Just a couple hours outside of Santiago near the border with Argentina is one of the most beautiful areas of Chile, Cajón del Maipo. It’s a mountainous area with some volcanoes and lots of colorful natural beauty, including El Morado.
The main road through the historic city center of Santiago is called Alameda. Sort of. The official name is Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, but that’s a mouthful, so locals call it Alameda.
I’ve been in Santiago for over six weeks now, which wasn’t supposed to be my midway point in town. The original plan was to stay here until at least December, putting my midway point somewhere in July.
If you read my last post, you can see how fond I am of Chilean food. Fortunately for me, Santiago has a good variety of restaurants with international cuisine, the most prominent being Peruvian and sushi. Here’s a rundown of the places I’ve tried so far:
Now that I’ve had about six weeks to dive into Chilean culture and food, I think it’s time to write a post about some of the Chilean food I’ve discovered in Santiago. Obviously, there are some things I really like, and other things I don’t like. A lot of people are not going to like this, but generally, I am definitely NOT a fan. Why?
Right in the middle of the historic center of the city is Cerro Santa Lucía, the hill where Santiago was born in 1541. It’s now a park but was once a strategic defensive point for conquistador Pedro de Valdivia.
One of the areas I had to walk a lot through in Santiago is Parque Forestal. There are a few decent things to see around the boundaries of the park.
Not too far from Santiago, up a mountain road with over 60 curves, sits Valle Nevado, a ski lodge in the Andes Mountains. Santiago is pretty much surrounded by mountains and I wanted to get up close to them.
I thought it would be a good idea to check out the best and most well-known of the wine producing areas in Chile, the Colchagua Valley. Chile has an excellent wine industry, and Chilean wines have been getting noticed more and more the past few years.
While the city of Viña del Mar itself isn’t all that great, the beaches are pretty good. They aren’t always safe for swimming (the red flag was up every day at each beach), but if you’re into surfing or sunbathing, you’re in luck. But be warned – the water is freezing.