4607
ediciones
Cambios
→Understanding the Host Nations
Chile and Argentina are not developing countries like i.e. their common neighbor Bolivia. Chile and Argentina are very much like western countries but with a high inequality of wealth and income. Both countries are on a global scale reasonable stable and healthy democracies, Argentina may be with a bit more populism and corruption than Chile. Both countries have reasonable good working institutions i.e. a police that keeps most of the country reasonable safe. And both nations have their social struggles, economic challenges and political scandals like many others.
====Being an Guest====
Chile and Argentina receive a lot of tourists and there is not much xenophobia. In contrast, tourists are welcome and received with hospitality as long as they don’t pretend to belong to a superior race. After three centuries of colonization and two centuries with sometimes heavy outside interference people have a fine sense for any form arrogance. And if they sense it they will often not tell (especially Chileans learned to swallow their objections during 17 years of a military dictatorship) but expect to receive reservation and poor service in turn. And that’s a pity because Argentines and Chileans are normal open and interested people that treat guests with honest geniality.
====Remarks to the Society====This generalization of people from far away is contrasted by a classist thinking about their own nation, especially in Chile. A few super-rich own and control most of the country, a stressed middle class (living mainly in the cities) tries hard to keep up and many simple living people (which make the majority in rural areas) learned to live a tranquil life with rather little. The different groups and social classes distinct between each other and rarely mingle; they live in different quarters; send their children to different schools and vacation in different places. You may occasionally notice this when hiking the GPT. There are a few upscale luxury hotels where What you could easily spend your monthly budget for a single nightdo not see much more is extreme poverty. Also owing large plots Since the end of land is the military dictatorship in 1990 a status symbol center-left government runs Chile for most of the richtime. This government was quite successful in fighting extreme poverty and improving the infrastructure in rural areas. And hikers benefit from it in several ways. When hiking in Chile and Argentina you will not experience bagging like this is where the right-of-way trouble culminatescase in the neighboring countries Bolivia or Peru. The rich owners (Spanish: "patron") of these properties (Chile: often "fundo", Argentina: often "hacienda") Also roads are rarely there themselves build and in rural areas what is a mixed blessing from a hikers perspective. On one side these roads greatly facilitate resupplying and getting to the trail heads but hire caretakers (Spanish: "cuidador") on the other side they also replace horse trails that are nicer to maintain their propertywalk. Sometimes The government also subsidizes public transport into particular remote places that are not served be profit-oriented private bus companies. The middle class from the "patron" instructs cities starts to discover the "cuidador" mountains in their vacation. A growing number of Chileans and Argentines begin to not let anyone passhike; mainly in national parks; but many still lack experience and appropriate gear. How This results in normally concerned park rangers especially when you do not plan to deal with such a situation I will explain laterwalk just standard trail.
====Security and Police====
In the bigger cities you need to be cautious with petty crime. But once you get out of the cities into the rural areas people live a tranquil life and sometimes don’t even lock the doors of their houses. I do not recall any scary situation with people along the GPT and only very few instances in which distrust was advisable. Only when you meet trunk herdsman (Spanish "arriero") be cautious and keep distance. With alcohol these sometimes shy people can get pretty annoying and even harassing (in particular with women). In such a situation the best response is to move on.
