Summary
Highlights
February marks the beginning of destruction, with a 'crimson star' pointing towards the 'bull's forehead' in the indigo valley, a 'macabre announcement' in a time of procreation and greening. The 'infernal flashes' roll hungrily, as the pioneering flame of torment starts in Ñuble. Cannibalistic fires ravage homes, and on the path of Itata, 'kütral' (fire) stubbornly withers the araucarias.
The fire creates a gaping wound in Nahuelbuta, and Purén screams in terror. Further south, Lumaco and Galvarino waver before the 'beast veiled in fire'. The machi (shaman) clutches her heart at the sight of her 'rewe' (sacred place), her face covered in soot and ash. The mountainous cheekbone of Santa Juana-Nacimiento clashes with the 'gushing mass of fire', making herds stumble and hills approach torment as corrals explode in cries.
The reddening embers devour the peaks of Tomé, and the 'torrent, architect of flames' rushes over the 'queules' and 'pitao'. Colcura roars in a riot of cauldrons, and chaotic fireflies invade the streets. Lota awakens early to a 'marigold-mango cloud' that brings down boundaries. Darkness browns the center of Chile and its beach, as a 'titanic vapor' shifts from hazelnut brown to brownish hue. Dark petals rain down, oppressing breath.
In the frenzy of nightfall, an 'emerald torch' rises above the North Star. The 'first Cherüfe' (fire monster) reigns, as the 'pilgrim comet' returns, laying waste to forests and becoming a calamitous ploughman. It blackens the copihue, causing horror in the eyes of the puma. Predators of the woods, executioners of swamps and pools, catch the glow with unparalleled euphoria. The pine, called 'insignia' here, detonates ammunition, and further away, fervent heat crisps the bushes.
The eucalyptus impatiently melts the tapestry, shedding its bark like 'wings – a carouser of branches'. Both are scourges. Despicable landscapers create a formidable scene: a holocaust of beehives, pudus, coypus, grey foxes, chimangos, and tricolored buzzards. Driven to find refuge, convulsed, they walk towards their destiny. In the din of the slaughterhouse, the thorny task is to find a lair or a guardian bush when larches, oaks, cypresses, and tamarugos succumb to banishment.
In the fields, another scene leads to mutism and fracture. Dragons in mythical ascent charge the spiral of the squall, striking crops and corrupting hills. The mockingbirds of Chile, owls, and screeches pale, contemplating the prodigy. An insatiable flash lifts me afloat above serene altitudes. From there to the minuscule, through the explosions of chimneys, termite troops labor. A few steps down, the dragonfly bombers urinate downpours against the toasted moss. Returned to the whirlwind, I resume the odyssey.
A bacchanal of ardor, with fierce ferocity, hunts the banks of the Bíobío. Santa Ana, a dormitory village, harbors whispers and suffering, as prayers pour over a cemetery of flames. The road to the peninsula, the last cliff, releases the vigor of nocturnal bonfires. Dreams are shaken in Punta Lavapié. Its inhabitants, heading towards Llico, bid farewell by the waters of the sea lion beach. One hundred and seventeen leagues venture into the 'terras lafkenche', where twenty-eight salamanders fertilize a lake of sulfur.
From Paillaco to Valdivia, a relentless epiphany disarms the banks of the Futa River. A voracious agitation crosses the cantons, climbing and corroding native lungs. Fleeing austral meadowlarks communicate grief in the freed corners of the ecocide. The 'profane smoke cloud' defiles the primordial sewer, satisfying its appetite for suburbs, coasts, and undergrowth. The sweat of the prairies corrupts estuaries, lagoons, and every swamp in its path. Concepción suffers martyrdom like a lavender orchid. The 'ravager of twilight' savors victory and tints its varnish a grayish mauve. The disc, sovereign of days, audaciously reflects the glow of treachery.
Fifty-three days from Maule to the Seno de Reloncaví, 'Ngulumapu', a new postcard of scars, reveals the marks of outrage, greed, and relentless effort. Many other exploits have been carried out by forestry companies, dams, the mining industry, and other corporations in this territory. If they were written one by one, there would not be enough space in the world for so many books or half-finished travel journals like this one.