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Published: June 13th 2017
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Geo: -33.4691, -70.642
Day 4 -- October 25
After breakfast we boarded our Tauck coach for a tour of Santiago. Amazingly, there was a minimum of repetition with yesterday's tour.
We moved swiftly to the north, passing along/through embassy row, and viewing the rather imposing and contemporary US Embassy. Then we headed up into the hills where elegant homes valued in the millions feature lush landscaping and elevated views of the city.
Our guide, Bernado, is a wealth of statistics. On the way back down the hill, he shared a lot of background with us:
17.8 million people live in Chile
6.8 million in Santiago
52 independent counties in Santiago
59%!R(MISSING)oman Catholic
In 1960, the strongest earthquake in history struck Chile and caused destruction to almost all of the country's Spanish buildings. As a result, most of Santiago's buildings are contemporary, and built on rollers, to sway rather than shake in earthquakes of 8.0 or better (of which there are many). Google tells me there was a small one today; usually there are 4-5 a week.
Chile has long been a nation that made it easy to immigrate, including many European refugees. With the fast growing economy, immigrants continue to pour in and Chile lets them vote after five years, even if they don't become citizens. Many hold dual citizenship.
Back to the heart of the city -- past more of the captivating architecture -- to the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is magnificent.
Then a quick transfer to La Moneda Palace for the changing of the guard. The palace now houses the offices of the President (a woman, Michelle Bachelet) and the Ministry of the Interior. A lot of pomp and circumstance for a non-monarchy, but very fun to see, albeit a tad long. (Note: All three countries we will visit this trip have women presidents.)
Next we were whisked south to the Isla de Maipo, an agricultural community primarily devoted to growing grapes. Chile's main exports are:
Copper
Salmon
Wine
Fruits and vegetables
At DeMartino, we toured the vineyards, utilizing paper parasols to protect us from sun that is so strong it can burn the grapes; the production area; the finishing cellar and a room where they ferment wines in terra cotta pots. Then came the traditional tasting, followed by a lesson in making pisco sours, the national Chilean cocktail.
We lunched outdoors on a lovely deck with the Andes in the background. Salad buffet and barbeque. Picturesque and adequately tasty.
Back
on the bus, Murray informed us bag pull tomorrow is at 5:30. Departure at 7. The crowd moaned in unison, in what Murray described as "Tabernacle choir style".
Back in Santiago, we made one last stop, at Cerro San Christobal, a hill overlooking the city. Wonderful views. Great photo ops.
After a short rest, we headed out to dinner with our tribe of six, to Tiramasu, an Italian spot featuring pizza and salad. The perfect match for what we had in mind.
We retired early (not me, of course) - that 7 am departure was looming.
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Debbie Gutterson
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Tommye keep going and writing . I love the morning blog with my coffee. Gutterson's are smiling as last nights game World Series is tied 2 all! San Francisco had 11 KC 4 in game 4.