Bridge Spans Centuries of Isolation

Bridge Spans Centuries of Isolation

Anu forwarded this article to me. Chiloe really did have a magical feel to it when I visited in late 1997. I remember the ferry rides as pleasant, so I must have crossed on good-weather days.

It's easy to understand the dilemma that the article conveys. It would be interesting to get more of a sense of what the people of Chiloe actually want -- it's not really carried through in the text. I have a feeling there wasn't any sort of community-based planning process ;). I remember Chiloe as being remarkably calm and safe and beautiful, and Puerto Montt as definitely not. But how can you argue with the woman wanting to be able to access the better hospital in an emergency?

Putting a tower on the bridge taller than the tallest tower in Santiago seems a bit extreme. I remember observing and learning in our classes about Chile's obsession with proving itself fully modern, more European, "different from the rest of Latin America." I'm sure it's an interesting transition they've been going through, and I wonder how much things have changed in the 7 years.