Blogs from Santiago, Santiago Region, Chile, South America - page 2

It’s our last day in Chile and we’re going to Cerro San Cristobal; a park on a hill on the edge of the city reached by a funicular railway. First, breakfast from the mini market over the road. The old man buys a cake tossed in a thick coating of icing sugar and coconut. He puts it into a bag, then picks the bag up by the wrong end. The cake falls, he executes a miraculous catch, saving the cake and covering the next lady in the queue in sugar and coconut. After we’ve finished juggling/eating breakfast, we walk to the funicular which operates from its own castle and takes you 500m up the hill for great views over the city. You can then climb past a series of decorated crosses to a 22m high statue ... read more

We awake to the inevitable sounds of rain and cockerels. It’s been an uneventful night, apart from the old man waking to find a cat on his chest. Today we are returning to civilisation, which is an exciting prospect, although I have developed a cough and chest infection and am terrified someone will notice and deny me boarding. We check out of our hostel. The bill is quoted in dollars then converted to pesos at a very creative exchange rate. The old man stands his ground and eventually she backs down and agrees to use the official exchange rate. It’s another long day of travelling; a 5 hour flight backwards through time zones, then a bus and a tube, finally reaching our apartment in Santiago at 8 pm. It’s such a relief to be somewhere clean ... read more

La Calma de Rita is a strange place, balanced precariously between rustic charm and just plain dirty. Our Romany caravan in quaint and the bed was really comfortable but I could do without the mouldy shower curtain. After breakfast, a similarly strange mix of tasty freshly baked bread and nothing else I’d care to eat, we head for Pirque. Our plan to tour several wineries in our fantasy hire car has been pared down to just one, but it’s the biggie; Concha y Toro, the 5th biggest wine producer in the world. We book the basic tour which includes a glimpse of the founder Don Melchor’s villa and gardens. Then on to a small vineyard, each row containing a different type of grapes. We’re invited to wander round, trying the different varieties. I’m surprised how different ... read more

My last day in Chile arrived too soon. My flight was not until almost 10 PM that evening, but with airport security being what it is these days, I wanted to make sure I observed the three hours in advance requirement. That meant being limited as to where to go in the time I had left. The perfect solution, a return visit to Pueblito los Dominicos, my favorite craft shopping area, not only for the goods that can be found, but also for how pretty and quaint it is. It's also a destination that is easy to reach from where I was staying. On a Saturday, the Metro is not as crowded as on week days. The Pueblito stop is the last stop on the Metro line that is just a few blocks from the apartment, ... read more

Thursday was a monumental day I had been looking forward to with anticipation, a day trip to Colchagua Valley and a visit to three different prominent wineries in the area; Clos Apalta, Vina Neyen, and Vina Viu Manent. For this tour, we signed up with a company named Uncorked, recommended to us by the ilovechiletours.com people. We had wanted to do an overnight trip because we thought, with good reason, that a day trip would involve a lot of driving and a lot of wine in a short amount of time, but there were no overnight tours from Santiago offered. Anyway, we woke up very early in the morning for the 7:30 AM pick up. On this tour there was our guide Jose who was still in training, his supervisor Vivi, and driver Ricky. There was ... read more