Chile - Santiago - Excursions
Chiloe, the strange island
Sitting on the terrace of a "palafito", one of numerous houses on stilts that dot the island of Chiloe, an Argentine woman in her sixties sips a fizzy drink while contemplating the painted facades of the frame houses reflecting in the water. "I come from Buenos Aires", she says. "But I have lived in Chiloe for several years. Between the two, I have no hesitation. I prefer Chiloe". More
Chile-Santiago-Excursion
Concon, on the pacific coast
Concon is one of a handful of small fishing ports close to Santiago that have maintained a certain degree of authenticity and charm. The rest of the coast in the Santiago and Valparaiso areas has been devastated by property developers and mass tourism. The lone exception is the fashionable resort of Zapallar, considered by Chileans as their answer to France's Saint Tropez. Concon had been relatively spared. The seafront is dotted by modern apartment buildings but some old villas are still there. By European standards, the sea is ice-cold (14 degrees at the height of summer) but the heavily iodised air is invigorating.
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Chile - Excursions
Puerto Varas: Far-off Patagonia thrives on tourism
Even at the height of the southern summer (the seasons are the exact opposite of Europe's), shops in Puerto Varas sell parkas lined with sheepskin, trekking shoes fit for the bravest of mountaineers and all types of accesories indispensable in the harshest of conditions.Yet, a majority of tourists who flock to this Chilean town, 10 hours by road south of Santiago, have no plans to walk the glaciers of Chile's deep south or climb the steep slopes of its snow-covered volcanoes. More.
Chile-Excursions
Easter Island or the appeal of the never-never land
Why do the gigantic statues, or Moaï, which dot the island capture the imagination ? No doubt because they are remnants of a lost civilization of which we know virtually nothing. Its first inhabitants were probably a Polynesian tribe forced to seek another place to live after losing a war between the 12th and 15th centuries. They eventually ended up on this volcanic island 24km long and 12km wide in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, today five hours by plane from Santiago.
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Chile-Santiago-Excursions
San Alfonso, near Santiago: Andean magic in the Cajon del Maipo
The sight is breathtaking at dusk and at dawn in the small village of San Alfonso nestled in a canyon of the Andean cordillera, a mere fourty minute drive from Santiago. The mountains take on a reddish colour, as if on fire.
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Chile-Santiago
The best hotels
Thirty years ago, before the current property boom triggered a major transformation of the city, there were few alternatives, if any. Most of Santiago's best hotels were to be found in the presidential palace area. They were the Crillon, with its magnificent restaurant, and the Carrera Sheraton whose windows faced the Moneda presidential palace. Top political and media personalities patronized the Carrera bar and many remember with a tinge of emotion and nostalgia the Crillon restaurant's famous avocadoes with shrimps. Both hotels have disappeared. The Crillon has been absorbed by a commercial center and the Carrera building is part of the Foreign ministry. They have given way to concrete, glass and steel buildings built in new residential districts sprouting up in the eastern part of Santiago, marking the end of an era.
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24 hours in the vineyard of a wealthy Norwegian businessman
Chileans have a lot to learn in wine tourism expertise. Forget spending two or three days in a vineyard to taste the local products. Visits are closely supervised and entry will cost you the equivalent of 20 euros. Visits and tasting are available only to groups. Spending the night to savour regional foodstuff washed down with the local wine is unheard of, barring a few exceptions.A notable one is Alexander Vik, a wealthy Norwegian who has invested 28 million dollars to set up a vineyard two hours by road from Santiago.More