29 1833 during
its maiden voyage surveying Tierra del Fuego.

The name Ushuaia first appears in letters and reports of the South American
Missionary Society in England. The British missionary Waite Hockin Stirling
became the first European to live in Ushuaia when he stayed with the Yámana
people between the 18th of January and mid-September 1869. In 1870 more
British missionaries arrived to establish a small settlement. The following
year the first marriage was performed. During 1872, 36 baptisms and 7
marriages and the first European birth (Thomas Despard Bridges) in Tierra
del Fuego were registered.

The first house constructed in Ushuaia was a pre-assembled 3 bedroom home
prepared in the Falkland Islands in 1870 for Reverend Thomas Bridges. One
bedroom was for the Bridges family, a second for a Yámana married couple,
and a third served as the chapel. During the 1880s many gold prospectors
came to Ushuaia following rumours of large gold fields, which proved to be
false.

During 1873 Juan and Clara Lawrence, the first Argentine citizens to visit
Ushuaia, arrived to teach school. That same year the Argentine President
Julio Argentino Roca promoted the establishment of a penal colony for
re-offenders, modeled after Tasmania, Australia, in an effort to secure
permanent residents from Argentina and to help establish Argentine
sovereignty over all of Tierra del Fuego. But only after the Boundary treaty
of 1881 between Chile and Argentina did formal efforts get under way to
establish the township and its prison. The prison was formally announced in
an Executive Order by Roca in 1896.

On the 12th of October 1884, as part of the South Atlantic Expedition,
Commodore Augusto Lasserre established the sub-division of Ushuaia, with the
missionaries and naval officers signing the Act of Ceremony. Don Feliz M Paz
was named Governor of Tierra del Fuego and in 1885 named Ushuaia as its
capital. In 1885 the territory police was organized under Antonio A Romero
with headquarters also in Ushuaia. But it was not until 1904 that the
Federal Government of Argentina recognized Ushuaia as the capital of Tierra
del Fuego.

Ushuaia suffered several epidemics, including typhus, whooping cough, and
measles, that decimated the native population. But because the Yámana were
not included in census data the exact numbers lost are not known. The first
census was held in 1893 with 113 men and 36 women living in Ushuaia. The
population grew to 1,558 by the 1914 census. By 1911 the Yámana had all
practically disappeared, so the mission was closed.

In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires but also some political prisoners. A separate military prison opened in 1903 at the nearby Puerto Golondrina. The two prisons merged in 1910, and that combined complex still stands today. It operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices. Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north. After the prison closed, it became a part of the Base Naval Ushuaia (Spanish), functioning as a storage and office facility until the early 1990s. Later it was converted into the current Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia.

Punta Arenas, Chile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Punta Arenas (literally in Spanish: "Sandy Point") is the most prominent
settlement on the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Magallanes y la
Antártica Chilena Region, Chile. Due to its location and size it is
sometimes considered the southernmost city in the world.

Etymology

The 17th century explorer John Byron is sometimes given credit for the
naming. But it was not until much later than any sort of city was settled by
the Chilean government (1843). The name Punta Arenas grew out of the Spanish
term Punta Arenosa, which was a literal translation of the English name
Sandy Point'. The city has also been known as "Magallanes" though today that
term is normally used to describe the administrative region which includes
the city. Punta Arenas has also been called "the city of the red roofs" for
the red-painted metal roofs that characterised the city for many years,
although since about 1970 the availability of other colours in protective
finishes for the characteristic metal roofing has resulted in greater
variety.

Geography

Located on the Brunswick Peninsula, Punta Arenas is the southernmost city of
its size in the world. (Ushuaia, Argentina, also makes this claim and is
further south, but has only half the population of Punta Arenas). Punta
Arenas is the third largest city in the entire Patagonian Region, after the
more northerly Argentine cities of Neuquén and Comodoro Rivadavia. In 2002,
it had a population of 120,000. It is roughly 1418.4 km from the coast of
Antarctica.

The Magallanes region is considered part of Chilean Patagonia. Magallanes is
Spanish for Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who, while circumnavigating
the earth for Spain, passed close to the present site of Punta Arenas in
1520. Early English navigational documents referred to its location as
Sandy Point".

The city proper is located on the northeastern shore of Brunswick Peninsula.
Besides the eastern shore, with the settlements of Guairabo, Rio Amarillo
and Punta San Juan, the peninsula is largely uninhabited. The municipality
(commune) of Punta Arenas includes all of Brunswick Peninsula, as well as
all islands west of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and north of
Cockburn Channel and Magdalena Channel. The largest of those are:

* Santa Inés Island
* Desolación Island
* Dawson Island
* Aracena Island
* Clarence Island
* Carlos Island
* Wickham Island

Except Dawson Island, with a population of about 301 in 2002, the islands
are largely uninhabited. Clarence Island had a population of just five.

History

Two early Spanish settlements attempted along this coast (on the Straits of
Magellan), including the first (1584), called Nombre de Jesús, failed in
large part due to the harsh weather and difficulty in obtaining food and
water, and the enormous distances from other Spanish ports. A second colony,
Rey don Felipe, was attempted at another location some 80 kilometres south
of Punta Arenas. This became known later as Puerto Hambre, sometimes
translated as Port Starvation or Famine Port. These Spanish settlements had
been established with the intent to prevent piracy by English pirates, by
controlling the Straits of Magellan. Ironically it was an English pirate
captain, Thomas Cavendish, who rescued the last surviving member of Puerto
Hambre in 1587.

As said above, in the year 1843 the Chilean government sent an expedition
with the appointed task of establishing a permanent settlement on the shores
of the Strait of Magellan. For this it built and commissioned a small sail
ship called Goleta Ancud, which under the command of the British sailor John
Williams transported a crew of 21 people (captain, eighteen crew, two women)
plus cargo, to accomplish the mandate of the Chilean government. The
founding act of the settlement took place on 21 September 1843.

Although the site was perfectly suited for a military garrison with the
mission of coastal defence, since it is located on top of a small rocky
peninsula, it was ill prepared to become a proper civilian settlement. With
this in mind the Military Governor, José de los Santos Mardones, decided in
1848 to move the settlement to its current location, on the sides of the Las
Minas river, renaming it Punta Arenas.

