Pueblitos Perdidos

The abandoned train station in Volcán

On Friday, Washington Post correspondent (and new father, and Goodairs friend) Monte Reel had a really nice piece about how the privatizing Argentina's railroads in 1993 led to a dearth of medical care and a mass exodus of residents in many small towns. Reel follows a train run by Fundación Alma that beings doctors and dentists (foto to right) to these forgotten rural towns.

It's something both Cintra and I came across while driving through Salta and Jujuy in northwestern Argentina. Towns like Volcán (above) and Alemania (below left) retained little but empty train stations and wandering dogs. The difference, however, between these towns and the town in the Chaco province that Reel portrays, Chorotis, is that they were on the tourist train; both housed artisan stores selling textiles and jewelry. For those not lucky enough to live on a travelled road, however, there is little shelter.

Other articles: The NYT gives a solid wrap-up of the trial of a Catholic priest accused of being an accomplice in the last Argentine military dictatorship, while the Telegraph (UK) runs a dimwitted piece about buying property in Bariloche, in which it quotes one realtor source saying, "Real estate values in touristy regions like Patagonia are up by 60 per cent since 2004; it's a good time to buy." Note to self: buy before the run up, not after.