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Chile Welcome
Guide for living and working in Chile
A guide, information, advice and useful addresses to be able to leave well-informed.
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18 - Flights to France and transportation means
There are 12,025 kms between Paris and Santiago.
A direct flight (with stopovers) takes 18 hours.
Airlines that propose direct flights are Air France (2 flights a week), Delta Airlines, TWA, KLM, United Airlines and LAN Chile.

Internal transport
Transport systems are well developed, the rail network covers 9000 kms and the road network 80,000 kms.
The railway is in fact a line which goes from Santiago to Puerto Montt in the south.
The state of the roads is satisfactory.
There is a good bus service which is fairly comfortable.
It is possible to go to Peru by road and also to Bolivia. It's far and quite difficult.
You can get to Argentina by crossing the Andes.

In the towns the taxis are cheap and the taxi drivers are honest (rare in South America).
In Santiago use the underground, it was built by the French and it gives a good coverage of the town and you will avoid the traffic jams.

There are 60 ports along the Chilean coast, the main ones are :
Valparaiso, San Antonio, Antofagasta, Talcahuano, Arica and Iquique.

By air :
Internal airlines go to the following towns : Punta Arenas, Anto Fagast, Puerto Montt.


19 - Time differences
There is 4 hours time difference in winter and 6 hours in summer (with France).

20 - Telecommunications

Telephone :

The number of telephone lines has doubled since 1988.
At the end of 1996 2 million lines had been installed by the Compania de Telefonos de Chile.
This company manages 95% of local communications, using a digital system.
There are 11 telephones per 100 inhabitants.

To phone Chile from France dial 00 56 + the town code + the number of your correspondant (6 figures)
Santiago = 2, Valparaiso = 32
If you are telephoning France from Chile dial 00 33 +.

Newspapers/Radio :
The main daily newspapers and weeklies in the country are
'El Mercuro' (founded in 1927), a daily, 180,000 copies
'Apsi', a weekly, 30,000 copies
'Hoy', a weekly, 30,000 copies
'La Epoca'
la 'Nacion'
'La Tercera'.

Canal 5 belongs to the Catholic University of Valparaiso and Canal 13 to the Catholic Pontifical University , the other stations belong to private groups.

There are plenty of radio stations, notably on FM 502 and AM 175.


21 - Airports

There are 30 airports in the country.
The international airport of Pudahuel is about 20 kms from Santiago.
 
24 - Information

Painting :

Well known painters of the 1913 generation are Pedro Luna, Augustin Abarca and Bertrix
the 1920 Montparnasse group with Camilo Mori, Henriette Petit
the 30s with Roberto Matta.
Other Chilean painters are Enrique Zanartu, Roger Bru, Mario Carreno, Nemesio Anturnez, José Balmes, Gonzalo Cienfuegos, Ricardo Irarrazaval, Rodolfo Opazo ...

Music :

During the era when Chile was a Spanish colony the music tended to be religious.
The national hymn of independance is one of the first Chilean compositions.
Typical popular music is the Cueca or the Tonada.
Internationally known Chilean musicians are the pianist Claudio Arrau and the soprano Nora Lopez and the baritone Ramon Vinay.

Literature :

It took its own distinctive character away from Spanish traditional literature after the Spanish army conquered the territory in the 16th century.
In this period (1569 - 1589) 'the Araucana' was written by the soldier-poet Alonso de Ercilla which describes the resistance of the Araucan Indians against the Spanish domination.

Andres Bellos was the best known writer from the Age of Enlightenment, and then in modern times there are Baldomero Lillo, Eduardo Barrios, Mariano Latorre, Joaquim Edwards Bello, Marta Brunet, Fernando Santivan, Manuel Rojas, Jose Santos, Gonzalez Vera.

The most famous are Maria Luisa Bombal, Jose Donoso, Jorge Edwards, and Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945 and 1971.

Cinema :

After a beginning in silent movies, the creation of Chile Films in 1941 marked the beginning of real cinema in Chile.
The Nuevo Cine Chileno emerged in 1967 : El Chacal de Nahueltoro, Valparaiso, Mi Amor and Very Sad Tigers.

Useful tips :

Chileans don't like being compared to other Latin Americans.
Avoid discussing politics, and if you do be careful : General Pinochet is still very popular in business circles (and others) and the army is a respected institution.
Chileans are tough in business and go straight to the point.
The Latin side only emerges out of business hours.
Chileans drive on the right side of the road.

Customs :
You have to declare the following items : cameras, video, jewels and furs. Ask for a form to fill in for temporary importation. Other personal effects don't have to be declared. It is forbidden to bring in fresh food stuffs.

Security :
The is a slight risk of being robbed in the tourist areas, but overall the country is very safe.
Nevertheless avoid walking late at night, especially in town centres.
Some regions are volcanic or earthquake zones, so be careful and there are very strong currents in certain of the sea areas.

Shopping :
Ponchos coming from the north, wickerwork, wood, pottery, copper, silver jewelry :
all to be found on handicraft markets.

