This upload is dedicated to the victims of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 27 February 2010 near Concepcion, Chile. This picture was taken on 30 December 2003 of the morning I left Concepcion while on a 30-day vacation through parts of Argentina and Chile. My focus on this trip was Patagonia and Southern Chile. Once I crossed back into Chile from Bariloche, Argentina I stopped in Puerto Montt, Osorno, Valdivia, Temuco, Concepcion, Chillan, Curico, Vina del Mar before returning back to Santiago. The roughly 600 miles from Puerto Monto north to Vina el Mar on a four-lane toll road (kind of expensive) allowed me to observe the changes in climate and flora. Throughout these 600 miles I observed dozens of Volcanoes, all of them snow capped. I also noticed many lumber trucks hauling logs in the Southern part of Chile to many vineyards between Concepcion and Curico. Both Chile and Argentina are wonderful countries, with high standards of living and culture. At the time of my trip, Chile was slightly more expensive than Argentina, but both were bargains compared to the US or Europe as far as food and accommodations were concerned. Both also were very safe. I can only imagine the force of this major quake after seeing the destruction it caused. Many freeway bridges collapsed, solid buildings, similar to buildings one finds in major European cities, damaged. At the time of my trip it struck me that in Chile all cars seemed to be new, and most of them were either Japanese or French brands, and all drivers wore seat belts. After returning to the US I realized that after 30 days of traffic chaos and horn blaring I hadn't seen one accident and didn't see one traffic altercation as is the norm here in Arizona. During this December/January trip temperatures varied from the 80s in Santiago and Valparaiso to the 90s in Mendoza, to snow and freezing rain in El Calafate and Southern Patagonia, to much rain and cool temperatures in Puerto Montt, back to the 80s and swimming in the ocean in Vina del Mar. This was a wonderful trip and it makes me want to go back to both of these countries and makes me feel for the people of Chile that have to deal with this disaster. I wonder how many of the wonderful sites I had seen received damage from this earthquake. What about all the old, historic ascensors in Valparaiso, or the subway system in Santiago, what about the condos along the beach in Vina del Mar or the modern structures of the Santiago International airport? Thank you for viewing, commenting, and favs, Sig..