Day 24 to 28, concluding my trip to Chile.

Wine train tour

We met up with our bus at 8am which took us downtown. Changed to another bus for a 1.5 hour ride to San Fernando. This was were we boarded the antique steam train for a memorable wine train tour. It was raining all day but it didn’t spoil the atmosphere and fun. The engine was built in 1913 and this tour had been going for a few years, with very little interruption. All I cared was, steam train! (resists temptation to go choo-choo.)

The 1.5 hour ride was in a 1923 carriage, with dark wood and plush velvet seats. We’d been warned that it would be cold cos the train had no heating. Didn’t matter. Almost as soon as we set off we were treated to cheese and fruit. And then they came through with the wine trolleys. This was the Red Program II, so primarily we were served red wine. By the time we reached our destination of Santa Cruz most of us had a good 3 glasses already. I tried a Cabernet, a Cab/Merlot mix and an organic syrah. Nice.

We were welcomed by a folk dance by local children, then it was off to the Museo Colchagua, a private museum containing a lot of artifacts from all through Chile’s history.

Lunch was at the Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza, belonging to the same family and next to the museum. A pretty hacienda like hotel, and the sun peeked out just enough after lunch for some pictures.

The final part of the program was a visit to the Viña Santa Cruz. I’m guessing it’s the only vineyard in the world that has its own cable car, indigenous village display, llamas and giant telescope.

The actual wine tasting at the vineyard was a short affair — just a couple of glasses. The vineyard is only about 10 years old but it has an old name since the owners bought the brand name of an older vineyard. Main production includes syrah, carménère, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Nothing too extraordinary, nice tasting.

An interesting six degrees type of tidbit is the astronomical centre has a piece of space junk — a part that fell off a satellite. The same satellite now sits at the Air & Space Museum at Washington DC where I was only a couple of weeks ago. Hee.

The Coast — Zapallar, Concón, Viña del Mar, Valparaíso

The rain yesterday meant today was sunny. Perfect day for the coast. Only 2.5 hours’ drive from Santiago and it was the coast already. I hadn’t been to a beach for a while so it was refreshing to watch the waves hit the rocks and smell the fresh breeze. Although the sun was out it was still cool, around 9-12°C.

We stopped at Zapallar, an absolutely pristine cove surrounded by rolling hills. The beach was sand, the waves striking and the sky the deepest blue. The houses on the hill were swanky, the place felt like a fishing village nested in a high end resort. We sat on the beach for a while, and it was very pleasant. Definitely a place for weekend home if one has the money.

We turned back and drove towards Concón for lunch. On the way stopping briefly at roadside fruit stalls. Each sack of apples, avocados, oranges or whatever fruit was 1,000 pesos ($2).

Lunch was at one of the many seafood restaurants in Concón. We had empanadas as starter — I had crab and cheese and the others had scallops, razor clams as filling. Very yummy. I was too hungry and ate most of mine before I remembered about pictures. I did take a picture of my main course, a mountain of seafood. There were machas (razor clams), baby scallops, mussels, shrimps, loco (like abalone), crab and piure, an orange slimy clam-like local delicacy.

The drive down the coast was breathtaking. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at the sky, the sea and the beach.

Mid-afternoon we reached Viña del Mar, which oozed money. Even on a winter’s day the promenade was full of people walking around and being seen. With a posh hotel, casino, palm-lined streets it had a Monte Carlo feel to it. Part of being out and about in the cold was having ice cream, of course. The shop we went to was having a promotion — get 2 scoops and have either one free topping or an extra scoop. I had orange, aloe vera and mixed berries. Yummy.

It was almost sundown but we had one final stop — the hills of Valparaíso. To get up there we rode in a rickety Victorian funicular, the Ascensor Concepción built in 1883. At the top are museums and a nice walk (if only it weren’t getting dark). Valparaíso is distinctively known for its sprawl up its hills.

A quiet drive back to Santiago. It’s been an incredibly full 5 days, and K&P went 200% to take me to all these places.

Santiago

Day 26 was a domestic day. I sorted, uploaded the weekend pictures and wrote the days up. Ventured out on foot to the local Lider Express, a supermarket. It was about 20 minutes’ walk, in the rain and it was cold.

The main purpose of going out to the store was to get cream to make chocolate mousse. I also bought artichokes and wind-dried beef/ham for lunch. I said I’d make dinner so I bought a whole chicken, potatoes and mushroom. Did the usual spatchcocked chicken, rubbing in an olive oil concoction with rosemary, lemon zest, garlic and shallots under the skin. It was a larger chicken than I’m used to, but we still managed to finish 2/3.

Most of the afternoon was cooking. I enjoyed it very much, a small thanks for my hosts.

Day 27 I ventured out on my own. Walked about 20 minutes through the suburbs to the metro station. Fare downtown was 380 pesos, which I paid for using the bip! card K&P lent me. The metro system was straightforward, clean and efficient.

I got off at Baquedano station and walked up the Pío Nono. We were there last week visiting the souvenir markets and I recognised the street. At the top end of the street is the Cerro San Cristóbal, at 880m the tallest point in Santiago. The whole area forms part of the Parque Metropolitano and consists of the zoo, open spaces, gardens, a funicular and a cable car.

A return ticket on both funicular and cable car was 2,300 pesos. The main attraction of the hill is the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción, a 22m statue of the Virgin Mary. There was a small altar inside the pedestal of the statue and a helpful guide gave out small prayer cards.

It rained yesterday so it was sunny and relatively clear. Haze had begun to settle so the view of the city was not as clear as expected. Spectacular though, I could see most of the big city from the foot of the statue.

The other side of the funnicular was the cable car station. Small cable cars brought us down to the Oasis station, which was a park and a car park. However there was a stop along the way, Tupahue, which had a swimming pool (not open obviously), a viewing fort, children’s playground and more nice views of the city. I just find palm trees backed by the Andes an interesting contrast.

I retraced my steps through the cable car, funicular and side street. Had an Italiano — a hot dog with tomatoes and avocado — at a street stall, together with a fried pastry. Bought some more souvenirs and took the metro back to the apartment.

Santiago was great. South America is very far away, regardless of where one lives. I feel so lucky to have friends who opened their home to me and allowed me to experience the country in a non-touristy way. Yes I could have packed my days with lots of sightseeing, or even took an overnight trip. I could have stayed longer and visited Easter Island. But that is for another trip. I like the easy-going pace of the last couple of weeks.

Some pics that didn’t make it to the travelogue, because they didn’t fit into the commentary or there was a more representative pic.

The orange tree inside the grounds of the Government Palace.

A lone cellist in the park. He was literally just playing; if he was busking there’d be a hat or tip jar somewhere right?

Palm trees and the moon at Viña.

A typical suburban house in Las Condes. If it weren’t for the licence plates on the car I’d say I was in the UK.

And finally something special. K always told me about the beautiful view from her balcony. I’d seen pictures and was amazed. But seeing it myself adds to the amazement. This rotates through morning, sunset and night views.