Public Holidays :
1st January : New Year's Day
April : Good Friday and Easter Monday
1st May : Labour Day
21st May : Battle of Iquique
3rd June : Corpus Christi
29th June : Fête of St Pierre and St Paul
6th September : Day of National Unity
18th September : National Day
12th October : The Hispanic world Day
1st November : All Saints Day
8th December : Immaculate Conception
25th December : Christmas Day

 25 - Your suitcase

In summer take light clothing, with a woollen, an anorak or a jacket if you are going to the south.

In winter take spring or autumn clothes with a sweater or jacket for evenings.
For Santiago you will need a raincoat and an umbrella.

PHARMACIE :
-Médicaments contre les ennuis intestinaux,
-Aspirine
-Médicaments contre les maux de dents qui peuvent se réveiller avec l'altitude (consulter son dentiste),
-Coramine Glucose (pour le mal d'altitude) ,
-Antiseptique,
-Seringue,
-Crème solaire écran total , pommade pour lèvres,
-Produits antimoustiques.
Attention : Altitude entre 3000 et 4500 m (dans le Nord) parfois difficile à supporter, de plus le soleil brûle.

Acheter toutes les pellicules en France ( chères sur place); compte tenu de la luminosité, prévoir : 100 ASA

Pharmacy :
- medicines for upset stomaches
- aspirin
- medicines for toothache which can come about at high altitude (consult your dentist)
- coramine glucose (for altitude sickness)
- an antiseptic
- a syringe
- total sun screen, lip salve
- anti-mosquito products
Be careful : in the north the altitude is between 3000 and 4500 m, some people find it difficult and the sun is very hot.

Buy your photo films before leaving, they are very expensive in Chile, considering their light conditions take 100 ASA.

 
26 - Banks

Get information from the embassy about taking money into the country.
The most convenient currency to change is American dollars.

All the international credit cards are accepted.

Financial services :
Chile has started expanding and innovating its financial services.
It has modernized the banking system and can now propose a range of products (pension funds, insurance companies, leasing, securities, mutual funds, investment fund).

 

28 - Guides
Organized stays : Marcus, edited by Lonely Planet
People of the World : Manufacture, Jaguar, edited by Lonely Planet

It is advisable to have detailled town and regional maps with you.
Local maps are available in IGM and Esso petrol stations.


 29 - Observations

Some idea of prices :
At Villarica you can find a double room for 100 FF at Hospedaje, 734 bd St Martin.
At Chiloe/Castro, a double room is 60 FF at the Hospedaje Chiloe.
At Puerto Natales you can take a double room with the Dickson Bulnes family for 80 FF.
At Calama, you can take a double room for 70 FF at Residential 1814 Sotomayer.

An average meal costs 50 FF in a restaurant.

Travelling by bus :
Santiago - Villarica costs 130 FF. The trip lasts 10 hrs.
If you take the company Turbus, breakfast and dinner are included in the price.
Punta Arenas - Santiago costs 800 FF, one way.
Santiago - Calama costs 700 FF, one way.

TOURISM

There are several historical sites worth visiting in Chile but the infrastructure is not very developed.

There were 1,450,000 visitor to Chile in 1996, the tourist revenues in 1998 were 1.062 billion dollars. The majority of tourists come from Argentina (about 40%), there are not very many European tourists, in 1996 there were 11% : Germans, Spanish and then French (22,000).
January and February are the months with the highest tourist frequency.


To see and do:

Above all, there's the nature in all its splendour and variety : the Atacama desert, the Andes, the lake district, the fjords and the glaciers in the south, the fauna and the flora.

You can find traces of Indian cultures, Aymara in the north and Mapuche in the south; Spanish colonization with churches, houses and fortresses; and different peoples who emigrated to Chile in the 19th century (Germans, English, French).

To the north of Santiago :

Arica (town and beaches)
Putre and neighbouring parks (town, countryside, fauna, Aymaras villages)
Iquique (town and beaches)
Around Pintados (archeological sites, ancient mining towns)
North of Antofagasta (ghost mining towns)
Antofagasta (the town)
San Pedro de Atacamaand surroundings (town, countryside, geyser)
Pan de Azucar Park (scenery, fauna, flora)
Caldera (beaches)
La Serena (town and beaches)
Fray Jorge Park and surroundings (archeological sites)
Valparaiso and Vina del Mar (towns and beaches)
The Andes (ski resorts)

To the south of Santiago :

Around Curicos (countryside, nature)
Coastal area around Conception (coast, historical sites)
Laguna del Laja Park (countryside, fauna)
Temuco (museums and Mapuche monuments )
Conguillo Park (countryside, nature)
Villarica and surroundings (lakes, volcanoes, nature)
Valdivia and surroundings (town, colonial vestiges)
Puyehue Parks (countryside, lakes, volcanoes, nature)
Puerto Montt (town)
Island of Chiloé (landscapes, nature, villages)
Queulat Park (landscapes, fjords, nature)
Reserves around Coyhaique (countryside)
San Rafael Park (landscapes, glaciers)
Torres del Paine Park (scenery, glaciers, fauna)
Trip from Puerto Natales-Puerto Montt (a boat trip along the fjords)
Punta Arenas and the Magellan Straits (landscapes, fauna, boat trip)
Puerto Williams and Tierra del Fuego (scenery, fauna, boat trip on the Beagle canal)

 

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