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.