Approximate reading time: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
There is no doubt that the landscape is a way of approaching the aesthetic experience that provides fundamental support for human existence. The possibility of being moved by the landscape is a privilege, which is why philosophy does not avoid the construction of a story. There is an important list of thinkers who are leaving us their testimony, however in recent years what is called the “philosophy of landscape” has been consolidated following the reflections coming from some essays by Georg Simmel.
In this search for an encounter with the landscape, the experience of encountering the Pacific Ocean that surrounds our country has been remarkable for me, in a way reminding me as part of a species that inhabits a large island, why not think of ourselves like that, as part of an island territory, that would help us overcome the imposition of some geographical limits that tend to limit an identity reflection of what we are. Go to meet the sea, to that incessant sound that confronts us with an infinite horizon watching the sun fall that in its movement is born again and disappears, giving space to the moon and the stars that are natural lighthouses for the sailors who come and go. As Neruda wrote in his poem Farewell: “One night they sleep with death on the seabed.”
I find this stay in Cáhuil memorable, in this beautiful Tierra Salada cabin (@cabañastierrasalada), a privileged place to observe the sea and walk along an extensive beach, amidst a balanced landscape of plants, birds and fauna, from its beautiful window enjoy the drizzle, from your terrace feel the wind and the delightful sound of the sea in front of the squawks of seabirds, appreciating how the sky lights up next to part of the town of Cáhuil famous for its salt culture, where you can find those exquisite silversides that our mothers and grandmothers cooked without being alarmed by their thorns.
This beautiful place in Tierra Salada has a history led by Jaime Fuenzalida Araneda who, after an important hotel and gastronomic career in Santiago and Osorno mainly (including the former Hotel Carrera) built this space that recovers the tranquility of those spas that we can remember as part of our childhood, which has been possible with the work and collaboration of their children Karla, Valentina, Ignacio and Joaquín, who have been able to understand the value of the possibility that they offer from their cabins to those seeking a quiet and comfortable rest.
Knowing our places also invites us to the possibility of getting to know the heritage value that our history carries. I remembered that the Chilean philosopher Luis Oyarzún somewhere in his “Intimate Diary” mentioned Cáhuil, following a question that Mariano Latorre asked about the living conditions of the salineros, let us keep in mind that both writers have given us important scenes about our territory, I offer the story of the first to remind us of what we could call the salt route: «We continued along our reddish path, which turned out to start from Valparaíso and passed through Casablanca, Rosario, Malvilla, Llo Lleo and Santo Domingo; It bordered the Laguna de Cáhuil or the Choros and Boyeruca and Bucalemu; It went up to the hill of Llico, continued through the hills of Iloca and fell to the Mataquito, at the height of the old indigenous town of Lora, where there was a ferry boat. Recognizing the landscape means learning about its geography, letting yourself be carried away by its corners, as the writer with a Basque father and mother of French origin born in Cobquecura had expressed it well with his title “Chile, country of corners” who was awarded for his work with the National Literature Prize in 1947.
The enjoyment of the landscape is something that dignifies and the knowledge of history is something that enriches our human condition. Going out to encounter the landscape and history is a gift for the spirit that allows us to break the daily routine to which the usual chores subject us. Devoting ourselves to this type of leisure is a gift that we give ourselves by becoming part of a culture. that we were and that we continue to be although we have not become fully aware of that, therefore with the risk of abandoning a form of our being.
Alex Ibarra Peña.
Dr. in American Studies.
@apatrimoniovivo_alexibarra
