Our Viva dummy relaxes before his big torching.

Here at the Viva Travel Guides office, we’re having an Ecuadorian new year! In Ecuador, they celebrate the new year by burning the “old year.” The “old Year” is a dummy made of old clothes stuffed with paper or sawdust. They put a mask on it and burn it at midnight in the streets (don’t plan on driving anywhere!). The masks usually represent current political figures: I got a Rafael Correa and an Evo Morales this morning. But they can really be anything: I also got a Homer SImpson. The best masks are handmade out of papier mache and painted with poster paint: mine cost $1.50 each. Usually people burn someone or something from last year that they didn’t like (lots of George Bush masks out there this year). The theory is that by burning the bad parts of the old year, you put them behind you and they won’t trouble you in the coming year. The writers and techies here at viva are making the old year as I write this and we’ll burn it in the office courtyard. I don’t know who the mask will be. Have a happy New Year from all of us at Viva!

Hard to believe, isn’t it? But it’s true: fifty years ago this week, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the other rebels marched victoriously into Havana, having deposed despised dictator Fulgencio Batista. There are sure to be once-in-a-lifetime festivities in Cuba, so check them out if you can!

On May 2, 2008, Volcán Chaitén in Chile’s Patagonia rumbled to life. Chaiten Volcano’s eruption has caused disruptions not only in the lives of its neighbors, but also for tourists. Travel along the Carretera Austral has been disrupted ever since.

Between Hornopirén and Chaitén, the Carretera Austral is closed. The ferry connecting the two towns is not running due to the eruptions, not is that from Castro on Chiloé Island to Chaitén. The Puerto Montt-Chaitén direct ferry, however, continues to operate. Parque Pumalín, near Chaitén, is closed indefinitely. Parque Nacional Hornopirén near the towbn of the same name continues to be open to the public. At the present time, Futaleufú and the nearby Chile-Argentine border crossing is open.

The May 2008 eruption was quite a surprise to all the inhabitants in the region—even the sage, centuries-year-old alerce trees—as this 1,122-meter (3647-foot) tall mountain hadn’t a case of eruptive gas since 7420 BC, give or take some 75 years. The national governement called a mandatory evacuation of the village Chaitén (population: 4200) just 10 kilometers southwest of the volcano. By the next afternoon, the ash plume drifted across Chile and Argentina to the Atlantic Ocean. The border town Futaleufú, 75 kilometers / 45 miles southeast of the volcano, was coated with 30 centimeters (one foot) of fine grey ash. Lava began flowing down Volcán Chaiten’s slopes on May 6. The few remaining persons left in the closest village and Futaleufú were evacuated. With the lava and lahar (lava-mud-ash mixture) flows, the Chaitén River, which had been diverted by man when the Carretera Austral was built, resumed its natural course through the town. Reports say much of Chaitén village has now been washed away. Swaths of forest near the erupting mountain have been burned.

Volcan Chaiten’s activity has recently decreased. Some residents are returning to reopen their businesses. Some hostals and other services have reopened, though information is scarce. Stay tuned to V!VA Travel Guides for the latest information about local conditions as its writers make their way into the region.

(Thanks to alert field writer Lorraine Caputo, who wrote this update)

The Peruvian delegation to the UN-sponsored climate talks in Poznan, Poland, came armed with an ambitious proposal to end deforestation in their nation…all they need is a little help, in the form of $20 million per year. The proposal is a serious one: although Peru is normally associated with mountains, it is also fourth-largest in the world in terms of tropical forest. Peru contains 70 million hectares of tropical forests, mostly in its eastern lowlands, of which 54 million hectares would be protected under the new plan. Deforestation is a major problem in South America, although it is much worse in other nations, particularly Brazil. Peru has pledged $5 million/year for this conservation effort and is asking $20 million more from the international community: Germany has already announced its support. Hopefully, the effort will be successful and other nations will follow suit.

Hikers in the remote Peruvian Utcubamba province have discovered a few well-preserved buildings near a towering waterfall. The buildings are believed to have been left by the mysterious Chachapoya people, who were conquered and incorporated into the Inca Empire not long before the arrival of the Spanish. The ruins are win good shape, and according to archaeologists appear to be untouched by looters. The structures are built high into a cliff wall and it is theorized that they may have served as lookout towers. As yet there is no word on when and if the archaeological site will become open for tourism.