In the mid-19th century, Chile used Punta Arenas as a penal colony and a
disciplinary posting for military personnel with "problematic" behaviour, as
well as a place for immigrant colonisation. In December 1851, a prisoners'
mutiny led by Lieutenant Cambiaso, resulted in the murder of Governor Muñoz
Gamero and the priest, and the destruction of the church and the hospital.
The mutiny was put down by Commander Stewart of HMS Virago assisted by two
Chilean ships: Indefatigable and Meteoro. In 1877 a mutiny, known as "El
motín de los artilleros" (Mutiny of the Artillerymen) led to the destruction
of a large part of the town and the murder of many civilians not directly
associated with the prison. In time the city was restored and with the
growth of the sheep industry and the discovery of gold, as well as
increasing trade via sailing ships, began to prosper. Between about 1890 and
1940, the Magallanes region became one of the world's most important
sheep-raising regions, with one company (Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del
Fuego) controlling over 10,000 square kilometres in southern Chile and
Argentina. The headquarters of this company and the residences of the owners
were in Punta Arenas. Visitors today can get a glimpse of the economic
stature of the city, or at least of its leading citizens, by touring the
Sarah Braun museum (sometimes called Braun-Menéndez mansion) in the centre
of Punta Arenas. Other popular attractions include the two nearby rookeries
for Magellanic penguins, and the rebuilt site of the failed Fuerte Bulnes
settlement.

The Punta Arenas harbour, although exposed to storms, was considered one of
the most important in Chile before the construction of the Panama Canal,
because it was used as a coaling station by the steamships transiting
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Today it is mostly used by tourism
cruises and scientific expeditions. The city is often a jumping-off point
for Antarctic expeditions, although Ushuaia (Argentina) and Christchurch
(New Zealand) are also common starting points.

Economy

By 2006 the economy of Punta Arenas and the region had diversified
considerably, and the city is vibrant and modern. Chile's principal oil
reserves, though small, are located here, along with some low-grade coal. A
modern methanol plant is located a short distance from the city.
Agricultural production, including sheep and cattle, continues to play a
significant role, while tourism has contributed to its popularity and steady
growth. Fisheries and silviculture are also significant here. A regular
ferry service connects Punta Arenas with the main island of Tierra del Fuego
and a less frequent ferry runs to the Chilean town of Puerto Williams. A
modern airport serves international connections and is often a stopping
point for aircraft going to or coming from Antarctica. Paved highways
connect Punta Arenas with Argentina.

Since the Falklands War, when transport ties were severed between the
Falkland Islands and continental Argentina, Punta Arenas has become a major
outside link to the archipelago.

Demography

Punta Arenas has a population of over 154,000 inhabitants (2008). The city
has its roots among the population origin of the European colonists
(Croatian and Spanish) that populated the area at mid-nineteenth century.
You can also mention some colonies of descendants of people from other
countries (i.e. German, English, Italian, Swiss and others).

Croatian immigration in Punta Arenas was a crucial development in the region
of Magallanes and the city in particular. Currently, you can see this
influence in the names of shops and many buildings. According to some
references to 50% of the population of Punta Arenas would be descendants of
Croats.

The most important are the port, the oil industry and trade and services,
followed by livestock, mostly sheep, fishing and forestry. Depart from Punta
Arenas that address some cruises to Antarctica, and its port reaching the
majority of European and transatlantic cruise tours as well as flights from
the airport to leave the Falkland Islands, Antarctica and the rest of the
country with daily flights to the capital Santiago and other cities such as
Puerto Montt and Concepción.

Climate

The seasonal temperature in Punta Arenas is greatly moderated by its
proximity to the ocean, with specifying average lows in July near −1 °C (30
2 °F) and highs in January of 14 °C (57 °F). This is not to say that it is
known for stable constant temperatures, only small variability with season.
Rainfall is most plentiful between April and May and snow season goes all
through Chilean winter (June till September), although the average
temperature does not descend below the 1°C. Among Chileans the city is also
known for its strong winds (up to 130 km/hour). Winds tend to be strongest
during the summer when city officials put up ropes in the downtown area to
assist with unique wind currents created by the buildings.

Since 1986, Punta Arenas has been the first significantly populated city in
the world to be directly affected by the hole in the ozone layer, exposing
its residents to potentially damaging levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Access

Punta Arenas can be accessed by sea, by land or air.

Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport (IATA: PUQ, ICAO:
SCCI), located 20 km north of the city, is the main gateway to the region
and serves Punta Arenas. Transport, rental car, duty free shops and custom
office services are available in the building. Airlines serving the airport
include LAN Chile, Sky Airlines and Aerolineas del Sur as well as charter
flights.

By road, passing through Argentine territory is mandatory as there are no
direct routes within Chilean territory.

By sea, several cruises and ferries can take you to the city, although the costs are much higher because they include stops at tourist sites along the route.

Sarmiento Channel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sarmiento Channel is a principal Patagonia channel, which extends in a
north-south direction. It is the southward continuation of the Angostura
Guía and is located in Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. The kawésqar
people sailed its waters from around 6,000 years ago until end of 20th
century, as they inhabited its coasts.

The channel is named after Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, who was a Spanish
explorer who navigated the region's waterways between 1579 and 1580.

This elongated water passage begins immediately south Angostura Guía at
50°47′00″S 74°25′00″W and terminates at the southern tip of Victoria Pass at
52°02′50″S 73°46′00″W where it joins to Smyth Channel. During the first 65
nautical miles, it runs in a general south-southeasterly direction, and is
flanked by Chile mainland on the east and the islands Esperanza, Vancouver
and Piazzi on the west. Then it turns abruptly eastward for about 4 nmi,
where the channel's name changes to Farquhar Pass. It then resumes its
general SSE course, merging with Collingwood Strait for approximately 8 nmi
and finishing at Victoria Pass, a 5 nmi long channel that joints it with
Smyth Channel.

The islands that border the channel are mountainous with summits that reach
457 m. There is a chain of mountains in the middle of Esperanza Island with
elevations between 300 and 1,067 m. To the east of Collingwood Strait, rises
the Cordillera Sarmiento, which is a heavily ice and snow covered mountain
range with majestic glaciers descending to the sea. There are several bays
on its coast, which can be used for anchorage of large ships.

Amalia Glacier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amalia Glacier, also known as Skua Glacier, is a tidewater glacier located
in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. It originates in the Southern
Patagonian Ice Field and from 1945 to 1986 its terminus retreated 7 km,
being, along with the receded of O'Higgins Glacier, the most drastic retreat
of the glaciers of the mentioned icefield during that period.

The glacier partially surrounds Reclus volcano and erodes the northern flank
of it.

Puerto Montt, Chile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Puerto Montt is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the
northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos
Region. It has a population of 153,118 (city only, 2002 census) and a city
area of 39.58 km².

