Chilean Antártica Bases

A postcard from Czech Nelson Expedition 2019 to Antarctica to set up the Czeco Nelson base at Nelson Islands in South Shetland Islands. 

The Postcard 

The postcard bears the delivery postmark of Correos Chile postoffice of Base Eduardo Frei ( 08-02-2019) - a military base in Antártica Chilena , along with the pictorial postmark showing the base 

The left side of the postcard bears the cachets of the various camp bases that the Nelson Expedition visited 

- Instituto Antartico Chileno, Base Profesor J Escudero

- Bellingshausen Station - Russian base 

- Russian Antarctic Expedition, King George Island, Bellingshausen Station.

- Czeco Nelson base 

The CzechoNelson Expedition

Dr. Pavel Kapler ( the one who has signed the postcard ) led a nine member scientists team from Masaryk University , Brno - at the start of 2019. For the first time this year, they conducted their research at two different locations: the Czech polar base on James Ross Island and also at the newly acquired base on Nelson Island.

There were  two stations owned by Czechs. One was the Czech Antarctic station named after Johan Gregor Mendel, ran by the Czech Antarctic programme. The second case was a little bit peculiar - EcoNelson base on Nelson islands. It was a private station, which is rather unique, established a long time before the Czech Antarctic law was adopted. After many years of negotiations the Masaryk University as a host of the Czech National Antarctic Programme managed to take control over this site on Nelson Island. And the 2019 Expedition was sent to clean up the coast on Nelson Islands and prepare for the reconstruction of the base. The EcoNelson base has been henceforth renamed as CzecoNelson base. 

The Despatch Postoffice 

Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva is the most important Antarctic base of Chile - operated as a permanent village with an airstrip, cafeterias for personnel of its several agencies there, a bank, a post office and comfortable ranch-style family homes with children. It is located at Fildes Peninsula, west of King George Island, South Shetland Islands. 

Situated alongside is the permanent Chilean base -  Profesor Julio Escudero Station and it is only 200 metres from the Russian Bellingshausen Station.

Bellingshausen Station is a Russian Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations founded by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1968. It is also the location of Trinity Church, the only permanently staffed Eastern Orthodox church in Antarctica.

All the research stations on the island use the Correos Chile branch office at the Chilean base - Eduardo Frei. 

The Islands 

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands which lie about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula. King George islands and Nelson islands are part of this South Shetland Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for non-military purposes.

South Shetland islands 

Several countries maintain research stations on the islands. Most of them are situated on King George Island, benefitting from the airfield of the Chilean base Eduardo Frei Montalva. There are sixteen research stations to date in different parts of the islands, with Chilean stations being the greatest in number. Human habitation of King George Island is limited to research stations belonging to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, South Korea, Peru, Poland, Russia, Uruguay, and the United States. Most of these stations are permanently staffed, carrying out research into areas as diverse as biology, ecology, geology, and palaeontology. 

The Fildes peninsula is the most extensively snow-free coastal area in summer on the King George island, most of which is permanently covered by ice. It is separated at its tip from Nelson Island by Fildes Strait, only 370 m wide at its narrowest. Research stations on the peninsula include Chile’s Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva and Profesor Julio Escudero Base, China’s Great Wall Station, Russia’s Bellingshausen Station and Uruguay’s Artigas Base.

Latitude: 62° 13' 57.8" S- 62.233° 

Longitude: 58° 59' 56.4" W- 58.999°

Also see  : 

https://www.tema.ru/eng/travel/king-george-1/

https://www.radio.cz/en/section/in-focus/czech-scientists-establish-new-polar-base-on-nelson-island

The seat of Chilean power

From Chile 

Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. 

Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule in the north and centre. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic. In the 19th century, Chile saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) after defeating Peru and Bolivia.In the 1960s and 1970s, the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. This development culminated with the 1973 Chilean coup d'étatthat overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected left-wing government and instituted a 16-year-long right-wing military dictatorship that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing. 

Augusto Pinochet

The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a center-left coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010. The modern sovereign state of Chile is among South America's most economically and socially stable and prosperous nations, with a high-income economy and high living standards.

Bicentenary of the Chilean National Congress 

The 2011 Stamp depicts the old and new congress buildings of Chile. 

The National Congress of Chile is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile. The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house), of 155 Deputies (120 before 2017) and by the Senate (upper house), formed by 50 Senators (38 before 2017). Congress meets in the Chile Congress building, which was built during the last years of the Pinochet regime and stands in the port city of Valparaíso, some 140 km west of the capital, Santiago. This new building replaced the Former National Congress Building, located in downtown Santiago.

The Former National Congress Building (ex Congreso Nacional) is the former home of the Chilean Congress. Congress met in this building in central Santiago until Salvador Allende's socialist government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet's military coup d'état on September 11, 1973. The old building was declared a national monument in 1976 and between 1990 and 2006 housed the ministry of foreign affairs.

The cover is from Valdivia 

Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km (9 mi) east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla. Since October 2007, Valdivia has been the capital of Los Ríos Region and is also the capital of Valdivia Province. In the second half of the 19th century, Valdivia was the port of entry for German immigrants who settled in the city and surrounding areas. In 1960 Valdivia was severely damaged by the Great Chilean earthquake, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded at magnitude 9.5

Thanks Catalina for this cover and the beautiful stamp ! 

Desert flowers of Chile

A nice cover from Chile ... 

When I received the envelope I thought the stamps were just usual flowers that grow in Chile . But then I found that they are desert flowers that grow in the arid and hot Atacama desert of Chile. 

The Atacama desert in Chile, widely referred to as the world’s driest desert,  experiences a truly breathtaking phenomenon once in every 5-7 years. After heavy rains in the region, thousands of colorful flowers bloomed to blanket its surface. The climate is so dry in the Atacama that scientists use it as a way to gain insight about what life and living conditions might be possible in Mars ,  according to Reuters. The stunning scene is referred to as Desierto Florido- Flowering Desert ! The phenomenon occurred last in September 2017 , which is when the stamps were issued. 

Perhaps the most iconic view of the flowering desert are the bright pink blooms that  line the Panamerican highway. These are the many thousands of blooming succulents we call the pata de guanaco or “guanaco’s foot” so named for the resemblance of the petals to the llama-like species’ soft foot pads. Droguett tells me that throughout the area, these are “like a carpet, like daisies or California poppies,” he says, referring to flowers that blur past our windows on long drives in central Chile.After the pata de guanaco, there is the trumpet shaped lavender/light blue and white nolana, commonly known as a suspiro (literally, “sigh”), which you may also recognize from gardens back home. Evening primroses and related plants also bloom, as well as several kinds of Alstroemeria such as the coronilla de fraile (literally: friar’s crown), the yellow lilies called Alstroemeria kingii, and the mouth-shaped, furred Aristolochia bridgesii, commonly called oreja de zorro or “fox’s ear” in Chile.

When the humidity dries up, and the flowers have lived out their life cycle, the desert will return to its customary tones of ochre, coffee, beige and cinnamon. Scrubby, flowerless bushes will predominate where before there was a riot of color. But before their final hurrah, the plants will leave behind seeds, bulbs and rhizomes, waiting for the conditions to be right for the next big bloom.

Really a fascinating phenomenon and also a fascinating cover from Chile ! 

This stunning scene is referred to as desierto florido or flowering desert, and it typically only happens every five to seven years. However, the last time was in 2015, when the region saw the equivalent of seven years of rain in 12 hours, the Weather Channel reported.