Chile

After four weeks of traveling around Argentina, we were ready for a change of scenery and culture. We departed from Mendoza and headed towards Santiago, Chile. Just before the border we saw the Aconcaqua Peak in the distance (the tallest peak in the Andes) and were thankful we did not have that hiking trip to contend with! To get to Chile, crossing the Andes is required and in turn huge switch back roads were constructed to safely navigate the altitude. This stretch of road is named: El camino de las 365 curvas or the road of the 365 curves. Being in the front row of a double decker bus made this journey pretty spectacular up until the 100th curve when our stomachs were properly upset.

     

We arrived in Santiago and settled into our Airbnb accommodations--we stayed in a comfortable apartment that overlooked a beautiful part of the city and had panoramic views of the Andes in the distance. Our host turned out to be a guy named Greg who grew up in Chicago, so we became fast friends. Fast is the operative word because Greg was quite fast. He talked fast, he did work fast and he made plans fast. We think he did more business in the time we were there than we had done all year. Both Lindsey and I felt inspired by his tenacity....and intimidated! Here we are, taking 9 months off work to travel the world, and he's involved in the start up of some 30 businesses at one time! Ok, that might be an exaggeration, but still...we decided that we have to kick it in gear once we get home! Greg claimed that a good portion of his energy comes from the Mate--a local tea drink served in a gourd  and sipped through a special metal straw that supposedly has some sort of drug-like energizing effect. I´m not convinced, though. We tried it and did not feel a thing.

Here we were again, getting to know a new country and city all over again. Each time we cross a border, it takes a few hours or days to get our feet back on solid ground. Luckily, South America is easy because you don´t have new languages to contend with every time you enter a new country. Our first destination was the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. This museum educated us on the (not to distant) history of the Augusto Pinochet regime.

From its beginning, the military government under Pinochet implemented harsh measures against its perceived opponents. Many reports claim that 1,200-3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 people were interned and nearly 30,000 were tortured during his control.

The involvement of the US government in his rise to power, once again, gave us a reminder of the misdeeds and sorted past of our government and leaders.  We mourned the innocent people that were ´disappeared´ and perplexed by the economic superiority the country may have attained from the capitalist policies rolled out by a ruthless dictator (policies written by our boys back in the University of Chicago...long story). Today the country is stable, wealthy, colorful and politically complicated. Naturally, I loved it for all its complexities and contradictions!

Touring through the city; Plaza de Armas

Cerro Santa Lucia

View from the top

Santiago Wall Street

Following our great friend, Eric Jen´s advice, we got on another bus and headed down to Santa Cruz where we met up with some friends of his, Francisca, Naty and Guillermo. Francisca graciously invited us to stay in her home while we were in town and the whole team of them went out of their way to show us the region and share in good times. Not to mention, they spoke very little English, and we speak very little Spanish, so their patience in teaching us Spanish bordered on saintly! Santa Cruz is the wine region of Chile and it was one of the best we have seen in the world. It was so beautiful, the weather was great and the wine and food were absolutely fantastic!

Eating and drinking extremely well with our new friends!

Wine tour through the valley. First stop Vina Santa Cruz

Hola Senor Al Paca y familia!

Another vineyard. That carriage was free to ride and we were so convinced that we had to pay for everything that we just walked right by obliviously. Sour grapes!

Afternoon hike up a cerro with Naty! We hope you are reading this and that your Ingles is improving! Our Spanish is getting much better, thanks to you!!

More exploring with the new peeps. We had ´barrels´...of fun!? Still got it.

On our last day in Santa Cruz, Francisca and Guillermo took us out for a really special treat! We visited a harvest festival in a nearby town called Vendimia Peralillo! They had a nice mix of traditional Chilean dancing, great wines from the region, ridiculously good food and even a rodeo! Better than Chicago Gourmet!

She made me do it

Last night with our Chilean friends.

We returned to Santiago the next evening to celebrate Gregger's birthday and the next day went for a run to clean the alcohol from our systems. We hadn´t run since Seoul, South Korea, so the run straight up Cerro San Cristobal was pretty brutal. It did offer a great view of the city, though!

Cerro San Cristobal

The next morning we said our goodbyes to Greg and headed to Valparaiso. This seaside town was very bohemian and a sort of Spanish-style San Fransisco. Great architecture, art, history and people. We perused the city by way of a walking tour and got to experience some of the local colors.

Valpo is filled with beautiful and unique graffiti!

Chile is famous for a number of delicious, yet horribly unhealthy dishes. The original and best Chorrillana--french fries, egg, sautéed onions and beef! What is the Spanish translation for 'gut bomb'?! There is also a famous hotdog called a 'completo' that consists of equal parts hotdog, cheese, mayo, guacamole and diced tomatoes! It goes straight to your corazon!

I want this house!!

             

For our last day in Chile, we headed to the beach city located right next to Valparaiso called Vina del Mar. The town had less character than Valpo, but it was nice to enjoy the sun while lounging seaside.  

Sunset over Chile. We loved our time here and will be back some day!