History

Originally, the site was covered by a thick forest and was called Melipulli
(Means Four hills in Mapudungun). It was selected as an entrance to Lake
Llanquihue when its proximity to the open sea was discovered. In the summer
of 1851, an expedition arrived from Chiloé to begin the clearing of the area
and the building of houses for the new inhabitants. The city itself was
founded on February 12, 1853, after government-sponsored immigration from
Germany that began in 1848 populated the region and integrated it
politically to the rest of the country. It was named after Manuel Montt,
President of Chile between 1851 and 1861, who set in motion the German
immigration.

On March 4, 1969, approximately 90 landless squatters decided to settle on
otherwise unoccupied farmland — without any title, right, or payment of rent
— belonging to an absentee landlord. The squatters received advice from
Socialist member of parliament Luis Espinoza due to the local authority
never granting them any land they wanted to build houses. Five days later,
local Police Chief Rolando Rodríguez Marbán reassured the squatters that
they would not be disturbed and could proceed with their home construction.
However, new orders received from the ministry of the interior the following
day led to a change of plans: At midnight on March 9, Espinoza was charged
with breaking the law, arrested, and moved to the city of Valdivia. At dawn,
250 policemen launched an assault on the squatters, following direct orders
from Interior Minister Edmundo Pérez Zujovic. The final result was that all
newly-built homes were burned to the ground and 11 squatters were shot dead.

The massacre of Puerto Montt and the public outcry that followed were major
factors contributing to the fall of Eduardo Frei's government, which was
succeeded by Salvador Allende's Unidad Popular in the next year's elections.
The events were described by singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in his song
Preguntas por Puerto Montt.

Economy

The city's economy is now based upon agriculture, forestry, fishing and
salmon aquaculture in the surrounding islands and fjords. It is the
fastest-growing city in southern Chile, mainly because of the explosive
growth of salmon culture. Puerto Montt is also the gateway to Chiloé Island
and the many other smaller islands in Chile's inland sea.

Puerto Montt has an airport, El Tepual, where three airlines have regular
flights from Santiago, Punta Arenas, Balmaceda, Concepción, Temuco and
Bariloche (Argentina). The airlines operating at the airport are LAN
Airlines (the country's largest), Sky Airlines and Air Comet Chile. The
flight to Santiago takes two hours.

NLP Untuk Berat Badan Ideal

Posted in www.indonesianlpsociety.org
Discuss it in idnlpsociety-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ted, nggak salah tuh?
Apanya yang salah dan enggak?
Ya itu, mau sharing tentang NLP dan slimming.
Emang apa yang salah?
Kok tiba-tiba menclok ke dunia per-slimming-an?
Nggak menclok kok.
Terus?
Hanya berbagi pengalaman. Tahun 2008 kan tahun berat badan tertinggi tuh, 72

kg. Nah, di pertengahan 2009 turun hingga 68. Terus turun hingga mencapai
titik stabil di 61. Bahkan pernah 59. Semuanya tanpa diet.
Hah! Yang bener tuh? Tanpa diet?
Bener. Makan enak, aktivitas biasa. Tubuh seperti mengatur sendiri kapan
harus berhenti, kapan harus menambah.
Waaaah, mau donk dibagi pengalamannya!
Nah, ini baru mau ditulis.

Demikianlah obrolan singkat saya dengan seorang kawan yang mendengar bahwa
saya akan berbagi pengalaman di NLP Talks dengan judul "Slim WithOut Pain".
Karena selama ini saya banyak dikenal sebagai praktisi NLP untuk urusan
bisnis dan pendidikan, maka kawan saya ini jadi penasaran ketika mengetahui
saya seolah berpindah haluan ke soal-soal kesehatan.

Well, bagi saya, saya tidak sedang berpindah haluan. Sebab haluan saya ya
memang satu: aplikasi NLP di semua bidang. Dan karena obyek NLP adalah
manusia, maka saya berani mengatakan bahwa dimana ada manusia, di situ lah
NLP bisa berperan aktif.

Lalu, apa sebenarnya yang akan saya bagikan?

Sederhana kok. Saya sendiri heran dan masih terus memodel apa yang terjadi
dalam diri saya. Kok bisa-bisanya berat badan saya turun ke titik yang saya
inginkan, tanpa ada program khusus. Karena saya menganggap hal ini sebagai
salah satu hal yang ekselen, maka alarm NLP saya pun menyala keras, "Woooi,
model woooi! Jangan dianggurin aje tuh!" Begitu lah kira-kira alarm tersebut

memperingatkan saya.

Tentu saja masih banyak orang lain yang mengalami perubahan jauh lebih
dramatis daripada saya. Maka dari itu saya juga masih terus mencari dan
mengembangkan model ini, sembari melakukannya pada diri sendiri.

Saya pun mengingat-ingat kembali perjalanan saya sejak akhir tahun 2008,
ketike berat badan saya mencapai titik tertinggi sepanjang saya hidup hingga

saat ini: 72 kg. Wah, sungguh repot. Tubuh terasa berat, celana dan baju
kesempitan semua, turun tangga latihan gempa ngos-ngosan, pokoknya nggak
nyaman sama sekali lah.

Entah apa yang terjadi ketika itu, berat badan saya pun turun hingga
mencapai 68 kg. Titik yang membuat saya PD, bahwa saya pasti bisa mencapai
berat badan ideal, sesuai dengan tinggi badan saya. Sungguh aneh, sebab
merasa tidak mengelola kegiatan makan saya secara sadar. Saya tetap makan
makanan-makanan favorit saya, saya tetap beraktivitas seperti biasa,
benar-benar tidak ada program khusus.

Namun, memang ada sesuatu yang berubah dalam pola makan saya.

Ya, tubuh saya seperti mengatur dirinya sendiri. Saat sedang kelaparan di
pagi hari, misalnya, saya makan cukup banyak. Nah, biasanya, meskipun sudah
makan cukup banyak, jam 10 perut saya sudah mulai keroncongan lagi tuh. Maka

turun lah saya ke koperasi kantor untuk mencari beberapa potong cemilan.

