Day 616 – South America – Chile [Reduccion Quinahue to Traiguen]

28/12/21

39km

  From Reduccion Quinahue (Chile) to Traiguen (Chile)

South America

Another day on Mapuche’s reservations territories, through rugged and country roads

Leaving at dawn – Chilly in the wee hours

Looking at the maps, I wondered what “reduccion” meant. Many places on Google Maps are named with the word “Reduccion” in front. It turns out it is a form of reservation. When the Chilean army finally defeated the Mapuche’s organisation of Chiefdoms (which defended the lands) the Mapuche were constricted to scattered “reducciones”. There are an estimated 800,000 to 1 Million Mapuche living in Reducciones around Chile.

Veil of smoke over the valley

The first 16km of today’s run were on an unsurfaced road again. Very undulating, as usual. Then I was on Ruta 76, which turned out to be a quiet country road. The only traffic I noticed was that of trucks loaded with lumber. Eucalyptus trees are part of a few species that have been widely planted in Chile since the 19th Century, even more so since the 70’s under Pinochet’s rule. Whilst it does contribute to the economy, the damages done to the land and the ecosystem in general is quite brutal.

Wild and beautiful landscapes today

I ran through the village of Galvarino, which was a busy little place with plenty (tempting) roadside shacks selling local food and drinks. I resisted and headed out towards Traiguen as it was getting quite warm. As I approached, I noticed that the veil that I had noticed since the morning in the sky was in fact smoke from the local fires. I saw about 5 sources of fires on the nearby hills. I’m on a mission tonight to find the wildfire information website in Chile…

Enjoy the video of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/vKv2ykMdx4q

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: