Chilly Chile

Jack and I got to Santiago on Halloween. Although marked by children in costumes and the passing out of candy in the USA, in Chile we found little evidence of this. Maybe it was the fact that we were in the city, or the fact that we spent the evening drinking margaritas in a Mexican restaurant, but it did not have the same festive feel. I fear that this will be our experience with most holidays oversees.

Despite the lack of celebration, our Chilean holiday was not without entertainment. On our third day we rented a car and drove to Valparaiso. Its a city located on the coast, among the hills of the Andes. It also was once home to Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. We visited his house, bizarre, beautiful and amazing all at once. It has fabulous view of the harbor, with interesting touches everywhere. He used old portholes as windows in the stairwell and doors from old buildings all over. It gave me some ideas for decorating, as well as recycling efforts when building a home.




Our second destination was a small town in Rancagua where a well-know spa is located called Termas de Cauquenes. Although once probably a grand spa resort, the building looked like it hadn't been renovated since the 1930s. The hotel is most known for its restaurant, which we thought was five-star. However on our first night, we were one of three customers. The food was spectacular though. Even though the trip was less than expected, it was an experience. I feel as though Hollywood has missed a great opportunity here to film in a relic.

We then headed further south to the wine region around Santa Cruz. This area was gorgeous and boasts some of the best wine in the world. We visited Vina Santa Cruz on our second day. We would have stayed longer, but we had to get back to Santiago to head to the south pacific.




I found Chile pleasant and welcoming. Besides the fact that the highway was not well marked, making it an interesting place to drive, it was very developed, a step ahead of the rest of the South America we explored. Its very diverse, so we felt as though we could have stayed much longer and been amazed the whole time. Every aspect of it was beautiful, from the coast to the mountains. On our drive back to Santiago I took in such a fantastic site: the mountains looked as though they were floating in the sky. A blue patch separated the foothills from the high peaks, giving it a sense of suspension in the air - breathtaking!



Because Chile has a large number of biomes and ecosystems, from the desert in the north to Patagonia in the south, this is a place I want to come back to.

Here we are on a "date" to a nice dinner in Santa Cruz. This is one of the only days I've been able to dry my hair with a blow dryer. Exciting stuff!