La sekarang ini beda sekali. Jika saya sudah sarapan cukup banyak, maka
otomatis perut saya aman sampai siang. Memang sesekali terasa keroncongan,
tapi sekarang saya seperti memiliki sebuah tombol pause, dengan bertanya
pada diri sendiri, "Kamu ini benar-benar lapar, atau mau nurutin nafsu makan

doank?" Nah, kalau sudah begini, biasanya saya pun tersadar dan mengurungkan

niat untuk makan cemilan lalu melanjutkan pekerjaan. Begitu pun yang terjadi

saat satu ketika saya makan berlebihan akibat ada rekan-rekan kerja yang
ulang tahun atau membawa cemilan sisa meeting di sore hari. Maka otomatis di

malam hari nafsu makan saya bisa hilang sama sekali, atau setidaknya menurun

drastis lah.

Sementara itu, saya juga menandai hal lain, yakni dalam soal pengaturan
makanan. Jika saya merasa sudah makan atau minum terlalu banyak gula, maka
secara otomatis saya jadi kepingin banyak minum air putih. Begitu pula saat
saya terlalu banyak makan makanan berlemak, saya pun kemudian jadi
kepingiiiiin banget makan sayur dan buah-buahan. Semuanya berlangsung secara

otomatis tanpa saya sadari saat ia terjadi. Seolah ada program baru
terinstal dalam diri saya untuk melakukan itu semua.

Ada apa ini?

Selidik punya selidik, saya pun menemukan beberapa kata kunci.

Pertama, saya sejak dulu percaya bahwa berat badan ideal itu kuncinya hanya
1: menyeimbangkan input dan output. Input adalah makanan, output adalah
aktivitas. Kalau yang kita makan sesuai dengan apa yang kita keluarkan,
berat badan kita ideal. Sementara kalau salah satu saja tidak seimbang, kita

pun kegemukan atau kekurusan. Nah, konsep keseimbangan ini saya rasakan
telah menjadi sebuah belief baru bagi saya dalam hal makanan. Maka tidak
heran jika perilaku-perilaku seperti saya ceritakan tadi muncul begitu saja,

sebab belief baru jelas memiliki repertoar perilakunya sendiri.

Kedua, kata 'makan' saya resapi memunculkan makna yang berbeda pada saya
saat ini. Saya ingat ketika saya masih gembul dulu, saya rupanya masih
menggunakan mindset makan mahasiswa, yang lebih mengutamakan kuantitas
daripada kualitas. Makan adalah untuk menghilangkan lapar, dan bikin kenyang

Jadilah saya gembul, sebab aktivitas fisik saya setelah bekerja jelas jauh
menurun dibandingkan ketika kuliah. Kembali ke hukum keseimbangan, maka
output saya kalah jauh dibandingkan input saya. Apalagi, kualitas makanan
(baca: makanan berlemak) yang saya makan pun meningkat. Klop sudah, gembul
mania.

Nah, sekarang ini, kata 'makan' rupanya memiliki makna yang multipel. Ia
bermakna sumber energi, sehingga kalau bisa menggunakanya itu ya sehemat
mungkin, namun dengan manfaat yang maksimal. Persis seperti para produsen
kendaraan bermotor yang selalu terobsesi untuk menciptakan kendaraan
berbahan bakar irit dengan tenaga yang besar. Maka makna ini menjadikan saya

fokus untuk mencari makanan yang dapat memberi energi maksimal, tanpa perlu
terlalu mengenyangkan perut. Sebab perut yang kenyang akan menambah beban
tubuh, sehingga toh makanan yang saya masukkan sebenarnya justru lebih
banyak digunakan untuk mengendalikan tubuh yang kelebihan beban ini.

Kata 'makan' juga bermakna ibadah, seperti halnya berbagai aktivitas lain.
Seiring dengan pengembangan Spiritual NLP yang saya lakukan sejak awal 2009,

saya menemukan bahwa kegiatan makan tidak akan berlebihan jika dilakukan
sesuai dengan ajaran agama.

Kok?

Begini ceritanya. Yang sederhana saja deh. Doa makan saja. Berapa banyak
orang yang membaca doa makan asal lewat? Padahal, doa makan adalah sebuah
cara yang ampuh untuk menyiapkan tubuh menerima dan mengolah makanan. Saya
merasakan bahwa membaca doa makan dengan penuh penghayatan rupanya
memunculkan sensasi khidmat nan nikmat saat makan. Sensasi inilah yang
kemudian menjadikan kegiatan makan tidak akan saya campur dengan kegiatan
lain yang akan mengurangi kenikmatannya. Nah, klop banget nih dengan apa
yang pernah saya dengar dari hasil penelitian (sayangnya, saya lupa
sumbernya) bahwa kebanyakan orang obesitas karena sering melakukan kegiatan
makan bersamaan dengan kegiatan lain seperti bekerja, menonton televisi, dll

Akibatnya, tubuh tidak benar-benar siap menerima makanan, plus tidak
benar-benar maksimal dalam mengolah makanan yang masuk.

Sementara itu, dalam doa makan yang biasa saya ucapkan, terkandung makna
bahwa kita meminta agar dihadirkan keberkahan dalam makanan yang kita makan.

Wah, ini jelas doa yang serius nih. Diucapkan pada Tuhan pula. Maka kegiatan

makan saya pun tidak menjadi kegiatan yang sepele lagi, sehingga berbagai
adab makan seperti duduk dan mengunyah hingga lumat pun berjalan secara
otomatis. Nah, saya lalu merasakan lagi, bahwa adab-adab ini rupanya juga
menyiapkan tubuh untuk menerima makanan dan mengolahnya dengan lebih mudah.

Semenjak penemuan inilah, saya tidak pernah lagi main-main dengan doa yang
saya ucapkan.

Ketiga, omong-omong soal menyeimbangkan menu, rupa-rupanya terjadi proses
perubahan submodalitas dalam diri saya terkait dengan jenis makanan yang
selama ini kurang favorit bagi saya. Ya, saya bukanlah penggemar sayuran.
Dulu, saya hanya makan sayuran jika sudah mulai sembelit. Entah bagaimana
mulanya, yang pasti saya mulai dapat merasakan kenikmatan makan sayur. Tidak

saja lidah saya berkompromi, tapi saya benar-benar merasakan asyiknya.
Apalagi yang namanya gado-gado. Wuih, kini bagi saya persis seperti makan
pizza!

Begitu pula dengan minum air putih. Saya yang penggemar minuman manis nan
berwarna, kini mampu meminum air putih dalam jumlah banyak dengan penuh
kenikmatan. Ya, seperti ada proses amplify di kerongkongan saya saat
merasakan kesegaran air putih, yang mengaliiiir terus hingga lambung.
Wuih…segar deh pokoknya!

Oh, jadi begitu caramu jadi kurus?

Begitulah.

Mudah ya?

Siapa yang bilang sulit?

