Why would a person leave Lompoc at Christmas to visit South America?

a) to search for Lompoc's vanished flower fields;

b) to survey the economic impact of the Panama Canal described in these pages in December by Allie Kay Spaulding;

c) to visit his daughter;

d) to enjoy warmer weather;

e) all of the above

Yes, the correct answer is “c.”. No doubt you guessed that, but in case you chose “e,” you get credit, too.

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My daughter Christine, the Lompoc High student body president in 1999-2000, lives in Santiago, Chile. My older daughter, Victoria, LHS cheer captain 1996-1997 and now an architect about whom I also don't brag, accompanied me to Chile.

As a result, I can report quite a number of Lompoc-related conclusions. Such as:

Lompoc still has more flower fields than the Capital of Flowers in Chile; southern hemisphere toilets do in fact drain backward; and, especially for Spaulding readers, the Panama Canal had a devastating impact on South America. At least two cities have still not recovered.

We also found a world class national park that the Sierra Club ought to place on its hike schedule.

And, saving the best for last, we discovered a solution to the Surf Beach plover controversy.

Let's start with the flower fields, which 30 years ago characterized our valley.

Reports that the flower fields were packed off secretly one night, so Chileans could enjoy our beautiful colors and high-paying jobs, are not true. At least not now.

Hijuelas, one hour north of Santiago and kind of a rural suburb of the city of Quillota, bills itself as “Capital de las Flores.” The tollway there has exits expressly for flower stands. We were told that there are 20 to 30 nurseries, and we counted nearly 100 greenhouses. But there are very few fields of flowers. In fact we could find only two. One orange, one yellow. Marigolds, I think. The industry seems to have evolved, or moved again. Lompoc, diminished though we may be, appears to retain the flower field championship of the Americas.

The good-paying jobs? By local standards greenhouse work may pay OK, but keep in mind local wage scales are low. Several times we saw a farmer behind a hand plow and a horse. That sight was a dramatic contrast to some upscale neighborhoods in Santiago.

Economic inequity of course brings us to politics. We arrived 11 days after an event which thrust Chile into the national news - the death of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet. We had read about demonstrations and about clashes between supporters and opponents. We found calm. Most people had not demonstrated for or against, but were ready for Pinochet to leave the scene.

Leaving the scene is exactly what happened to the port cities of Valparaiso and Punta Arenas, thanks to the Panama Canal. From mandatory ports of call in 1914, they became international postscripts, and they look it. Much of Valparaiso's shipping is handled now by the suburban, and more modern, San Antonio. Punta Arenas is so isolated, 1,500 miles south of Valparaiso, that locals half-seriously call themselves an independent republic. On the positive side, the city remains the jump-off spot to Antarctica, and hosts a growing number of cruise ships.

It was to Punta Arenas that the around-the-world hopeful sailor and Long Beach resident Ken Barnes was helicoptered after his recent rescue at sea. We left there the day his distress signal was heard. We saw the oceans at that latitude and shivered in the 40-degree temperatures and wind. Since Magellan in 1520, hundreds of mariners have been destroyed by the frequent and unpredictable storms. Local hoteliers vied for the honor of lodging him. No wonder. It is a miracle he stayed alive.

For me the attraction of Punta Arenas was its proximity, relatively speaking, to Torres del Paine National Park, one of the wonders of the world -- even if few know about it.

Torres del Paine (pronounced Pie-nay) is nearly Yosemite-sized. It surrounds breathtaking granite spires rising abruptly to nearly 3,000 feet from a landscape of rolling hills and pampas grass. Glaciers in the gaps between peaks feed waterfalls and dozens of lakes in changing incandescent shades of green, blue and turquoise. Imagine a half dozen El Capitans interspersed with glaciers and transplanted to Minnesota.

These peaks mark the southern end of the Andes. The park was established in 1959 and has been designated by UNESCO a world biosphere reserve. I'd simply call it a world treasure, though weather conditions thin the tourist ranks.

And the wildlife. We stopped and gawked as eight Andean condors circled overhead. We watched nandu, the Chilean ostrich. We stopped several times for guanacos, not for viewing but for safety, as herds blocked the roadway. These five-footers, related to alpacas, vicunas and llamas, have the body and speed of a deer, the face and neck of a camel. Apart from a cartoon, I'd never seen an animal running with head dipped to ground level like a live vacuum cleaner. We watched camera-ready foxes, black-necked swans, Magellanic penguins and hares that resemble very large rabbits. It is a zoo in the wild.

We observed the penguins at a beach that was not much different than Surf Beach. We walked a half-mile to the main viewing area on a raised boardwalk with railings. Midway there a bridge crossed over the penguins' principal route from their burrows in the sand to the water. We were told not to linger on the bridge so not to startle the birds. We were not allowed to go just anywhere, but the beach was not closed either. The scheme might work at Surf with plovers.

Here are tips for travelers: First, though a surprising number of signs bear English subscripts, kind of like signs in Southern California with Spanish subtitles, don't expect a lot of English. This is not northern Europe. And in fact, unless you are a native Spanish-speaker, Spanish may be a challenge as well. The Chilean version drops terminal consonants and slides past a lot of others.

When hungry in Chile, just say “empanadas.” Bread covered, they contain meat, cheese, fish, or fruit and come in a variety of sizes. Which size you get you won't know until you've ordered.

And when you're thirsty, which is often in the warm summer, just say “pisco.” Fermented grape juice with egg white for protein, it's a great boost. We needed a lot of them.

At La Piojera in Santiago, they are served with an ice cream float. The drink is known as a terremoto (earthquake). After I drank one, Santiago experienced a tremor, several actually, about 7.6 in strength.

Correspondent John McReynolds can be reached at 736-6352 or johnny544@verizon.net.

January 30, 2007