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Despite the authorities’ request not to attend La Araucanía en masse to witness the eclipse of the sun this Monday, it is clear by looking at the streets of the main cities in the area that the request was ignored.
In Pucón, epicenter of the astronomical phenomenon, it was flooded with posters, advertisements, vendors, glasses, masks and, above all, people.
The authorities have calculated that this Monday there will be at least 300 thousand people in the commune. One of the barometers that account for this invasion are cars. To get to Pucón you have to go through Villarrica and circumvent health controls, which has generated a kilometer block and a great congestion in the city. A stretch of a few kilometers can take several hours. As the days go by, the crowds have been increasing. If on Thursday the tacos were for a couple of hours in the afternoon, from Saturday the line began before the Molco bridge.
Despite the large number of visitors, the situation has not yet been entirely good for trade and tourism.
The hotel and accommodation sector is one of the hardest hit. The reserves, prior to the coronavirus, were 100% in all of Pucón. Over the months, and especially with what happened recently in relation to government measures, the cancellation began to happen as a domino effect.
Soledad Matus, administrator of Alpes Apart Hotel, He explains that in July 2019, the reservations were going well, the hotel was full. The pandemic and the social outbreak were not an issue. “A year and a half before, everything was booked, everyone was happy. But 15 days ago, when the authorities began to signal the measures, it hurt us. People began to cancel. Before that, 50% and now we are down to 10% occupancy ”, he says.
Carlos Barra, mayor of Pucón, He adds that “there is a percentage of reservations that have been canceled, I know. But in the end it is worth it, because we protect the summer ”.
Carolina Ruiz, director of Development, Promotion and Tourism of Pucón, He estimates that only on Thursday 10,000 vehicles entered the area, and that already on Saturday in the commune between 80,000 and 100,000 people circulated.
If 10,000 people enter a day, who can enter vehicles plus buses, and if we multiply that by a family group of four people, “we are talking about 40 to 50 thousand people in just one day. Therefore, the number will grow and we can reach 300 thousand people ”, calculates the Tourism authority.
Juan Sanhueza, from the O’Higgins lodge, He is one of the few who do happy accounts. Located on the main avenue of Pucón, like few others, it is complete. “For us the eclipse was perfect, we took advantage of the fact that people from outside came,” he says.
A favored item is restaurants, especially cafes. The traditional Cassis, with street terraces, gets busy in the evenings. As well as importers.
Manon Gatica, from importer Gatica, account that the increase of people in the commune and in the store is noticeable. “Here they look for toys, household goods, plastics. Rather Chilean, few foreigners ”.
Adventure tourism, typical of the area due to its landscape (volcano, rivers), has also been affected. Natalia Garrido, from Patagonia Experience, points out that “the flow of people is noticeable, quite a lot, but even so the sales have not been so great.”
Emerson Pezoa, from Turismo Sur, complains that the situation is slow, “people come to see the eclipse, not to go sightseeing.”
Without the fame of Pucón, Gorbea also has its offer in this event. “Gorbea, world epicenter of the eclipse”, can be read in every corner of the municipality.
The Chilean Astronomy Foundation (Fuchas), led by Mario Hamuy, recognized the city as one of the 10 best places to observe the eclipse, due to its location and extent of the phenomenon. In total, it can be observed for 2.08 minutes.
Guido Siegmund, mayor of the commune, points out that they drew up new plans considering the variables and complications of the pandemic. Even, unlike other communes, it launched the Responsible Eclipse Plan, which includes 22 observation points, with one particularity.
It is not about squares or public places, but plots of residents of the sector, “Since we are a rural commune with high agricultural production, we managed to schedule ourselves to make it a beneficial event, because it is a way of showing our commune as a tourist attraction.”
“We estimate that 5,000 to 10,000 people should arrive on the day of the eclipse,” Siegmund calculates.
Ernestina Alvarado, Teodoro Schmidt’s municipal secretary and in charge of the eclipse in the commune, points out that the eclipse fans “have already arrived. We have seen many people on the streets who are not from the commune. Due to what happened in Santiago (Phase 2), they arrived earlier ”.
