Chile, South America 2 - 8 February 2023
We arrived in Santiago in Chile on 2 February, which was a very long day, but manage somehow to reach our accommodation and visit a bottle shop, a grocery and a bar.
Saturday 4 February have breakfast and are collected at 8.40 am for our wine tour of the Maipo Valley with Stamps Tour - Maipo Valley Wine Tours. Slow getting going as there are other guests to pick up around town - ten of us in all) but by 9.45 am we're at the Undurraga winery and are let loose in the shop. So inexpensive by UK standards eg from c £15 for a box of a dozen wines 😮!!. At 10.00 am we start The Tour which lasts 75 minutes - we get to try different grapes from the vine eg Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, learn about the different soil/ growing conditions in the area, see where the wine is developed, barrels to mature the wine...... and finally are given samples of white/red/ red/ sweet white wines. Yum.
Finally, poured back into the minibus and driven back to our respective lodgings. A very interesting day and good to see some of the countryside south of Santiago.
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| John at Krossbar |
As described in previous blog we'd left Auckland at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 2 February and arrived in Santiago at 1.30 pm on Tuesday 2 February.... It was a 10 hour + 30 minutes flight but we managed only 4 or 5 hours sleep, so 10 hours sleep last night was needed.
Friday 3 February I had a headache when I woke up but suspect general dehydration rather than hangover 😁 Lovely breakfast in the hostal court yard served by Christian, our multi lingual host, with delicious coffee and fruit juice. We're staying at http://www.hostal-tamboverde.com/nosotros.html and would definitely recommend. Our room has a view of Cerro San Cristobal (San Cristobal Hill) right behind us.
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| Cerro San Cristobal |
John has another brief shut eye and then we book a wine tour for tomorrow (in case Balcombe Club needs some S. American wine recommendations). Leave about noon (can't help thinking about 'mad dogs and Englishmen' (and Kiwis) - it's well over 30°C) and walk to the nearest metro station, where we use our baby Spanish to buy, and load with cash, a 'bip' card (travel card) for use on metro and city buses.
Travel four stops west and exit at Chile University station to walk north towards Plaza de Armas. Busy streets and pavements, and electric scooters (that must have followed us from Auckland). Stop at the Cafe Cocabana for an air conditioned coffee and fruit juice (and a rest), then walk to the main square, the Plaza de Armas. The cathedral has a service going on, but we visit the Museo Historic National for some insight to Chile's history over the last 500 years ie since the Spanish arrived.
Walk back to our area, Bellavista, and go to Krossbar for lunch, then to the hostal for a wash and a nap. Around 9.00 pm we head out to Krossbar again, for a light dinner and a couple of beers - the neighbourhood is now teeming with people who have all come out now it's cooler. We talk a bit in 'Spanglish' with Vivi, our waitress from earlier in the day, who is from Peru but moved to Chile as the economy is better.
Back in the minibus and after a bit of a drive arrive at winery two, Zinfandel, where we have lunch - I have tuna and John a steak, both really delicious. And wine.
The third place we visit is a small holding with many different types of agriculture, presented by a very enthusiastic and entertaining guy. We see fruit trees (we now know all about grafting), alpacas, horses, bee hives, alfalfa meadows, chickens, an example of how wine was made back in the day and the stages of different grape products. But no grapes growing here. Once thoroughly bamboozled we get to drink some really good quality wine...and then different piscoes of better and better quality.
Sunday 5 February - after breakfast we set off to walk north east around the base of Cerro San Cristobal to the base station of the Santiago Cable Car. It's fairly flat, and only a 30 or 40 minute walk, but it's over 30°C and I've melted by the time we arrive. All the houses and apartments we've seen in the city have metal grilles over the windows, and many have high fences. Towards the end of our walk we're in posh territory with 2 metre fences topped off with razor wire or electric fencing. Taking no chances...
Ride the cable car to the top - views of the city and mountains are reduced because of the smoke haze due to wild fires fires further south but still spectacular.
Nearly 8 million of Chile's population of c 20 million live in Santiago. Busy at the top with lots of folk visiting the statue of Mary (even though we've been told that Chile is becoming less and less religious). I think it's marginally cooler up here than at the base and possibly a Thing to do on Sunday morning. Take the funicular down from the top (we can just about see the roof of our hostel) and then walk a short way to Krossbar for lunch. Back to the hostel to snooze, read and study our Spanish and out later.....