Iya juga sih. Terus, kalau buat menggemukkan badan, bisa juga?

Ya. Langkah-langkah di atas kan memang bukan soal menurunkan berat badan,
melainkan mencapai berat badan yang ideal, tepat sesuai kebutuhan kita. Maka

orang yang terlalu kurus tentu akan meningkat berat badannya hingga mencapai

titik ideal itu.

Wah, asyik nih. Coba ah…

Demikianlah. Saya masih terus melakukan proses modeling, termasuk pada
beberapa rekan yang doyan makan namun tetap langsing. Namun setidaknya 3 hal

di atas sudah begitu nyata saya rasakan efeknya dalam diri saya. Di antara
ketiganya, 2 yang pertama merupakan kata kunci yang penting. Hidup adalah
soal menjaga keseimbangan. Keseimbangan dijaga, hidup pun tenang dan damai.
Sementara ketika setiap hal sudah bermakna ibadah, maka tidak akan ada
istilah merasa kurang sehingga perlu menambah yang tidak kita butuhkan.

Jadi, selamat memulai hidup baru!

Salam Street Smart NLP!

Teddi Prasetya Yuliawan
Indonesia NLP Society <http://indonesianlpsociety.org>

Isla Róbinson Crusoe ,Chile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robinson Crusoe Island, formerly known as Más a Tierra (Closer to land) or
Aguas Buenas, is the largest island of the Chilean Juan Fernández
archipelago, situated 674 kilometres west of South America in the South
Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is made up of three islands, Robinson Crusoe,

Alejandro Selkirk and the small Santa Clara.

Geography

The island has a mountainous and undulating terrain, formed by ancient lava
flows which have built up from numerous volcanic episodes. The highest point

on the island is 916 metres above sea level at El Yunque. Intense erosion
has resulted in the formation of steep valleys and ridges. A narrow
peninsula is formed in the southwestern part of the island called Cordon
Escarpado. The island of Santa Clara is 1.5 km from the coast off the
southern part of the island. The western end of the island is lower and
drier than the other parts. The climate is distinctly Mediterranean, with
clearly defined warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Flora and fauna

As World Biosphere Reserves since 1977, these islands have been considered
of maximum scientific importance because of the endemic species of flora and

fauna (101 of the 146 native species of plants are endemic.) The Magellanic
Penguin is found at Robinson Crusoe Island. The Juan Fernández Firecrown is
an endemic and critically endangered red hummingbird and is most famous for
its needle-fine black beak and silken feather coverage.

History

The island was first named Juan Fernandez Island after the Spanish captain
who first landed there in 1574.

It was here that the sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in 1704 and lived

in solitude for four years and four months. Selkirk had been gravely
concerned for the seaworthiness of his ship, the Cinque Ports, and declared
his wish to be left on the island during a mid-voyage restocking stop. His
captain, Thomas Stradling, a colleague on the voyage of privateer and
explorer William Dampier, was tired of his dissent and obliged by leaving
Selkirk. All he had brought with him was a musket, gunpowder, carpenter's
tools, a knife, a Bible and some clothing. The sailor inspired Daniel Defoe
to write the classic novel, Robinson Crusoe. To reflect the literary lore
associated with the island, the Chilean government named the location
Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966. In 1840, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. described
the port of Juan-Fernandez in his classic Two Years Before the Mast as a
young prison colony.

At Más a Tierra, Admiral Maximilian von Spee's cruiser squadron stopped and
re-coaled between 26-28 October 1914, during World War I. It was here, too,
that the Admiral was unexpectedly rejoined by the armed merchant cruiser
Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which he had earlier detached to attack Allied
shipping in Australian waters. Here was also the location of the Battle of
Más a Tierra.

Culture

Robinson Crusoe has a population of 500–600 living in the village of San
Juan Bautista. Although the community maintains a rustic serenity dependent
on the spiny lobster trade, residents employ a few vehicles, a satellite
internet connection, and many television sets. There is an airstrip on the
island, near the tip of the island's southwestern peninsula. The flying time

from Santiago de Chile is just under three hours, and there is a ferry from
the airstrip to San Juan Bautista.

Tourists number in the hundreds per year. One activity gaining popularity is scuba diving, particularly on the wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Dresden, which was scuttled in Cumberland Bay during the Battle of Más a Tierra during the First World War.

Santiago, Chile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Santiago is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the centre of its
largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). It is located in the country's
central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,700 ft) AMSL. Although Santiago
is the capital, legislative bodies meet in nearby Valparaíso.

Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into one of Latin
America's most modern metropolitan areas, with extensive suburban
development, dozens of shopping malls, and impressive high-rise architecture

It is an Alpha World City and has some of Latin America's most modern
transportation infrastructure, such as the growing Santiago Metro
(underground train system) and the new Costanera Norte, a toll-based highway

system that passes below downtown and connects the Eastern and Western
extremes of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is the regional
headquarters to many multinationals, and a regional financial centre.

Usage note

Throughout this article the term Santiago will normally refer to the
metropolis (Greater Santiago) area; however, there are several other
entities which bear the name of Santiago and need to be explained: The
commune (comuna) of Santiago (sometimes referred to as Santiago Centro), is
a subdivision of the Santiago Province, which is itself a subdivision of the

Santiago Metropolitan Region. Greater Santiago includes the majority of the
Santiago Province, and some areas of neighboring provinces (see Political
divisions). The Great Santiago inhabitants are called Santiaguinos/as. The
commune of Santiago is administered by the Santiago municipality
(Municipalidad de Santiago), a separate legal entity with an elected mayor
and council. It encompasses the oldest part of Greater Santiago, enclosed by

old rail lines, including downtown, historical neighborhoods and all major
government infrastructure, including the government palace La Moneda. It has

an area of 22.4 km2 (8.6 sq mi) and a population of 200,792 (2002 census).

History

Founding of the city

Santiago was founded by Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia on February
12, 1541 with the name Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, as a homage to Saint
James and Extremadura, Valdivia's birth place in Spain. The founding
ceremony was held on Huelén Hill (later renamed Cerro Santa Lucía). Valdivia

chose the location of Santiago because of its climate, abundant vegetation
and the ease with which it could be defended—the Mapocho River then split
into two branches and rejoined further downstream, forming an island. The
Inca ruler Manco Cápac II warned the new rulers that his people Indigenous
people would be hostile to the occupiers. The Spanish invaders had to battle

against hunger caused by this resistance. Pedro de Valdivia ultimately
succeeded in stabilizing the food supply and other resources needed for
Santiago to thrive.

