South American travelogue, winter 2008
Displaying one entry (click here to see all):
- Week 3 (Feb. 8-15): Southern Chile to Santiago
February 17, 2008 - Friday, February 8
Awakened by brilliant sunrise over lake with mountains in distance. Staff of small group of cabins where we’re staying knew local dentist, who had busy morning but said she’d work Tom in. After
breakfast prepared by staff in common house next to lake, Tom went in for work on tooth. Dentist put in temporary but was frank to say she wasn’t sure how long it would last; soft food and careful
chewing for Tom! Susan and Tom back to work on cabin porch while Andrés, Carolina, and kids went off to beach before lunch. City-wide power outage when we went into town after lunch; no Internet or
working ATMs, but stores still open for groceries including, importantly, ice. Power back on in evening. Carolina’s excellent risotto and leftover beef barbecue for dinner with fine Argentine
champagne and Chilean red wines.
Saturday, February 9
All but Tom--still trying to catch up with co-authors--off in late morning for tour around area, hoping that cloudy day clears rather than turning rainy. Weather stayed dry but cool; tour group went
to various towns and lakes including Coñaripe, Lican Ray, Villarica, and Pucón, with lunch at very nice Hotel Antumalal on Lake Villarica. After editing and lunch back at cabin, Tom went into town
and got good wireless access in quiet hotel dining room (nobody there in late afternoon) for price of two beers and a generous tip. After reunion with others back at cabin, all went to dinner at
Italian restaurant in town under Tom’s dentist’s office; her husband’s family owns the place, and she was working in the restaurant. Repeated her advice for Tom to eat soft foods. Temporary filling
still holding fine.
Sunday, February 10
Took leave of Andrés, Carolina, and children in late morning; shopped at leading grocery chain store, Bigger, in Panguipulli and drove to north-south Route 5 toll superhighway. Road in generally very
good shape, traffic light to moderate, but ultramodern service areas jammed with Chileans getting food and drink. People in Chile seem generally darker-skinned than most Argentines--mestizo rather
than pure European. Tolls frequent and expensive. Much less limited access than on such roads in US--some bicycle riders on shoulders, fruit stands at side where you can stop and shop, local bus
stops for people who walk to shelters. No roadside picnic tables; you have to get off the main road, which we did and found a pleasant family campground with pool near Saltos (Falls) del Laja, where
they brought us a picnic table for about $8 US. Interesting small falls with water coursing through rocks and coming out of rock face four feet or so below top. Lots of evidence of major timber
industry--managed forests, logging trucks, lumber yards. Off Route 5 to go to Santa Cruz in Colchagua wine country, driving west into spectacular sunset over low hills between higher ones. Arrived at
very pleasant, large Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza around 9:30 after covering over 700 km.; at hotel restaurant dinner Tom had a near-religious experience over his steak, while Susan’s beef/chicken pastel
de choclo (meat in corn pudding, no chocolate) was disappointing despite her fond memories from when she was in Chile 25 years ago.
Monday, February 11
Winery tours: Montes at noon, neighboring Lapostolle in late afternoon. Mostly, you don’t just drop in at a winery for a tasting here, maybe paying a modest fee for the tasting with tour optional and
free as in US and Australia; you book for a substantial fee (Lapostolle’s out of sight--$40 US per person) with tour and tasting at end. Both ultramodern facilities, all gravity-fed winemaking on
multiple levels, with Lapostolle’s being a virtual multi-story cathedral blasted out of hillside rock. Truck ride up Apalta hillside at Montes, with best grapes being from hill rather than flats
below; knowledgeable English-speaking local guide Pamela, who spent nine years recently in Sydney with Chilean husband and children before coming home to Santa Cruz, escorted us around with English
couple, wine fanciers from east Midlands north of London. No lunch available yet at Montes facility; hasty picnic out of cooler after we got into Lapostolle (couldn’t get them to answer phone before,
showed up at closed gate) and discovered lunch would be after tour and cost $100 per person. Interesting group--bilingual guide Diego giving tour in Spanish and English; four jovial Scots (two of
them retired in Portuguese Algarve region south of Lisbon) who’d been down to southern Patagonia and Antarctica; two Brazilians from São Paulo; and Colombian woman and her teen-aged son--she found
high demand for child speech therapy in Chile and has been doing that in coastal Chilean city of Concepción for four years. Both wineries had recorded music full time for their barrels in final
aging--Gregorian chants at Montes, somewhat similar Mozart vocals at Lapostolle. Vibrations may help the wine--Susan says they used to have casks serve as ballast on ocean liners for same reason. Not
much open for dinner on Monday night, but hotel suggested Club Social just around corner on Plaza de Armas; very pleasant, and Susan had her near-religious experience with authentic local dishes like
those she remembered from before, including cheese empanadas, razor clams in sauce with Parmesan cheese, and abalones. Pleasant outdoor restaurant off street with us the only foreigners, we
think.