Monday 6 February up, pack and breakfast then head to the metro with our backpacks to journey to the bus terminus to catch the 11.00 am bus to Talca. Bus station fairly chaotic and no signs to say where 'Talca, Londra y Paris' buses [more on this later] go from. Ticket office lady narrows the choice to platforms 26 to 36... Anyway, we find the bus, load our backpacks and find our seats upstairs. Trip is 3 1/2 hours south along route 5.
Talca bus station and it's environs are definitely grotty, but only a 12 minute walk to our accommodation, Hostal 1760. Which itself is not the Hilton - we have a tiny wood lined room with a huge bed (actually v comfortable) and the smallest bathroom I've ever seen Once you're seated on the 'throne' the challenge is whether there's enough space ever to stand up again. But the shower works.
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| Re'et petite/muy pequeno |
And there's a swimming pool, with two charming dogs in charge, Anastasia (Basset?) and Don Aurelio (Dachshund). Only issue is that Anastasia, who's still quite young, likes to chew.... flip-flops (jandals), frilly bits of bathing suits, hands etc. Which is ok if you're big enough firmly to say 'no', and remember to put your shoes somewhere out of her reach, but a bit scary if you're 3 years old and wearing said frilly bathing suit.
Order breakfast for tomorrow @ CLP7000 (£7) each, swim and read .
Tuesday 7 February - have our breakfast but are embarrassed by the quantity and sweetness - two sorts of bread, jam, butter, yoghurt, fresh fruit salad, fruit juice, biscuits and about a pint each of scalding Nescafé (from powder). Can only eat about half of the food.
I advise Senor Luiz, the hostal owner, that we don't want breakfast tomorrow as it's too much food for such hot weather.
We go out for a walk first to the bus station (Oh joy) to look for a left luggage service (nope) and into town centre - not very inspiring. On the main drag are lots of chemists, shoe shops and clothing stores. Very hot and we're pleased to reach the Plaza de Armas and sit in the shade. Briefly pop in to the cathedral a plain but elegant building.
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| Plaza de Armas, Talca |
Go for lunch at a restaurant near the Plaza de Armas where I have a very good hummus and quinoa salad; John's meal more heavy with steak and fried eggs (lomo a la pobre), peasant food and pretty ubiquitous. Back to the hostel via the supermarket where we buy beer and hang out by and in the pool with Anastasia and Don Aurelio, and some humans.
Wednesday 8 February Tonight we are catching a bus at midnight so agree to book another night at Hostal 1760, so we can swim, shower, store our bags etc until later. Snr Luiz puzzled but happy to agree. We have breakfast in a café and then go to the museum which has a mix of items about local and national history and some attractive paintings by South American artists. We learn that the phrase "Talca, Londra y Paris" (our bus company) is because there was a hat shop on Talca, in the town's hey day, that advertised itself as such.
It's very hot so we spend the afternoon at the pool - other guests are there too including an irritating little girl who has no idea how to deal with Anastasia nipping at her and her bathing suit, and keeps kicking the dog.
I am cornered in the evening by the cleaner who wants to be clear that we booked the room but aren't staying....? She is from Venezuela and moved to Chile because of the poor economy in Venezuela. She wants to know, where we're going next (south) and if there's much work in England - yes, but very expensive for food, power etc. Am seriously beginning to sweat by the end of the conversation - my Spanish is not yet ready to have such an in depth chat!
Go out for dinner to ' La Cafétéria'; I order salmon and John 'naked chicken '. I end up with three pieces of (overcooked) salmon and am not able to finish the plate. Portions in restaurants (or indeed our Hostal breakfast) in Chile are often enormous by UK standards.
Collect our bags and walk to the bus station; fairly quiet at this time of night but still a couple of stalls open selling biscuits, soft drinks and water. In the hour that we wait we are approached by five different beggars, observe three different stray dogs and see maybe one bus per ten minutes (all different companies) arrive & depart. Well, you've got to pass the time somehow.
At 11.50 pm our double decker bus (Jet Sur) arrives, we load our bags and climb aboard. We're upstairs in 'semi cama' ie reclining seats. The journey south to Pucon is due to last 61/2 hours and we're hoping we'll sleep (on and off - not enough leg room) and that we won't be affected by the wildfires (we weren't as they are mostly west of our route). Arrive in Pucon a bit later than scheduled, at 7.00 am on Thursday 9th February.
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