The floor of the new town consisted of straight roads of 12 Varas (14.35 m)
width, in equal intervals of 138 Varas (165.08 m) or perpendicular to each
other were. With nine roads in the east-west direction and 15 in the
north-south direction, there were 126 Blocks that formed the so-called
Manzanas" or square cut.

Attempted destruction

The resistance of the indigenous population continued and resulted in a
series of further conflicts. On the September 11 of 1541 began an organised
uprising of Picunche and Michimalongo-led attack on Santiago, which lead to
a war of three years. At the time the Conquistadores were in a very
precarious situation. Suffering from persistent food shortages and were in
almost complete isolation from the rest of the world.

Pedro de Valdivia sent in January of 1542 an emissary, Alonso de Monroy,
with five tabs to Peru to request help. After 20 harsh months for the
Conquistadors, De Monroy, was back from Peru with a reinforcement goods.
This stopped the isolated and demoralized situation of the soldiers in
Santiago. The uprising ultimately failed and the indigenous population moved

down South and the city remained relatively safe.

Colonial Santiago

While Santiago was on the verge of extinction by the Indian attack, an
earthquake and a series of floods, the city began to settle rapidly. Of the
126 blocks designed by Gamboa, in 1558 and had been occupied forties, and in

1580, the full quote while the land near hosted tens of thousands of head
of livestock. In the architectural field, they begin to build the first
important buildings in the city, highlighting the start of construction in
stone of the first Cathedral in 1561 and the Church of San Francisco in 1572

both being built mainly in Adobe and stone.

In 1767, the corregidor Luis Manuel de Zañartu, began one of the major
architectural works throughout the colonial period: the Bridge Calicanto,
which helped unite the city.

In 1780, Governor Agustín de Jáuregui hired the Italian architect Toesca
Joaquin, who designed, among other important works, the facade of the
Cathedral, La Moneda. The government of Bernardo O'Higgins also opened the
road to Valparaíso in 1791.

Independence

On 12 February 1817 the Battle of Chacabuco was held in Colina, which is
located just north of Santiago. There Argentine and Chilean independence
armies, led by José de San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins fought the Spanish
royalists. Chile subsequently proclaimed on the same day its independence.

During the authoritarian era of the so-called Republic (from 1830 to 1891)
the school system was introduced and the cultural life started to flourish.
In 1843 the Universidad de Chile was founded. In 1888 another university
Universidad Pontificia Católica was also founded. By 1885 there were 189,322

people living in Santiago.

19th Century

During the years of the Republican era, institutions were created primarily
for educational reasons and they became milestones of the planning period,
as the University of Chile (Universidad de Chile), the Normal School of
preceptors, the School of Arts and Crafts and the Quinta Normal, which
included the Museum of Fine Arts (now Museum of Science and Technology) and
the National Museum of Natural History. In 1851, the first telegraph system
connecting the capital with the Port of Valparaiso was inaugurated.

A new momentum in the urban development of the capital took place during the

so-called "Liberal Republic" and the administration of the city's mayor,
Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna. Among the main works during this period are the
remodeling of the Cerro Santa Lucia which despite its central location was
in very poor shape.

In an effort to transform Santiago, Vicuña Mackenna began construction of
the "Camino de Cintura" that surrounded the whole city, which until then had

an extension similar to the current commune of Santiago. A new redevelopment

of Alameda Ave. finally enshrined the central artery of the city.

With the work of European landscapes in 1873, O'Higgins Park opened. The
park, with a public access, became an point of interest in Santiago due to
the large gardens, lakes and carriages. Similarly, other important buildings

were opened during this era, such as the Teatro Municipal which had many
operas, and the Riding Club. At the same time, James received the
International Exposition, held in 1875 in the grounds of the Quinta Normal.

In terms of transportation, the city became the main hub of the railways at
the national level. The first railroad reached the city on September 14,
1857 in an emerging Central Station of Santiago, which would be opened
permanently in 1884. During those years, the city was connected by rail to
Valparaiso and rail crossing much of the country from north to south. With
regards to urban transport, the streets of Santiago were paved and there
were 1,107 cars in 1875. While 45,000 people used tram services as in daily
basis.

Crisis, boom and immigration

The 1930s saw the beginning of a transformation of the city into a modern,
industrialized one. Surrounding the Presidential Palace (La Moneda) was the
administrative district Barrio Cívico with many ministries and other public
facilities. The population increased due to immigration from northern and
southern Chile and by the 1940s it had exceeded the milestone of a million
inhabitants. Immigration continue and by the year of 1960 Santiago's
population had doubled to two million inhabitant. This fast increase in
population led, especially in the poor neighborhoods of the city, to even
worse social conditions than experienced before. Numerous children were
considered malnourished, many families were left homeless and unemployment
was soaring high.

After the victory of Salvador Allende in 1970 the wages of workers and
employees increased 35 to 60 percent. Prices for the rent and important
Grundbedarfsmittel were frozen. Education and health care were made free of
charge. Every child received shoes and a daily liter of free milk
(Gratismilch). The birth rate in the capital region fell by 20 percent. The
focus of the policy was in the expropriation of foreign enterprises and
banks.

Santiago in the 20th Century

In the following decades, Santiago flourished and continued to grow with
high rise. In 1940, the city accumulated 952,075 inhabitants, in 1952 this
figure reached 1,350,409 inhabitants, the census of 1960 totaled 1,907,378
Santiago. This growth was reflected in the urbanization of rural areas on
the periphery, where they settled middle-class families with low and stable
housing: in 1930, the urban area had an area of 6,500 hectares, which in
1960 came to 20,900 and 1980 came to 38,296. Although most of the
communities continued to grow, it is mainly concentrated in outlying
communities such as Canyon to the west, north and Conchalí the tank and the
Farm to the south. In the case of the upper class, it began to approach the
sector of the pre-Las Condes and La Reina. The centre, by contrast, has lost

population, leaving more space for the development of trade, banking and
government activities.

The growth took place without any regulation and started only to be
implemented during the 1960s with the creation of various development plans
of the Greater Santiago, which reflect the new reality of a city much larger

. In 1958 the Plan was launched in Santiago and inter proposing the
organization of urban territory, setting a limit of 38,600 hectares and
semi-urban, for a maximum population of 3,260,000 inhabitants, the
construction of new roads (such as Avenida Américo Vespucio Circunvalación
and the Pan American highway), the widening of the existing and the
establishment of "industrial cordons. The celebration of the World Cup in
1962 gave new impetus to the improvement works of the city. In 1966 he
established the Metropolitan Park of Santiago in the Cerro San Cristóbal and

MINVU began eradicating callampas populations and construction of new homes
and remodeling San Borja, which was built near the Diego Portales Building.

