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Published: October 19th 2009
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From the moment we crossed the border into Chile from Bolivia, it was very clear we were in a completely different country. While the transition from Ecuador to Peru and Peru to Bolivia wasn’t so obvious, the shift to Chile was a big change. Not only were the roads paved but people’s attitude towards foreigners was entirely different as the people were extremely friendly and helpful without looking at you as if you were a dollar sign. However, alongside this, Chile has by far been the most expensive country so far.
The beauty about Chile is, due to it being so long, it has such a diverse range of scenery and beauty. From the desert in the north perhaps reminding people of parts of Africa to the snow-capped mountains in the south reminiscent of New Zealand, it really is possible to see a wide variety of landscape and scenery in a relatively short time. After spending a night in sunny San Pedro de Atacama which was very pretty and fairly touristic with its quaint café’s and shops lining the narrow cobbled streets, we headed straight down on a 24 hour bus ride (very comfortable) to Santiago to meet our friend Pablo
who is running Wicked Campers in Chile (the company Fab and I were working for in New Zealand.)
Santiago is usually slated by travelers due to there not being an awful lot for tourists to see and do but, as always, it’s better to know a local. We stayed in Pablo’s flat for a few days and went out to a couple of bars and walked around the centre getting a feel for Santiago life. It really was quite European compared to what we have seen before on the trip with its large pedestrianised streets lined with its McDonalds’ and Subways’. Traditional café’s still exist where you might feel as if you have stepped into the past as the waitresses are dressed in traditional uniform with a backdrop of a 1970’s cafe. Some traditional café’s, frequented by business men, are usually full of smoke and have no chairs as everybody stands up sipping their coffee whilst being served by waitresses in very short skirts.
Santiago is clouded by smog due to the heavy pollution of the city but it does sit in a beautiful location surrounded by snow capped mountains. By going to the roof of Pablo’s block of flats,
it’s possible to have a panoramic view of Santiago. On Chile’ s Independence day we spent a little time up there as well as other times around sunset just to take a few photo’s. The day after independanc e day we visited the Mapu valley which is about an hour out of Santiago and had a picnic with Pablo and his flatmates which is apparently a very traditional thing to do around this time in Santiago. However, these times were after our trip in the Wicked Camper where we spent 10 days travelling to Valparaiso before heading south to the Lake district and crossing the Argentinian border.
Valpairiso is great- very bohemian with its attractive cerros (hills where the subhurbs rest) reached by traditional vertical lifts that date back many years. Cafés and restaurants are arty and cool reminding me of Barcelona and graffiti’d walls cover much of the city which adds to the bohemian feel of the town. Houses are cluttered together and climb the hills and offer a superb view of the sea and the town below. It was in Valpairiso where I first tried driving on the wrong side of the road which was pretty stressful to
say the least! I got used to it though. On our first night the van even got broken into when we went out for dinner (the town is known for its petty crime and we parked the van in a stupid place) but it wasn’t such a big deal as they left the ipod and mobile but stole the jack for changing the wheel and the blankets. How strange.
After our short time in Valpairiso, we headed back to Santiago for a night and stayed in Pablo’s flat before heading south towards the Lake District. One of the great things about campervaning in Chile is that there are lots of free places you can park up and sleep along the main highway. Service stations even have showers and toilets that you can use for a small price and it’s easy to park up with the truck drivers for the night. However, one of the downfalls about driving long distances in Chile is the tolls. Literally, along the main highway, it feels like you can’t go for more than 20 K’s without a toll… and they are expensive. It costs about 25 dollars just to go to the Lake District, which
is only about a couple of days of driving.
Unfortunately for us we were in the Lake District at the wrong time as it was raining raining raining and much like an English winter. We were there out of season and apparently it’s pretty common at this time of year. As a result, we didn’t spend too long around the area even though it is considered to be one of Chile’s most beautiful regions. We stayed a night in the van in Pucon, a pretty touristic town that is popular with skiers, before heading to Lican Ray and back to the highway down to Osorno and crossing towards the Argentinan border via Aguas Calientes where we treated ourselves to a cabana (it was pissing down and the van was leaking.) It was expensive but we got a trip to the hot thermal pools included and it was worth it for a night of comfort.
The next day was onto Argentina where we saw a little more sun….
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