Santiago, Chile Report June 2006
Santiago, Chile is located
in the majestic Andean Mountain Range which can be
seen from almost anywhere in the city. Due to its
geographic location, Santiago is one of the few capital
cities in the world which has easy access both to
ski slopes, just 50 kilometers away and beaches 100
kilometers away. Numerous villages located in the
countryside around Santiago invite the visitor to
relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of country
life. There are also numerous vineyards in the countryside
to sample delicious Chilean wines. We were excited
to have been invited to judge at a couple of FCI shows
sponsored by the Kennel Club of Chile and spend an
additional week sightseeing.
The only negative aspect
of the trip was the 14 hours of flying time and 6
hours spent transferring in Toronto and Atlanta. We
were fortunate to have been bumped to 'business class'
for the arduous 8 hour plus overnight segment from
Atlanta to Santiago and enjoyed the added comfort,
spacious fully reclining seats and 5 star service
afforded us. We landed in Santiago at 7:30 am quite
refreshed and were met by a driver who delivered us
to a quaint hotel near the dog show location just
outside of the city center. This quiet location would
be our home for the first five days in Chile. We unpacked
our bags and had a bit of shut eye till 2:00 pm when
we would be picked up by a driver and translator for
a tour of the downtown area in this Spanish speaking
city.
Our tour began at the
Santa Lucia Hill in the city center....an important
historic landmark. It was here, at the foot of this
hill formerly known as the "Huelen", that
the Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded
the city of Santiago on February 12th, 1541. He planned
the city according to the traditional Spanish checkerboard
layout which is still evident in the downtown area
today. Next it was off to the Plaza de Armas with
its colorful gardens where we had a quick bite to
eat at an outdoor cafe overlooking the square. We
toured the Metropolitan Cathedral, on the western
side of the plaza, which stands on the same spot where
the first church in Santiago was once built; to the
north are three important buildings: the Post Office,
the National Museum of History and the Town hall of
Santiago.
Our walking tour continued
over to Constitution Square and visit to the "Coin"
Palace, a former mint now the centerpiece of many
ministries of government including the Presidential
offices. We then drove around to various areas of
the city to view some of the local color in neighborhoods
where various people live. It was then back to the
hotel for a quick rest before being picked up by Dr.
Eugenio Gonzalez, the President of the Kennel Club
of Chili who would escort us around for the next few
days. He took us to a great seafood restaurant where
we enjoyed some of the local Chilean delicacies. Wendy
had a 'Jaiva', shrimp and crab meat and Richard had
the baked salmon. Chile is a world producer of Salmon.
This of course was accompanied by the local favorite
drink, 'Pisco Sour', a whiskey sour, followed by some
tasty Chilean wine. Dinner is enjoyed much later in
the evening than we generally eat in North America
and it was after 11:30 pm when we left the restaurant.
Sleep came easy after a great day.
Dog Shows
On Saturday and Sunday we judged a well
run dog show organized by the Kennel Club of Chile.
It was held in a covered gymnasium of the Seminario
Pontifcio Menor with spacious rings with carpet for
the dogs to run on. The show was held under FCI rules
and CAC were awarded. They ran two separate shows
simultaneously with Groups 1-4 being judged on Saturday
and Groups 5-10 on Sunday. There were classes for
Special Puppy (3-6 months), Puppy, Juniors, Intermediate,
Open and Champions. Show Chairperson Sonnia Petrovich
and her committee did an excellent job organizing
the very successful event. We especially enjoyed the
lunches prepared by Valeria Marques who prepared hot
meals for us and the rest of the committee including
a mouthwatering salmon dish on Sunday. As well as
President, Dr. Gonzalez, hard at work keeping everything
in order were Pamela Bias, Ximena Del Carmen, Alejandra
Maulen, Paula Hidalgo, Alberto Vasquez, Claudio Salvo
and Isabel Uribe.
Wendy awarded her Best In Show to
SHIH TZU
GCH.CHI.CH.MUN.CHI.BRA.PER.ARG.AME.LAT.
ISTA'S DREAM A LITTLE DREAM
Richard awarded his Best In Show to
MASTIFF NAPOLITANO
GCH.CHI.CH.CHI.CH.JCHI.JVAME y CA.JV
MUN. HERCULES DEL SARATOGA
Complete results and photos for the
shows can be found at http://www.kennelclub.cl/EXPO170606.htm
Each night after Best
In show we were the guests of Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez
for dinner. We sampled Argentinean beef at a superb
restaurant called Don Carlos and Sunday we enjoyed
pasta at a local Italian restaurant called Pizza des
Nostra. Typical meals in Chile consist mainly of lots
of meat, especially beef and chicken, rice and potatoes,
fresh fruit and vegetables from the fields of Central
Chile. Even though seafood could be the common daily
meal in Chile with its 5.000 km long coast, it is
not. But you will surely find a fresh seafood selection
on every menu.
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