Blogs from Talca, Maule, Chile, South America - page 2

We stayed in Chillan for less than 24 hours. In all honesty it had nothing much to offer. It's principal claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Bernardo O´Higgins - Liberator extraordinaire. He is fondly described in the guide book as the bastard son of an Irish man. We are so proud! Though it was nice to see an Irish name everywhere in Chile. The main streets are named after him everywhere. He is their Daniel O'Connell. The whole country is going nuts in his honour over the next week or so. Talca was our home for a few days. It is only two hours away from Chillan but gave us a completely different experience. Within an hour of arriving we found ourselves sitting in the Tourist Information Office on the central Plaza ... read more

Na het uitchecken uit ons hotel nemen we een taxi naar Avis autoverhuur, want we hebben voor 5 dagen (= van Santiago naar Puerto Montt) een auto gehuurd. Maar voor vandaag rijden we van Santiago naar Talca, zo’n 292 km zuidelijk, en rijden we van Region Metropolitana de Santiago, door VI Region del lib.gral. Bernardo O’Higgins, naar VII Region del Maule. Het landschap verandert van ‘grote stad’ (metropool) naar wijngebied. Om 12 uur zijn we gearriveerd bij onze hostal El Puente en na het inchecken nemen we een lunch bij het restaurant achter ons hostal. In de tussentijd heeft de eigenaar van het restaurant een aantal wijnhuizen gebeld en kunnen we op ‘wijntour’. Helaas voor ons is het winter, want de meeste wijnhuizen geven in de winter geen tour. Maar gelukkig hebben wij onze vriend, die ... read more

360 km later and its Sunday morning in Casa Chueca, where I´m going to put my feet up for a day and I´ve picked the right place for it. Hammocks, good beer, veggie food and water with magic rocks in it for mystical energy (really). The whole way has been on or beside the motorway, which was horrible coming out of Santiago, but has eased up now, as the further South and more rural its becoming. Santiago was surprisingly laid back, in the Eco Hostel and a rubbishy film in the local cinema. Don´t see ´Beethoven'unless you´re a fan of soft focus sunsets and Ed Harris in a wig. The original Beethoven with the dog was better. It´s just one road going south, The big difference to Argentina is it´s green and there are people, so ... read more