Santiago is a beautiful city! I have learned SO much since I’ve been here. In the couple weeks that we’ve been in Chile several people have told us that it is considered an island. I looked it up and this is what Google said:
Its unique character is given by Chile’s status as a “biogeographic island,” which means that it is naturally isolated by the Atacama Desert in the north and by the Andes Mountains, which act as a natural barrier.
It is also the longest country in the world when measured from North to South. Because of this “Chile experiences a variety of climates, but can be broadly categorized as having four main climate types: tropical, Mediterranean, temperate, and subpolar oceanic, with significant variations depending on altitude and latitude across the country; essentially encompassing most climate types except for truly tropical weather.” (Google)
I had the realization after going to about 20 bookstores between Mexico City and Santiago trying to find the next book in my series that that wasn’t going to be as easy and it has been on this adventure so far. This made sense to me when I realized that the closest English speaking country is the United States. Luckily Dave supported me biting the bullet and buying a Kindle and I’m SO happy I did. It makes a huge difference, especially since I’ve been able to get my luggage down to two good sized backpacks for this leg of the trip. Not having to carry the physical books with me gives me more space and weight for souvenirs. 😉
It has been fun meeting people since we’ve been here and going on excursions has been a great way to do that! On the 15th we took a wine tour to the Maipo Valley. We met a couple from Lima on that tour and plan on meeting up with them when we go to Lima the end of April. The Isla de Maipo, as they call it, is a beautiful wine region in the Santiago Metropolitan area that is referred to as the “Bordeaux of South America.” We visited four different wineries and discovered our new favorite wine Carménère. We had never heard of this grape varietal before and it has a pretty cool story. It is originally a French grape from the Cabernet family and was used to make Merlot wines. The story goes that someone from France came over and tasted the Chilean Merlot and compared it to the French Merlot and was confused by how different it tasted. So then a scientist from Montpellier, where I studied abroad, came to Chile around 1950 and did some analysis on the grape. They discovered that it wasn’t actually Merlot it was 100% Carménère. This was an amazing discovery because back in the 1860s a phylloxera plague had wiped out all the vineyards in Bordeaux including the Carménère plantings. The climate of Chile, as I described earlier, was able to help the plants here be immune to that plague. We thought that was super cool and are grateful for the discovery because it is delicious! 🙂
In the past couple weeks we’ve enjoyed exploring Santiago and its many beautiful parks and hills that offer spectacular views. I went to Parque Metropolitano I went to the Japanese Garden and took the teleférico (cable car) up San Cristóbal Hill to see the statue of the “Blessed Virgin Mary.” I visited the home of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and walked around the Barrio Bellavista to see the amazing murals and mosaics. I also visited Parque Bicentenario and saw the amazing sculpture of five cyclists entitled “La Búsqueda.” I walked to Parque Araucano and visited the aviary which included Cockatiels and the food truck court. Together we visited the Jardin Mapulemu, the Plaza des Armas, and La Moneda Palace.
This past weekend, on Saturday, we the took a 30 minute Uber ride to the incredible Templo Bahá’í. It is a spectacular site tucked in the foothills of the Andes Mountains with a great view over Santiago. Before I visited I didn’t know much about the Bahá’í faith. It was awesome to learn about how welcoming and inclusive it is. Originally founded in Persia in 1863 it is considered one of the “newest” religions. The tour guide shared that any faith or religion is welcome to worship at the temple. Their foundation is one of peace and unity that directly aligns with my soul. I left feeling very deeply that the world is in desperate need of a more open spirit that the Bahá’í people promote. You weren’t allowed to take pictures inside of the temple but one of the verses engraved on the translucent Portuguese marble that stood out to me was, Tu eres mi lámpara y mi luz esta en ti. You are my lamp and my light is in you.
After we visited the temple we went to Viña Cousiño Macul. Which is the second oldest winery in Chile founded in 1856. It was a really special tour where we learned for the first time the story behind what makes a wine “full bodied.” Our amazing tour guide told us that back when wine makers used the gigantic oak barrels for fermenting they didn’t have a way to mix up the stems and skins of the grapes that floated to the top so people would swim in the barrels to do the mixing. Because of the alcohol content in the wine sometimes the swimmer would pass away inside the barrel hence having the wine be called “full bodied.” 🤣 I am not sure how much truth is behind that story and we thought is was a creative take on something we had not heard before. 🙂
Yesterday, we took another Viator tour to the coast. First we visited the flower clock, the only Moai in mainland Chile, and the fish market of Vina del Mar. Then we went to Valparaiso where we took the funicular up to Paseo Yugoslavo and then walked through the spectacular Barrio Galvan where there are innumerable murals. We had a lovely seafood lunch overlooking the port and then finished the day at the Casas de Bosque winery. I can’t say enough good things about Viator tours. We have enjoyed every single one.
We still have two more weeks in Santiago and are looking forward to savoring every minute before we leave for Buenos Aires on the 8th of March. We hope to go up to the top of Gran Torre and see the view from there and we have some restaurants that we still need to eat at like Baco (on Thursday). Next weekend we have one more excursion planned on Saturday to an Inca Lagoon and the Andes Mountains. We are very thankful for everything that we are able to see, do, and learn about. I hope everyone is well and cared for. Sending, as always, a universe of light and love to you wherever you are!
Alison 🙂