In 1967 was inaugurated the new International Airport Pudahuel, and after
years of discussion, in 1969 it would begin construction of the Metro de
Santiago, the first phase would run under the western section of the Alameda

and would be inaugurated in 1975. Metro became one of the most prestigious
of the city and in subsequent years to expand, reaching two perpendicular
lines at the end of 1978. Telecommunications have an important development,
as reflected by the construction of the Torre Entel, which since its
construction in 1975 would be one of the symbols of the capital to be the
tallest structure in the country for two decades.

After the coup of 1973 and the establishment of the military regime, urban
planning had no major changes until the start of 1980, when the government
adopted a neoliberal economic model and the role of organizer of the state
going to market. In 1979 the master plan is amended, extending the urban
radio to more than 62,000 hectares for housing development, causing a
further expansion of the city, arriving at 40,619 has extended the early
1990s, especially in the area Florida in the 1992 census became the country
s most populous municipality with 328,881 inhabitants. Meanwhile, a strong
earthquake struck the city on March 3, 1985, which caused few casualties but

left many homeless and destroyed many old buildings.

Economic crisis and recovery

Starting in 1981, Santiago (and Chile as a whole), went into a deep economic

and financial crisis. The Chilean solution to the crisis was heterodox in
the sense that many policies appeared to have been arbitrary, and policy
mistakes were made and corrected along the way. However, the economy
recovered relatively quickly, and since has built a strong financial sector
that allowed the country to avoid the financial turmoil observed during 1995

and 1997-98 in other emerging market economies.

Geography

The city lies in the centre of the Santiago Basin, a large bowl-shaped
valley consisting of a broad and fertile plain surrounded by mountains. It
is flanked by the main chain of the Andes on the east and the Chilean
Coastal Range on the west. On the north, it is bound by the Cordón de
Chacabuco, a transverse mountain range of the Andes, whereas at the southern

border lies Angostura de Paine, where an elongated spur of the Andes almost
reaches the Coastal Range. Santiago Basin is part of the Intermediate
Depression and is remarkably flat, interrupted only by a few hills. Among
those are Cerro Renca, Cerro Blanco and Cerro Santa Lucía.

The Andes mountains around Santiago are quite tall, culminating in Tupungato

volcano at 6,570 m (21,555 ft). Other volcanoes include Tupungatito, San
José and Maipo. Cerro El Plomo is the highest mountain visible from Santiago

s urban area.

Santiago is situated mainly on a plain known as the Santiago basin. This
basin is part of the Intermediate Depression and is clearly delimited by the

string of Chacabuco in the north, the Andes Mountains in the east, the
narrowness of Paine in the south and the Cordillera de la Costa.
Approximately has a length of 80 km in a north-south direction and 35 km
from east to west.

For hundreds of millions of years, the current territory of the city was
covered by the ocean and marine sediment, the only land mass near the
existing Coastal Cordillera. The morphology of the region begin to take its
present form since the late Paleozoic, when it begins the subduction of the
Nazca Plate under the South American plate, then belonging to the continent
of Gondwana. This subduction generated foldings of the crust from the
Triassic, lifting the rocks that give rise to the Andes. Subsequently, new
activities generate tectonic subsidence of the great rock mass forming the
depression lifted.

At present, Santiago lies mainly in the plain of the basin, with an altitude

between 400 in the western areas and reaching the 540 on the Plaza Baquedano

presented some hills in the area of Cerrillos. The metropolitan area has
surrounded some of these islands, mountains, as in the case of Cerro Santa
Lucia, Cerro Blanco, the Renca Calán and that 800 meters is the highest
point of the city. Southwest of the city there is a string of rocky hills
several islands within the highlighting Cerro Chena. To the west are also
presented some of the main stage of the Cordillera de la Costa, the Oak Hill

High with 2185 meters of altitude, and the Maipo River area alone in the
mountain range loses height.
Smog, seen in Santiago's skies, is a major environmental problem.

During recent decades, urban growth has expanded the boundaries of the city
to the east closer to the Andean Precordillera. Even in areas such as La
Dehesa, Lo Curro and El Arrayan has been reached to overcome the barrier of
1000 meters of altitude. Some low-lying foothills of the Andes emerge and
goes into the basin, as is the If the mountain range of The Pyramid and the
hill Cerro San Cristobal, in the northeastern sector of Santiago.

To the east, stands the massive call Ramon Sierra, a mountain chain formed
in the foothills of the Precordillera due to the action of the fault Ramon,
reaching 3296 meters at the Cerro de Ramon. 20 km further east is the
Cordillera of the Andes with its mountain ranges and volcanoes, many of
which exceed 6,000 m and in which some glaciers are maintained. The higher
the Tupungato volcano with 6570 meters, located near the volcano Tupungatito

of 5913 meters of altitude. To the northeast lie Lead Hill (5,424 meters)
and Nevado El Plomo 6070 meters in altitude. To the southeast of the capital

meanwhile, are located on the Nevado Piuquenes (6,019 meters) volcano San
Jose (5,856 m) and the volcano Maipo (5,323 m). From these peaks, the
Tupungatito as San José and Maipo are active volcanoes.

Climate

Santiago has a mild Mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers
(November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius (95
degrees Fahrenheit) on the hottest days; winters (June to August) are more
humid with cold mornings, typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees
Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), and minimums of a few degrees above
freezing. Occasional snowfall occurs in the city, and may extend throughout
the city, though this happens infrequently (about every 8–10 years). Mean
rainfall is 360 mm per year and is heavily concentrated in the cooler months

The climate of Santiago is a warm-temperate climate with winter rainfall and

prolonged dry season, better known as continental Mediterranean climate.

Within the main climatic characteristics of Santiago is the concentration of

about 80% of rainfall during the austral winter months (May to September),
varying between 50 and 80 mm of rain fall during these months. That amount
contrasts with figures for the months corresponding to a very dry season,
caused by an anticyclonic dominance continued for about seven or eight
months, mainly during the summer months between December and March. This
season, the water drop does not exceed 4 mm on average. These rains are
usually composed only of rain, as the snowfall and hail is produced mainly
in the sectors of the Precordillera about 1500 meters, in some cases,
nevazones affect the city but only on its eastern sectors, where in very
rare opportunity extended to the rest of the city.

