Santiago Fun
With just over 24 hours of total time in Santiago I had to make the most of it.
After about 6 hours of sleep I woke up, made some Starbucks Via instant coffee (reserved for the backpacking trip!) and planned out my ensuing adventures. Though cash is needed less and less these days, it helps to carry around some so I wandered into the Providencia neighborhood looking for an ATM. And more coffee.
My Spanish is kicking in fairly nicely and despite the dialect differences I’m getting along fine. Found a Scotiabank (and a business working space co-located) with an ATM, then wandered back to the AirBnB area to a nice coffee and pastry shop I’d noticed on the way out. Cappuccino, yogurt, and granola. Tried to pay in cash but alas… con tarjeta preferred.
Back at the apartment, Michael and Kate finally appeared from their long rest and they opted into my itinerary for the day.
Cable car ride
First stop was the cable car ride up to the top of Cerro San CristĂłbal. This hill is a peninsula jutting into the heart of the city, giving great views of the mountains surrounding Santiago and the vast urban landscape sprawled in the valley.
Santiago cityscape
Air quality wasn’t great, yet we could still barely see the snow-capped Andes mountains to the northeast.
Mother Mary on the hill
This is a big hill in the middle of a Catholic country, so of course there is a big statue of Mary on it. Nice bonus: a K-9 training crew was taking a break and hanging out on the steps!
After a fun but average lunch near Plaza Ñuñoa at Fuente Suiza, we taxied out to the near suburbs to visit Viña Cousiño Macul for a winery and tasting tour.
Wine cellars
This was a great tour! I do a lot of wine tourism (mostly touring for other people at Keuka Lake or in Napa) and this was top notch. And the wines were good.
Grape sorting
Harvest has just started and we got to see the ladies sorting the grapes as they moved up for stem removal then crush. Only women – they can see more colors and are better suited for the grape filter.
After a quick regroup and repacking for our next stage at the apartment we set off for dinner at Nerudiano, chosen because they serve the traditional Chilean fish soup caldillo congrio. It was tasty - served very hot but it just got more flavorful as it rested.
Tomorrow we are flying to Puerto Natales.