The New York Times reported that many buildings in Santiago appeared unscathed from the outside, but inside, they were heavily damaged. Other reports suggest that rebuilding will take three to four years. And the quake created little curiosities, such as moving Concepcion 10 feet closer to the sea, and Buenos Aires an inch closer. The temblor could even spike the cost of paper 5 percent and take a huge bite out of the supply of Chilean wine.

Triporati’s Chile expert Wayne Bernhardson, in nearby Uruguay at the time, cited reports from friends that many of the coastal towns in central Chile will never be the same.

But Chile will recover, and vast areas in the north and south (San Pedro de Atacama, Patagonia) were unaffected and remain accessible. And this may be a time when Chile needs our support more than ever. That’s worth considering if thinking about changing your travel plans.

The list was compiled by Jeff Greenwald and Christy Hoover at EthicalTraveler.org, a nonprofit organization (part of the Earth Island Institute) that urges travelers to spend their travel dollars in ways that protect human rights and minimize impacts on the environment. They acknowledge that no country on the list is perfect (what country off the list is?) but they found lots of hope and inspiration in many places.

Some countries that made the top 10 may surprise you, others may make complete sense to you. Alphabetically they are:

Argentina
Belize
Chile
Ghana
Lithuania
Namibia
Poland
Seychelles
South Africa
Suriname

The Ethical Traveler report discusses the attributes and endeavors that allowed these countries to rise to the top. The next step for us is to see which of these places are on our travel wish lists and start planning.

Is a road from an airstrip to town such a transgression? Well, maybe if it’s through landscape Wayne describes as “one of the most scenic and solitary [walks] I’ve ever done.” Right now to go from the village to the airstrip requires a four-hour walk or a one-hour sail, but isn’t that what you’d expect on an island where castaway Alexander Selkirk lived alone for four years to become the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s famous novel, Robinson Crusoe?

Further, Wayne says the road would wipe out this trail, do incalculable damage to the flora and fauna on an island that has and needs few motorized vehicles, and wouldn’t produce a faster route into town. Who needs it?

It sure makes me want to get down there, maybe in the North American winter when the weather in the south should be milder.

On my last night in Santiago de Chile before heading north into the Atacama desert for several weeks, I enjoyed a fish dinner at Ostras Azócar, one of the city’s classic seafood restaurants. In tribute to Mr. Bush’s rare indulgence of good taste — and his imminent departure from the U.S. presidency — I ordered a Peruvian pisco sour (pictured here). I’ll have at least one more on January 20th, and I’ll hope that he enjoys many more in the coming years.

By the way, despite what the Huffington Post piece suggests, there is no such thing as non-alcoholic pisco, which is at least 30 to 35 percent (60 to 70 proof) alcohol. In fairness to Mr. Bush, refusing it would not only have violated diplomatic protocol — it would have been extremely rude in the Peruvian context.

It’s also because the buses from Puerto Natales (Chile, pictured above) to El Calafate (Argentina) have been so full that she had to wait several days in town to get a seat — which suggests that, despite the global economic crisis, Patagonia remains a hot destination.

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That’s partly because, against all odds, the U.S. dollar is actually strengthening against the currencies of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, and there are other favorable signals as well. When I was last in Chile in April, the peso was at roughly 430 per dollar, and the 2000-peso banknote illustrated above was worth about US$4.65; on Friday, with the peso at 617 per dollar, that same banknote was only worth US$3.24. As in the stock market, there have been some fluctuations, but the bottom line is that the dollar is worth 30 percent more than in April.

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Fortunately, Argentina is a stable democracy now, but that doesn’t mean the country doesn’t shoot itself in the foot sometimes. Last week, interior minister Florencio Randazzo announced that the country would institute a “reciprocity fee” - similar to the one collected by neighboring Chile - on foreign visitors whose governments impose visa fees on Argentine citizens. This would mean, for instance, that US citizens entering Argentina would have to pay US$131 per person for the right to enter Argentina, while Canadians would pay even more. Australians and Mexican would pay less.

This is not unfair, of course. Not only do Argentines seeking tourist visas for the US need to pay the said fee, but they also have to provide bank statements and other supporting documentation to prove they have stable employment and resources for their trip, and that they will not overstay their welcome. An applicant from, say, the city of Ushuaia will have to fly four hours to Buenos Aires and back for a perfunctory personal interview at the U.S. consulate. It’s no surprise that Argentines (and other foreigners) resent the process, and many consider the new measure long overdue.

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Daniel Craig, who many say rivals Sean Connery as the best Bond ever, shot the latest Bond feature Quantum of Solace in the Atacama Desert of Chile, according to a recent article by Deanna Palic in the magazine International Travel News. The film opens in the U.K. October 31st and in the U.S. November 14th. Chile is fast becoming a hotspot for filmmakers with Quantum of Solace being just one of many films in production.

Chile’s landscape and climate rival California with a burgeoning wine industry to prove it. You can ski, surf and enjoy the cosmopolitan Santiago and now, apparently, see plenty of film crews in action.