Chaitén, the capital of La Palena Province in Chile’s Region X Los Lagos, was the hub for travel into Chile’s Patagonia. The small city was packed with hostels, hotels and restaurants for all tastes. The markets bustled with fishmongers and artisans. Couples strolled the seafront promenade. Tour agencies touted expeditions to raft the turquoise Futaleufú River, soak in the hot Termas de Amarillo springs or trek through the pristine forests of Parque Pumalín. This was the place to embark on the journey down the Carretera Austral or to rest before returning to “civilization” in Chiloé and Puerto Montt.

Was. Until May 2, 2008.

The land had been shaking for a few days. Everyone thought it was Volcán Michinmahuida with a bit of gas. But when the volcano blew, everyone — even volcanologists — were surprised to see it was Cerro Chaitén, an insignificant hill that didn’t even make it on maps. Not even the millennia-old alerce trees had seen it awake before. This volcano’s sleep had lasted a long 9,400 years. The government ordered an evacuation of Chaitén the next day, taking away the over 7,000 residents. Course ash fell over the city. The Río Blanco, blocked by ash and lahar (an ash-cinder-mud mixture), broke free and flowed to its originally course through the center of town. (To view a chronology of Volcán Chiatén’s eruption and photos, see: geology.com/events/chaiten-volcano).

For three months, ferry services from Chiloé Island and Puerto Montt were suspended. Then this southern sliver of Chile was reconnected with the rest of the country. Some people began coming back, to protect their properties or to retrieve belongings to take to new homes. The scene that welcomed them was one of utter devastation. Homes are covered up to first floor windows with ash, and those near the river to the roof. Inside, the cenizas were at least 30 centimeters (one foot) deep. Where the Río Blanco originally flowed was strewn with torn-apart buildings and the twisted wreckage of trucks. The flows had extended the beach by nearly 100 meters (325 feet).
About 100 people or so have now returned to Chaitén. The city has no water, electricity, internet or land telephone lines. Hotels and residents are receiving only non-potable water. Generators and cellular phones are providing modern conveniences, though hours are restricted by owners. These inns are open for overnight visitors coming in on late ferries or catching one the next day:
• Cabañas Brisas del Mar (Avenida Corcovado 278, Tel.: 09-515-8808) — 1 person $50, 2 persons $60
• Hospedaje Don Carlos (Almirante Riveros 53, Tel.: 09-128-3328) — $14 per person, breakfast included
• Cabañas Pudú (Avenida Corcovado and Lautaro, Tel.: 07-809-9480)—hospedaje $14 per person, cabañas $60 for 2 persons
The once Discoteca Mega is offering informal accommodations on the floor, for $6 per person. Only Pudú and Don Carlos have meal service. As well, meals are prepared at the brown shingled house across from the former rent-a-car agency on the road into town. Five general stores have reopened. Rincón Country Artesanías is selling T-shirts and key chains with dramatic eruption photos, and other Chaitén souvenirs (Calle Juan Tedesco 29).
The wood-shingled church yet stands undamaged on the main plaza. On the square is an impressive monument to the town’s victims of the 1973-1989 dictatorship. From the bridge over the Río Blanco is the best view of Volcán Chaitén, which looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings. From its burnished, ragged slopes billow clouds of steam and ash. It continues to build at astounding rates. Between May 2008 and January 2009 it has more than doubled its original height. Explosions are heard on occasion. Volcanologists consider the volcano, situated only 10 kilometers / 6 miles from Chaitén, to be extremely unstable.
The future of Chaitén city is uncertain, but the Chilean government plans to soon make a decision on its fate. It seems certain Chaitén will remain the port for this region of Chile, but the city itself may be abandoned and the provincial capital moved to Futaleufú or Palena. The returned residents have vowed to fight any effort to destroy the city.