Santiago, Chile Report June 2006

The following day we transferred to the Sheraton hotel across the river at the invitation of Alejandra and Omar Guajardo, who had volunteered to be our hosts for the remainder of our stay. After a delicious lunch at the hotel overlooking the expansive pool and gardens we were collected by a driver and tour guide who gave us another tour of the huge city of Santiago and it's neighborhoods. That evening we enjoyed another culinary delight at one of Omar's favorite seafood restaurants, 'Restaurant 51' with it's wide selection of local catch from the nearby Pacific. We were also introduced to the 'locos' a very popular fish appetizer. We were indeed surprised with a new grape we had never experienced before, the Carmenere, a variety that is unique to Chile after it was wiped out in the rest of the world by phylloxera weed. Carmenere quickly became our favorite Chilean wine thus far.

On Thursday we were invited to Alejandra's home to look at her 'Dream' puppies. We spent an enjoyable afternoon with the puppies and Richard did a power point Shih Tzu breed seminar on his laptop for her and her 2 handlers. That evening it was off to the 'Eladia' restaurant with Ramon for a pleasant evening of conversation, food and local drink.

It was now Friday and our adventure continued with a driving tour to the sea port of Valparaiso and the twin city Vina del Mar. With Alejandra as guide we drove through a couple of tunnels through the mountains and the Curacavi Valley, know for it's fruit and vegetable producing and the Casablanca Valley, known for it's grape producing. We also stopped along the way to sample the local drink , the 'Chicha'.

 

On arriving in Valparaiso we were marveled by the houses constructed on the steep hills surrounding the city. Another interesting marvel of the past was the 'funicular', steep inclined elevators from a by gone era used to transport residents up to homes located on the higher elevations. We toured the 'eccentric' home of Nobel prize winning author Pablo Neruda and it's spectacular view of the sea port.

Next is was off to the neighboring city of Vina Del Mar which contrasted the industrious Valparasio with it's white sandy beach resort look. We ate lunch at a unique restaurant/hotel, 'Cap Dugal', shaped like a ship, located on the ocean with it's panoramic view and exquisite cuisine and service.

On returning to Santiago we were joined by Omar and were off to dinner an an exclusive restaurant located in the San Cristobel park at the top of the hill where the huge statue of the "Virgin Mary' overlooks the city. Richard enjoyed a local favorite the 'Caldillo de Congrio' (Conger soup with diced seafood) and Wendy devoured 'Stroganoff de Fillette'. Afterwards we took in the breathtaking view of the city on a cool but clear night.

On Saturday we were up early for a tour of the Colchagua Valley, home to more than thirty vineyards, and the heart of Chile's 'wine country'. We were driven by bus the two hours to San Fernando, where we boarded a 1915 vintage train for a tour of the valley. On the 'Tren Del Vino" (Wine Train) we were treated to a 41 kilometer trip to Santa Cruz while experiencing the 'Huaso' (Countryman) culture of the central area of Chile. On the train we were served a wide selection of complimentary Chilean wine and cheeses to stimulate our palates. Needless to say we disembarked the train after 'too many' samples and were glad we were not responsible for the driving. In Santa Cruz we visited the Colchagua Museum to soak up some additional culture and had a hearty lunch before our next stop which was the magnificent Casa LaJoya winery of the Bisquertt family vineyards. Our tour included, of course, the compulsory wine tasting and even thought the region is known for it's red wines, the cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah, we reaffirmed our liking of the carmenere red and purchased several bottles to take home. We arrived back in Santiago, quite late in the evening, had a quick bite to eat in the hotel lobby bar and had pleasant dreams after a particularly great day.

 

Our last day in Santiago was an encore visit to Ramon's, more dog viewing and hospitality. We reluctantly were off to the airport for a 'red eye' flight home. We will cherish our visit to this magnificent country at the bottom of the world and look forward to returning.


Wenrick Reg'd
Wendy & Richard Paquette
Box 640, 411 St Agnes St W
Azilda (Sudbury) ON P0M 1B0
Tel 1-800-836-6661
Fax 1-705-983-5147
e-mail wenrick@wenrick.ca
Wenrick dogs are exclusively fed       ProPLan


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