Tuesday, February 12
Work in morning then off to Viu Manent winery in Colchagua valley flats for noon tour. Bad signage made us miss large English-speaking group, but pleasantly so; two other Brazilians, architects from
São Paulo whom we may see when we get there, and we were only group members for clear-speaking Sofía giving tour in Spanish, starting with ride in horse-drawn carriage around vineyards followed by
tasting and (very) leisurely but pleasant lunch with the Brazilians--with their limited English and Spanish, seeing how well we understand their Portuguese (far from perfectly, but not too badly).
Good eel main dish for Susan, fine seafood pastel de choclo for Tom. Up superhighway a relatively short distance to Hacienda Los Lingues (lingues--a type of tree), lovely old tree-shaded estate with
rooms decorated in early colonial style and charming Yorkshire terriers for mascots. American couple from Chicago and southwestern Michigan staying here, part of trip to see their American daughter,
Chilean husband, and young grandchildren. Stunningly idyllic dinner in small outdoor central area with fountain, recorded classical and classic-guitar music, waiters in white gloves, and clear view
of setting crescent moon plus many stars.
Wednesday, February 13
Elaborate breakfast, like dinner included in remarkably low price for stay (under $300 total), in same central area with fountain. Tour of central buildings with young unpaid intern; hacienda family
has been much involved with at least early history of Chile, and splendid rooms have old French furniture plus family paintings and color themes. Impossible to see how the place can make any money;
just a few visitors, total price under $300 for the two of us, no extra charges for dinner wine (we didn’t order an expensive one--what would they have done if we had?) or dinner itself or breakfast
or wine they put in room and let us take away after we told them we were taking it. Stupendous, and delightful, bargain if you get to Santiago and can go under 100 miles south. Strolled around
extensive grounds before leaving after noon--gardens, picnic areas able to accommodate many, outdoor dance floor, kitchen garden, rodeo ring with bleachers, modern (and large) swimming pool with
nearby barbecue and eating area. Obviously set up to accommodate large day groups from Santiago--can’t sleep as many as they can feed and entertain.
Back on superhighway north through increasingly industrialized cities south of Santiago and in Santiago suburbs. Toll road, always good and fast, becomes ultramodern near Santiago with need to pay in
advance for electronic tolls, no more commercial pull-overs. Zipped through central Santiago before rush hour and found Andrés and Carolina’s house in nice, quiet Vitacura neighborhood in northeast
Santiago. Visit from Andrés’s aunt and grandmother after lunch; dinner later at fine local seafood place in multi-restaurant complex with Andrés’s mother Margarita, old friend of Susan’s now working
as medical librarian for very large clinic. Pepper common on tables here, in contrast with Argentina where you have to ask for it. No carry-out of leftovers--supposedly, chance of restaurant being
sued for illness leads them to say no way.
Thursday, February 14
Valentine’s Day here is big; breathless, busy flower courier in office-building elevator as we went for Brazilian visas. Expensive--almost $200 per person--but smooth application process with odd
wrinkle of having to take deposit slip to nearby bank to put cash in consulate’s account and return with receipt. We’ll get our passports, with Brazilian visas, back next Tuesday; no other country
we’ve visited or plan to visit (Argentina, Chile, maybe Uruguay) requires visas for Americans although Brazil does as retaliation for burdensomeness of requirements we impose on Brazilians. Drive on
Calle Providencia surface road, instead of taking new east-west Costanera Norte superhighway under river, home past streets and places Susan remembers from 1982-83 sabbatical; center-left government
of past decade and a half has obviously found ways not to kill goose laying golden eggs as we saw more large, very modern buildings in that drive than we saw in a week in Buenos Aires. Local monster
supermarket--maybe Bigger is down south--is Jumbo, huge and excellent place where we got printer for Andrés and Carolina’s office in addition to groceries. Home for late picnic lunch in back yard.
Some work, then out for nearby dinner at very attractive, excellent Peruvian-international restaurant Emilio. Imaginatively conceived Valentine’s menu of tuna tartare on avocados and guacamole, beef
carpaccio, sea bass on choclo, and steak in right portions for sharing all. Most places here and in Argentina take credit cards; we pay mostly with American Express, which says it adds only 2%
surcharge for foreign transactions as opposed to Visa’s 3%.
Friday, February 15
Work day. Mostly at house with Susan working on casebook index, Tom on casebook chapters. Picnic lunch in back yard. Out late to nice light supper at Akarana restaurant--interesting place run by
expat New Zealander with some very good Asian-fusion elements.
