NEWBURYPORT — Local residents Bill and Donna Franz will share their adventures in Chile’s Atacama Desert and Patagonia on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Newburyport Senior/Community Center, 331 High St., as part of the Greater Newburyport Village Talk series.
“We never expected to travel to Chile,” Donna Franz says, “but when our son took a three-year university position in Santiago, we knew we would be visiting. The first year we explored Santiago, the country’s capital, as well as the coast to the east and the Andes to the west. The following year we went north to the Atacama and this year south to Patagonia. We are happy to share our photos as well as what we learned about the history, geography, people, climate, and attractions of these areas.”
Chile is the longest and narrowest country in the world, stretching from Earth’s oldest desert in the north, the Atacama, to Patagonia in the south.
“This is our second Village Talk about Chile,” Bill Franz said. “When we came back from Santiago, we spoke about the central region of Chile. For those who weren’t present for that lecture, we’ll do a quick review of Santiago but then it’s off to the salt flats, lagoons, and volcanoes of the high desert and then the stark beauty of Torres del Paine National Park and the area along the Straight of Magellan in Patagonia.”
The Franzs volunteer with Greater Newburyport Village and have lived in Newburyport for 11 years.
A complimentary lunch is available before the Village Talk, courtesy of the Friends of the Council on Aging and the Greater Newburyport Village. Call the Newburyport Senior Center at 978-462-0430 by to reserve a lunch.