MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

News from Chile.

Headlines:
Punta Arenas beaches out of bounds;Yellow (fire) alert in Magallanes Region; Patagonia Expedition Race; Teaching and Projects Abroad;Chilean tourism industry rebounds. Negative January inflation.

Punta Arenas beaches out of bounds

Punta Arenas Environmental Health Office warned local residents to avoid swimming and even sun basking is local beaches because of the high level of contamination. "Twenty five of the city drains discharge pluvial waters and raw sewage to the Magellan Strait which means there's a high level of bacteria contamination", highlighted Ms. María Isabel Banciella Punta Arenas Environmental Health Officer. "Actually people should avoid all contact with the sand of the beaches, plus sewage they've become a dump for local garbage", added Ms. Banciella. "Unfortunately this situation will continue until late 2005 when we inaugurate the local residual waters treatment plant, and only then will the beaches begin to be gradually decontaminated". Ms. Banciella insisted on the subject given the excellent weather conditions in Punta Arenas -26 Celsius- that have attracted some people to the beaches. Good weather apparently will extend until next weekend.

Yellow (fire) alert in Magallanes Region

The heat wave that is moving southwards along the Chilean coast is expected to reach its maximum in Magallanes this coming week forcing the Chilean National Emergency Office to declare a "yellow alert". "During the next few days we can expect temperatures peaks of 30 Celsius in the Eleventh and Twelfth regions, with averages above 25 Celsius. This can have very negative effects for the local fauna and flora", forecasted Luis Serrano, shift head of the Chilean Meteorological Office in Santiago. Given this scenario the Chilean Emergency Office is in yellow alert which means "it's not necessarily a crisis situation but we must be on double alert. So far we've had several minor outbreaks of forest and ground fires, under control, and some larger ones we're fighting". Claudio Torres from the regional Chilean Emergency Office said "we have brigades on three shifts 24 hours alert. They are made up of military personnel, Forestry Department, volunteers with helicopter support". "Our information network comes from the Forestry outlook posts, and we then co-ordinate what actions to take and support needed", added Mr. Torres who nevertheless was reluctant to make forecasts. "The situation is too dynamic; we can't anticipate or dare say we have the whole challenge under control since so much depends on changing climatic conditions particularly the wind". Meantime in Punta Arenas the exceptional heat is having its impact in the road system of the city. Street concrete slabs have snapped upwards, sometimes with a strong crunching noise, because of insufficient expansion cracks. "We have several reports of this exceptional phenomenon in several streets, but in small sections. Once the weather returns to normal we will begin repairing", said a spokesperson for Gasco the local company responsible for the upkeep of the road system.

Patagonia Expedition Race

Delegations from twelve different countries will be participating in the gruelling 500 kilometres Patagonia Expedition Race, a multi activity competition that will include such renowned places as the Southern Ice Fields, Torres del Paine Park, the Magellan Strait, Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. Next Thursday is registering day for the competition that begins Sunday 15 and has the finishing line scheduled for February 24. Each team is made up of four members The competitors from Germany arrived this weekend and this Monday and Tuesday the delegations from Colombia, Sweden, and New Zealand are expected. The 500 kilometres competition in different climates and geographical conditions will demand mountain bicycles, trekking, kayaks, and expertise in ropes plus good charts and compass reading. The event is organized by Nomadas Ltd. with geologist Stejepan Pavicic as general coordinator. "I've been working over eighteen months in the organization of the Patagonia Expedition and I did all the tour myself last year plus the technical visits of the different spots for the camping", revealed Mr. Pavicic. For further information check www.pata-goniaexpditionrace.com

Teaching and Projects Abroad

Since the Teaching and Projects Abroad experience opened a chapter in Magallanes Region last February, 48 teenagers have visited the area participating in different voluntary tasks. Teenagers spend a maximum of three months and this season 16 youngsters have been distributed between Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams while another 20 are expected in the coming weeks. The international organization expanded to Chile given the growing world interest in environmental and conservation issues and the vast opportunities the country offers. Youngsters coming to Chile work in national parks, even rookeries and help with languages, particularly teaching English in coordination with the Chilean Languages Institute. According to reports from Punta Arenas press participants of the program are attracted by the remoteness of Magallanes in the south of Chile and its wildlife.

Chilean tourism industry rebounds

The Chilean tourist industry reported a 17% increase in the number of foreign visitors in January compared to a year ago, according to the Chilean National Tourist Office. Figures indicate that this January 232,000 people arrived in Chile through Santiago's international airport and the two main Andes passes, Paso de los Libertadores and Cardenal Samoré. Last year the number was 198,000. Revenue also increased compared to twelve months ago, 115 against 104 million US dollars, 9,4% expansion. The main inflow was of Argentine tourists that jumped 22,6%, followed by Europeans. Chilean domestic tourism also expanded from 10% in January 2003 to 15% this year. Locations which most attracted foreign tourists, Iquique, La Serena, Vña del Mar, Puerto Vara, Puerto Montt and Magallanes Region.

Negative January inflation in Chile

Consumer prices in Chile during January dropped 0,2% with an accumulated twelve month index of 0,8%, according to the latest release from the National Statistics Office. Transport and Housing were the only two Groups registering modest price increases, 0,3% and 0,2%, while the rest experienced contractions (-) : Food 0,7%; Health 0,4%; Clothing 0,3%; Home apparel 0,3%; Education and Leisure 0,1% and Others 0,1%. Of the twenty items with greatest preponderance in the Consumer Price Index, five remained unchanged, five decreases and ten increased, particularly fuels between 1,8 and 2,2%. However the January retail price index was the lowest since January 1999. Santiago economists pointed out that in spite of three months running negative inflation, "there's no fear of deflation in Chile, since prices are returning to normal, particularly monetary and fuel prices, since they rocketed with the uncertainties of the Iraq conflict". "Besides since January 2003 there's greater competition in food and clothing distribution, mainly supermarkets", said economist Tomás Flores. Mr. Flores anticipated that CPI, consumer price index will experience a slight 0,1% increase in February that will reach 0,5% in March.