CHILLIN' IN CHILE - Santiago, Santa Cruz, Valparaiso, Chile Nov 2016

CHILLIN' IN CHILE  

Santiago, Santa Cruz, Valparaiso, Chile Nov 2016

Hanging with our peeps

Is it Easter yet?

We arrived in Santiago to begin our long anticipated exploration of Chile. Our Airbnb apartment was in a nondescript neighborhood which likely influenced our lukewarm feeling for the city. We started with yet another chance encounter with friends when Jeff Krawitz and Gilda Linden happened to be there at the start of their OAG tour. We had a nice afternoon hanging out at the mercado and dinner that night. 

One of his charming homes

We also had a lovely lunch with Javier and Anamaria, a couple that Eileen met through her consulting work with Goldratt. The two of them, along with their daughter, were extremely happy to have resettled in Chile after leaving their home in Venezuela during extremely turbulent times which still continue. 
  
The story of Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda captivated us when we toured his wonderfully designed homes in Santiago and Valparaiso. The story of how the USA supported the 1973 military takeover of the Chilean government was part of his story as he held diplomatic posts for the Allende government. 

An amazing, happy ending

It was shortly after our visit that a letter sent to the NY Times from a Chilean citizen reminded us of what it is like when a foreign government interferes with the electoral process. Did someone say Russia???

Our oenophile

We visited a museum dedicated to the rescue of the 33 miners who were trapped thousands of feet deep in the Copiapo copper mine. It was an amazing technical feat and that they survived is all the more amazing after learning the details of their story. 

It was also a reminder for anyone suffering from claustrophobia (hello, Eileen?) to not even think about what it was like to wait 69 days to finally emerge from the depths.

Life is a dream

We rented a car and left Santiago for a visit to the wine country only a couple hours drive south. The city of Santa Cruz is at the center of the Colchugua Valley, better known as the O'Higgins Region.

Beautiful views

The area is known for its excellent wines with numerous wineries scattered throughout the countryside. 

We spent an afternoon at one of the original wineries with a tour of the vineyard and, of course, the requisite tasting afterwards. 

While the hotel was lovely, the sound of male dogs pursuing a female dog during her special time made for several sleepless nights. We felt as badly for the owners, who had no recourse, as we did for ourselves. 

Enough said

More than ready to leave, we drove back to Santiago to return the car and then scurried to the bus station for our ride to Valparaiso, the first commercial port in Chile, located on the Pacific Coast, and now considered the cultural capital.

An artistic feel

This city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a refreshing edge to it ,with steep hills--45 of them--surrounding the harbor and a well-defined artistic feel. 

The murals were some of the most amazing street art we had seen in South America so far. 

That's saying a lot since Medellin and Cartagena had the most striking work previous to this stop. That being said, Valparaiso ended up being the highlight of our trip to Chile.