Travel Agent Castle Cove

I was very lucky recently (Sept 2009) to attend a travel trade fair held in Puerto Varas, in the lakes region in the south of Chile. This opened an opportunity for me to see more of Chile, my birth country, to which my last visit was 7 years prior.

Arriving in Santiago was, as always, an amazing experience. This city is so close to the imposing Andes mountains, La Cordillera as Chileans refer to it, that when the aircraft approaches for landing the view is truly breathtaking.

This modern city has had an amazing economic growth in the last few decades which have transformed Santiago into one of Latin America's most modern cities, with large suburban development, many world class shopping malls and impressive high-rise buildings and has some of Latin America's most modern transportation infrastructure. All of this together with colonial buildings and it’s rich history make Santiago a very enjoyable place to visit.

Santiago is sandwiched in the middle of La Cordillera (the Andes) and La Cordillara Costal (the mountain rage to the west which lie between Santiago and the Pacific Ocean. This makes Santiago hazy and smoggy, however, governments have taken an initiative to reduce pollution and it seems to be working as I noticed this time around the sky seemed bluer than in my previous visits, making the vistas of the snow capped Andes mountains much more enjoyable.

No matter where you are in Santiago you will always be able to see the majestic Cordillera, and be absolutely blown away by its grandeur. The Andes Mountains around Santiago are quite tall, the highest being Tupungato volcano at 6,570m. Other volcanoes in this area include Tupungatito, San José and Maipo. Cerro El Plomo is the highest mountain visible from Santiago's urban area and is 5,424 m high.

Santiago is only 100kms from the coast and on any visit to Santiago a trip to Viña del Mar and to the port of Valparaiso is highly recommended. Although these cities are attached to each other, they could not be more different. Viña is a modern residential and holiday destination with many high rise apartment buildings and many shopping malls and restaurants as well as many beaches. Valparaiso is the original port of Chile and has a long and colourful history. The city is built on the many hills (27) which rise from the ocean, the housing is a very colourful and picturesque, it has a bohemian artistic kind of feel, and many young people from all over the world gravitate to this city.

Food and wine are a large attraction in this country, as well as the warmth of the people, gastronomy plays a huge role in the daily life of Chileans with most shops (not stores in shopping malls) still closing for lunch so Chileans can enjoy the most important meal of the day, almuerzo (lunch). Food is tasty, colourful and diverse. Seafood being a prominent produce with unsurpassed freshness and taste.

Wines of Chile are of world standard, with the majority of the wine growing areas within a short distance from Santiago, this makes for an ideal wine tasting day excursion which includes a degustation wine tasting, followed by a typical Chilean barbecue lunch, with an entree of the mouth watering empanadas (savoury meat pasties like no other).

In landscape Chile offers the discerning traveller the most diverse contrasts, from the Atacama Desert to the north, being the driest desert in the world, to the world class modern ski resorts (as close as 45 mins drive from Santiago) to the lakes region, fjords and glaciers of the south or for a totally different adventure there is Chilean Antarctica (Base Frei) which can either be accessed by ship from Ushuaia in Argentina or if you prefer to avoid crossing the large seas of the Drake Passage you can fly from Punta Arenas to the base.

All in all this wonderful country offers something for everyone. If you would like more information do not hesitate to contact me.