The temperatures vary throughout the year from an average of 20°C in January

to 8°C in June and July. In the summer, January is hot, easily reaching over

30°C and a record high close to 37 °C, while nights are generally pleasant
and slightly cooler without lowering of 15°C. For his part, during autumn
and winter the temperature drops and is slightly lower than the 10°C, the
temperature may even drop slightly from 0°C, especially during the morning,
and its historic low of -6 , 8°C in 1976.

Santiago's location within a watershed is one of the most important factors
in the climate of the city. The coastal mountain range serves as a "screen
climate" to oppose the spread of marine influence, contributing to the
increase in annual and daily thermal oscillation (the difference between the

maximum and minimum daily temperatures can reach 14°C) and maintaining low
relative humidity close to an annual average of 70%. It also prevents the
entry of air masses with the exception of some coastal low clouds that
penetrate to the basin through the river valleys.

Prevailing winds are from the southwest direction, with an average of 15 km
/ h, especially during the summer as in winter calm prevail.

Environmental issues

Thermal inversion (a meteorological phenomenon whereby a stable layer of
warm air holds down colder air close to the ground) causes high levels of
smog and air pollution to be trapped and concentrate within the Central
Valley during winter months. In the 1990s air pollution fell by about
one-third, but there has been little progress since 2000.

As of March 2007, only 61% of the wastewater in Santiago was treated, which
increased up to 71% by the end of the same year. However, the Mapocho river,

which crosses the city from the north-east to the south-west of the Central
Valley, remains contaminated by household, agricultural and industrial
sewage, and by upstream copper-mining waste (there are a number of copper
mines in the Andes east of Santiago), which is dumped unfiltered into the
river. Laws force industry and local governments to process all their
wastewater, but are loosely enforced. There are now a number of large
wastewater processing and recycling plants under construction. There are
ongoing plans to decontaminate the river and make it navigable.

Noise levels on the main streets are high, mostly because of noisy diesel
buses. Diesel trucks and buses are also major contributors to winter smog. A

lengthy replacement process of the bus system began in 2005 and will last
until 2010. However, a major source of Santiago air pollution year-round is
the smelter of El Teniente copper mine. Nevertheless, the government does
not usually report it as being a local pollution source as it is just
outside the reporting area of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, being 110 km

(70 miles) from downtown.

Transport

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is Santiago's national
and international airport. 15 minutes from downtown through the urban
highways (Costanera Norte-Vespucio Norte).

Culture

Despite the long history, there are only a few historical buildings from the

Spanish colonial period in the city, because Santiago - as the rest of the
country - was regularly hit by earthquakes. The buildings from this period
include the Casa Colorada (1769), the Church San Francisco (1586) and Posada

del Corregidor (1750). Another reason that it lacks old buildings from this
time is the new richness of Chile. At the time of the Spanish colony, the
city had economically only a low impact, the upswing was only after
independence. This explains the low age of many buildings built mainly in
neoclassic style. The Cathedral on the central square (Plaza de Armas), 1745

according to plans by Joaquim Toesca built, ranks as the sights as Palacio
de La Moneda, the Classicist Presidential Palace until 1981 showed even the
Einschüsse, General Pinochet troops by the coup against the democratically
elected President Salvador Allende 1973 had left. The original building was
between 1784 and 1805 of the architect Joaquín Toesca. Since 1846, the
Presidential Palace is home to the Government of's.

Other buildings at the Plaza de Armas are finished on 1882 and between 1804
and 1807 built Palacio de la real Audjencia, of 18. September 1810 - today
date of Nationalfeiertages - met the first Government of the country. The
Centre houses the historical museum with 12,000 exhibits. In the South-East
of the square is the built in 1893 blue Eisenkontruktion of Edwards
Kaufhauses (Edificio commercial Edwards) and the 1769 finished colonial
building the "Casa Colorada", the historical city museum Close is the
(Teatro Municipal) Theatre. In 1906 by an earthquake destroyed building was
built of the French architect Brunet of Edward Baines 1857. Not far from the

theatre the Mansión Subercaseaux (today seat Banco Edwards) and the National

Library (one of the largest libraries of South America). "" In opposite
group the previous National Convention, the law courts and the Royal custom
s House (Palacio real Casa de Aduana) with the Museum of pre-Columbian art.

A fire destroyed the building in 1895. It was then rebuilt and reopened 1901

in neoclassic style. The first Chilean National Congress was 4. July 1811
decision (1810) the Government junta in Santiago formed by. The Congress was

deposed under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1989) and
after the dictatorship in Valparaíso on 11. Newly constituted March 1990.
The Plaza Montt is the building of the Justice Palace (Palacio de Tribun
Musicales). The building was between 1907 and 1926 of the architect Emilio
Doyére. It is home to the Supreme Court (Corte comparison de Justicia). The
Kollegialgericht with 21 judges is the highest judiciary in Chile. The
judges be proposed by the judges of the Supreme Court and appointed by the
President on lifetime. The building is also home of the Supreme Court of
appeal.

At the Plaza Montt is the building of the Justice Palace (Palacio de
Tribunales). The building was created from 1907 to 1926 after plans by the
architect Emilio Doyére. It is the seat of the Supreme Court (Corte Suprema
de Justicia). The panel of 21 judges is the highest judicial power in Chile.

The judges are appointed by the judges of the Supreme Court and proposed by
the President appointed for life. The building is also headquarters of the
Supreme Court of the country.

Calle Bandera leads to 1917 completed the building of the Merchants'
Exchange (Bolsa de Comercio), opened the 1925 "Club de la Unión", to the
Universidad de Chile (1872) and the oldest church in the city, the Iglesia
de San Francisco (1586 to 1628 built ) with the Mary statue "La Virgen del
Socorro" by Pedro de Valdivia. North of the Plaza de Armas, the Paseo Puente

to Santo Domingo Church (1771) and Market (Mercado Central), a powerful iron

construction. In the centre of Santiago is the Torre Entel, a 127.4 meter
high TV tower with observation deck. The tower, completed in 1974. He is one

of the telephone company, ENTEL Chile and serves as a communications centre.

With the Costanera Center, a commercial and architectural landmark of the capital. When completed in 2009 is a combination of jobs, housing, shopping and entertainment venues have been achieved. The project with a total area of 600,000 square meters, includes the 300-meter high "Gran Torre Costanera" (South America's tallest building) and three other commercial buildings with shopping malls, shops, cinemas, an amusement centre, restaurants, hotels, offices and luxury apartments. The four office towers extensive building complex is replaced by a highway and subway connections.