|
But residents of Villa Las Estrellas also have to
endure winters with howling blizzards and temperatures that plunge to
minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter, making it painful to even breathe
outdoors.
And they don’t get many visitors.
“Living here is entertaining compared with the continent,” said Jose
Carrillan Rosales, principal of the tiny Las Estrellas school.
|
|
|
|
“The hard part is spending many days indoors. For example, last winter
we spent eight days without leaving home because of the wind and snow,”
he told AFP.
Villa Las Estrellas is located at Fildes Bay on King George Island,
located on the northernmost tip of the Antarctic peninsula.
The 30-year-old hamlet, population 64, has a post office, a bank, 10
houses, a miniature mall, a gym and a school for the six children who
live there. It is part of the Presidente Eduardo Frei Chilean Air Base.
Most of the residents are relatives of the military personnel on the air
base.
One attraction of living so far south is the exotic fauna, especially
the long-tailed Gentoo Penguins, which have bright orange bills and
white stripes between their eyes across the top of their heads.
To survive in this remote town one must be highly organised: the local
market opens just twice a week and stock is limited. Locals stockpile
their own soap, toothpaste and shampoo.
|
|
|
|
Rosales, originally from a mainland town south of Santiago, has been in
Las Estrellas for two years along with his wife — also a teacher at the
school — and his two children.
He’s happy living in the remote outpost.
“Life here is tranquil, you’re not worried about theft, or with
traffic,” he said. He’s also happy that he can be with his children “all
day”.
Life in Antarctica might be bleak, but plenty of Chileans would like
Rosales’s job. For a teacher, the pay can be five times higher than on
the mainland.
“To come here, there is a nationwide contest,” said Rosales’s wife Maria
Cristina Hernandez.
|
|
|
|
“The first requirement is for both applicants to be teachers and married
to each other,” she said.
Other requirements include a master’s degree and at least one year of
work experience. Single candidates need not apply, she said, because
there is only one house to live in.
The school opened in 1985, and since then 290 children — sons and
daughters of Chilean air force members and base support personnel — have
spent time in its classrooms. |