If you're single -- Beware!

The first Chilean couple I became acquainted with I met waiting in line to clear the Customs and Immigration after flying to Arica from La Paz, Bolivia.

Paty was a tall, lithe and striking figure of a woman and I immediately envied her husband Fernando, even before we had spoken. He was about my age, in his early 30's, and by his appearance would have seemed out of place in most North American or European countries.

While we were waiting in the line we exchanged various bits of "getting-to-know-you" information. In the course of this exchange he asked me if I was married. I admitted that I was not and he replied: "Well, you won't leave Chile single!"

I laughed heartily at that because while I still didn't think of myself as a confirmed bachelor, I had no plans of getting married or even seriously involved anywhere in the foreseeable future.

Just before we left the airport, Paty and Fernando invited me to meet them for dinner and at that meeting they asked me to come and visit them at their home when I arrived in Santiago. This I did and they did their part in trying to bring to pass his prediction about my not staying single: they introduced me to several eligible females in their family. They did not succeed in getting me hooked up with any of their relatives but Fernando's prediction was absolutely right: before I left Chile I did marry!

This, it turns out, is not an uncommon occurrence. It seems that most single men who visit Chile end up married, engaged or otherwise seriously involved with some female they've met in the country. It has happened to everyone that I personally have known and I have heard many reports of other cases.

It seems to me to be such a common event that I have often though that Chile ought to put into place a program to educate and prepare their young women for a role of attracting young men to the country and then send them out in force throughout the world. Eventually they would marry men in the countries where they went and in time a large percentage of these new families would return to Chile to live bringing with them investment capital, skills and innumerable connections that would bring incalculable international benefits to the country.

Even now Chile's young women wouldn't need much preparation except perhaps a bit more knowlege of foreign languages because they already are attractive to the single men who come to the country. What would be different about this scheme is that rather that leaving this matching to the men who happen come to Chile to visit, large numbers of women would be sent out to other countries to "snare" men who would perhaps not ordinarily think of visiting.

So, beware, single male travelers. Chilean women are attractive to and attracted by foreigners. If you absolutely do not wish to become involved with someone of the female variety you might want to re-consider your ideas about visiting Chile.

In closing this topic it is only fair to comment that female visitors to Chile also have a great time in the country even though there doesn't seem to exist the same degree of "instant affinity" for female travelers, although this may be simply because -- in the past -- the numbers of male travelers has been far greater.