A Month Traveling South America with My Dad…adventure awaits.

Last year, Dad decided he wanted to take each of his four daughters on an individual trip of their choice. Billie picked Africa; Yvonne selected New England in the fall; Mandy hasn't gone yet, and I chose Argentina. We initially planned to go in January, but I needed to complete all my surgeries first. A week after my final surgery, we booked our trip and left a week later.

First Stop Santiago, Chile

We had great flights with one quick stop in Dallas and arrived at 8am into Chile’s capital city, Santiago. This thriving metropolis is the economic, cultural and politic hub of Latin America. Spanish conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia arrived February 12th, 1541, and quickly recognized its defensible port and fertile lands and made it the center of Spanish government in Chile. The city has seen much turmoil from earthquakes, floods, indigenous uprisings to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, but continuous to thrive and grow. After dropping our bags at The Teclados Hotel in the Providencia neighborhood, we freshened up and took a quick walk to Sky Constara, the observation deck of the largest skyscraper in South America. Completed on February 14th, 2012, it stands 980 feet tall with 360-degree views of the city. It was a great way to get a lay of the land.

Plaza de Armas

No visit of a major city is complete without a visit to its heart. We hopped in a DiDi (Latin America’s Uber) and made our way downtown to grab some dinner at Plaza de Armas, the city square, filled with fountains, trees and benches and surrounded by museums and the Metropolitana Cathedral of Santiago de Chile. We found a little restaurant called Marco Polo on the corner of the square where I had my first traditional food of Chile, a Churrasco Italiano, which is basically a sliced beef, tomato, avocado and mayo sandwich on a large round fluffy white bun. After dinner we wondered around and Dad got in trouble for sitting on the baptismal water fountain, but all and all it was a lovely evening.

Viña Del Mar

The next morning Eduardo, our guide, and Oscar, our driver, picked us and about 12 others up for a day trip to the coast. First stop was the coastal town of Viña Del Mar. This is the glamours sister city to the port city of Valparaiso, where the rich and famous built castle like mansions by the sea. Here we got a photo op next to The Flower Clock, which was constructed to impress all the visitors for the 1962 World Cup in which Chile came in third and one of two Moai stone sculptures outside of Easter Island.

Valparaiso

The main reason for this tour was to visit Valparaiso, a significant seaport about 75 miles Northwest of Santiago. This UNESCO world Heritage Site is renown for its unique urban layout, characterized by colorful buildings, steep hills and interesting transport. It was the main port on the Pacific side of South America until the Panama Canal was opened.

We started by the docks wondering through the fish mongers hawking their finds, fishermen fixing their nets, women processing the fish and sea lions, birds and dogs trying to get some of the action. It was lively and vibrant. We both wished we could have stayed longer, but we had a city to see.

The layout of the town is a steep amphitheater, with buildings made from wood, adobe bricks, left over ship material and painted with whatever leftover ship paint was available, so very colorful. This was the beginning of the walking portion of the tour, and I guess we didn’t read the small print of exactly how many stairs we would need to climb, but we did have the help of one of the 16 operational funiculars. A funicular is basically two small gondolas using the weight of the other to raise and lower it up the hill.

Next, we wound our way through the narrow alleys and staircases covered in vibrant street art, with vendors selling art, jewelry and trinkets up to the top and had a lovely lunch at a rooftop restaurant getting to know our fellow tour mates.

Going down was much easier, especially when Dad and the other Octavian in our group took the slide down. I did try to stop him. There is photographic proof.

Casablanca Valley

Chile is basically the upside-down version of Napa Valley with many great wine regions. We stopped at Emiliana winery in Casablanca, a region known for crisp, balanced white wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc, my favorite. Emilia a is a biodynamic organic winery with beautiful grounds and even a few llamas. I might have bought a few bottles of wine. It was the perfect way to end a great day.

Up next…Chilean fjords….