Chile

We decided, in late spring, that for our next vacation, we wanted to be able to ski, go to the seaside, and go winetasting. Our choices were limited, and New Zealand, too far away. Chile it was, with Easter Island as the added bonus.


Palacio de la Moneda in the "Civic District" of Santiago. Seat of the government.


The description said something along the lines of "meat on a stick", one of man's greatest culinary inventions. This was more of a mountain. Still, pretty interesting restaurants in the Barrio Bellavista.


Both R. and I weren't all that keen on Santiago, we didn't get a particularly "fun" vibe, outside of a couple of neighbourhoods, like Barrio Bellavista. The Plaza de Armas was at least atmospheric at night. We were both glad to be heading out of the city, first for that week in Easter Island, and then the surrounding areas.


First, it was Valle Nevado for a couple of days of skiing. Valle Nevado is less than 50 kilometers from Santiago, and with a base elevation of more than 3000 meters, it is well above the tree-line. Miss a turn and you end up back in Santiago. Didn't want that!


Air is thin - you end up skiing fast because you have no energy to turn! R. really struggled with altitude sickness until a spectacular low, or almost no-speed tumble knocked it out of her. All good after that!


After the skiing, we headed to the coast, first to Valparaiso and then to Viña del Mar. We found these to be rather depressing places, especially with literally packs of stray and abandoned dogs all over the place. Perhaps it was the early winter?


But this sort of sums up the bleakness we were feeling.


Not to worry though, we found the cure... wine tasting.. so many vineyards within driving distance of Santiago. We stopped at a few places, starting with Viña Cousiño Macul...


...and finishing with Concha y Toro. And no, they didn't let me take that bottle with me.

All in all, it was an up and down sort of trip. Easter Island was definitely an unforgettable experience, and a sombre reminder of man's ability to destroy himself. I think we'd gladly go back for the skiing and the winery visits. The cities, not so much. I'd like to see the far north and the far south next time around.