Marcelo Flores Fotografías

Pan de Azúcar National Park

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:32:09 +0000

Pan de Azúcar National Park is located in the coast of Atacama Region, between 25°53’-26°15’ S and 70°30’- 70°40’ W. This park was created in 1986 and the total surface is 43.754 ha. including isla Pan de Azúcar with around 100 ha.

In the last years, I’ve been able to visit this park in several times, mostly to work with Humboldt Penguins due this park, and specifically, this island has the second largest breeding colony for the species in the World. Due it’s a National Park and an important breeding site for penguins and other species of wildlife, the island is close to the public and only scientist have the oportunity to land and work on the island with a permit of CONAF, and usually visit last around 8-10 hours mainly as well as hosts a large number of seabirds, there is also lots of ectoparasites, mostly ticks and an insect known as the vector of Chagas disease, Vinchuca a.k.a “Kissing bug”.

My last visit to the island was a few days ago in a completely new experience, a mixture of science and adventure, because I went there with a BBC team to film the Vampire bats or Piuchén (Desmodus rotundus) and learn of their movements and feeding behavior. For about 10 days, crossed to the island in the evening to stay overnight and leave the next morning. Although it was exhausting work, due to the transfer of large amount of equipment and batteries on the island, staying up long hours and deal with ticks, was an extraordinary experience because the images obtained and the observed behavior of this species are a real contribution to knowledge of a poorly studied species.

Now just have to wait to see the documentary to be aired before the end of the year and in the meantime I invite you to see these images, collected during my visits to Pan de Azúcar National Park.

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San Pedro de Atacama

admin — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:14:57 +0000

San Pedro es uno de los destinos más visitados por los miles de turistas extranjeros que vienen a Chile cada año. Sus atractivos naturales y arqueológicos son incuestionables: volcanes, geysers, oasis, salares y pukarás son algunos de los sitios preferidos. Sin embargo, algo que no deja de llamarme la atención es la forma en cómo estos sitios son visitados y sus atractivos disfrutados, en otras palabras, ¿ Se hace realmente turismo y/o ecoturismo en San Pedro de Atacama? ¿Los servicios ofrecidos tienen la calidad de un sitio de interés mundial? ¿Cuál es la tasa de retorno de turistas a San Pedro?

Las preguntas son válidas y tienen mayor sentido cuando uno ve pasar minibuses llenos de turistas a alta velocidad donde el único objetivo es llegar a destino, independiente de las cosas que puedan observarse en el camino, dicho de otra manera, “transporte de ganado humano”, donde el tiempo para disfrutar los atractivos es mínimo y no se considera la satisfacción del cliente.

Luego de 3 visitas, mi impresión es que el patrimonio natural de San Pedro y sus alrededores está siendo sub-utilizado. No existe una real conciencia de lo que posee esta región y no existe interés por parte de las empresas de servicios (agencias, “guías” hoteles, restaurantes, etc) en brindar un servicio que sea de calidad donde lo que importe sea el uso sustentable de los destinos turísticos y la satisfacción del turista.

Espero que pronto pueda realizar mi cuarta visita para conocer y fotografiar los sitios más alejados, espero que cuando ocurra, ya no sea testigo de conductores atacameños con actitudes matonescas en el camino, comercio que se interese por el turista y un aumento en la educación ambiental, así como oferta de tours de vida silvestre y un mayor respeto por quienes visitan San Pedro y quieren llevarse un buen recuerdo.

No puedo dejar de felicitar a la empresa Andes Expeditions y a su guía Luis Santander, por ofrecer la posibilidad de realizar turismo de intereses especiales-en mi caso enfocado a la fotografía y observación de fauna- además de un excelente servicio.

Finalmente, los invito a ver San Pedro y sus alrededores a través de estas imágenes y a discutir sobre las preguntas planteadas en los párrafos anteriores.

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A trip to Bali

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 21:34:24 +0000

Definitively, I never thought of visiting Bali. The only reason I was familiar with this island is due to Sir Alfred Russell Wallace, best known for independently proposing a theory of evolution due to natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish his own. In other words, always sound as exotic as far away from Chile…

The pace of life in Bali es definitively slow. People is very friendly, with a big smile and you can see them doing offerings to the gods almost everywhere.

Balinese gardens are a delight, specially the Jepun (Frangipani trees) with their sweet-smelling white flowers, Orchids are out of this world and the rice fields are wordless.

Balinese architecture brings together the living and the dead, pays homage to the gods and wards off evil spirits. As mystical as it is beautiful, the architecture is a spectacle by its own.

After a journey of more than 24 hours, which included Paris, Qatar and Singapore, began 12 days of relaxation that included scuba diving, birdwatching, opera, lots of walking, many places visited, 3 hour-massages and of course the best coffee in the world… Kopi Luwak.

There’s so many things to do, places to know and birds to watch!!, so, definitively, I’ll be back. Hope you enjoy the pictures and think to visit Bali in the future!!

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Madidi National Park, More plant and animal species than any other preserve in South America

admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:54:53 +0000

In March 2000, National Geographic magazine published on its front page “Madidi: the spectacular new National Park in Bolivia”.

It’s been 9 years since the front page until, in December 2009, I visited this place to enjoy the flora and fauna, landscapes and culture. In a 8-day trip from Santiago,that sometimes had touches of adventure, I went into the Bolivian amazon close to the peruvian border.

The days at Chalalán Ecolodge were perfect. Early in the morning, songs of countless birds woke me up giving me an idea of the bird species on site to observe, enjoy and photograph. However, with every passing day, I realized that those sounds were not only birds, but there was plenty of animals, including amphibians, reptiles and mammals of all kinds and colors.

Soon, morning departures joined evening outings to look for amphibians and reptiles, while lunch was topped by hour nap in a hammock by the lake Chalalán.

Fortunately, even I do not know for how long, places like Madidi open a window of hope and cries out that development can go hand in hand with protection of ecosystems and species of fauna and flora living there.

I invite you to enjoy this spectacular place, through some pictures of Madidi National Park.

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Londres de noche y día

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:00:39 +0000

Quién diría que el matrimonio de una querida amiga inglesa me llevaría a esas tierras. Sin embargo, el viaje no estuvo exento de incertidumbre luego de la erupción de un volcán en Islandia de nombre impronunciable-Eyjafjallajökull-cerrara el espacio aéreo de casi toda Europa y afectara mis planes aún cuando me encontrara prácticamente en el otro extremo del planeta a más de 11.600 km. Afortunadamente, todo salió bien y comparto algunas imágenes de Londres tratando de rescatar su contraste entre lo antiguo y lo moderno, la historia y los encantos que sólo una capital como Londres puede entregar.
Espero que las disfruten!

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