Chilling in Chile

I am in La Serena, a neocolonial beach resort and student town on the Northern Pacific coast of Chile. There is not much to do here but it is good to relax for a few days before I go to San Pedro de Atacama to see the desert and cross from there to Bolivia. So I use this couple of days to rest, read on the beach and enjoy la comida chilena.

'Round the Cape Horn to Valparaíso

Cerro Bellavista photographed from the old jail

I decided to continue my journey North through Chile, and stopped at the appropriately named Valparaíso - literally Valle Paraíso, or Paradise Valley. It is a fantastically beautiful city. It may be messy and dirty but it is part of the bohemian charm that made it a UNESCO world heritage site. There is a picture to take at every corner; there are colorful houses and open-sky museums with art directly painted on walls; plenty of cobblestone streets and hidden passages to get lost; miradors, balconies and terrasses where couples kiss and where you can patiently wait for the sun to slowly dive into the Pacific ocean, flooding the dozen of city hills with amazing light. I fully understand why the city greatly inspired Pablo Neruda, who chose to make it his home.

The port of Valparaíso

View of the downtown area and the bay of Valparaíso at sunset

Downtown at dusk, from the terrasse of the Brighton at Paseo Atkinson

Pablo and I are good buddies now

Earthquakes in Santiago (but it's not what you think)

Santiago de Chile and the Andes in the background

OK, Santiago may not be the most exciting city in South America, but I can attest it is possible to have fun there. A possibility is to go to La Piojera, a typical bar where people of all ages dance 'la cueca', and kill their Saturday afternoons drinking Terremotos (literally 'earthquake', a local cocktail made of the cheapest possible kind of white wine, fernet-branca and pinapple ice cream). If it doesn't sound like it would turn out as a good drink... well... it doesn't. But you would be missing the point: the essential is that you can meet real locals at the bar and practice your spanish with them. While they may initially seem a little colder than their Argentines neighbours, Chileans are very proud of their country and really make efforts so visitors can get the best experience here. For instance, Hugo, whom I met at the bar, was the one who told me that there is no better day to go up Cerro San Cristobal - the highest hill in Santiago - than a day after heavy rain because the humidity makes the smog, which bathes the city most of the time, dissapear for a while. So I woke up early the next day after the rain, and climbed the 6 km road to the top to find out he was right: here was Santiago, almost clearly visible up to the Andes.

Drinking Terremotos at La Piojera, Santiago de Chile

Mendoza - Santiago de Chile

I'm glad I chose to do the road from Mendoza to Santiago during the day because it is quite an experience. The ascension of the Andes is more than 200 km, starting from an altitude of about 800 m to reach the tunnel Christo Redentor separating Argentina and Chile at an altitude of 3175 m. The descent to Santiago is made of many hair-pin curves, numbered a little like at l'Alpe d'Huez but much higher and for much longer... While separated by only 150km as the crow flies, the trip takes about 7 hours, including a long stop at the Chilean border, but it is all worth it!

Veni, Vedi... Vino

Vineyards and 5000m peaks: this is Mendoza

About 30 minutes from Mendoza is the small town of Maipu. About a dozen wineries are located on a 15 km country road stretch in the middle of the vineyards. This makes it perfect for 'bike & wine', a self-explanatory activity. I met an American couple from Philly at my second winery stop and we finished the day together, eating parrilla in the middle of the vineyards and degustating all sorts of Malbecs (the main variety produced here) but also Cabernet Sauvignons and other types of blends. Although different than I imagined (no rolling hills like in Provence or Bordeaux), the landscape is no less pleasant with the majestic Andes in the background.

My bottom has been sore from biking but I have the impression the way back to the rental place was facilitated by the many glasses of wine I ingurgited during the day. I guess it makes sense since cyclists were using vino as one of the oldest forms of doping in the early days of the Tour de France, stopping to share saucisson and red wine with the fans...

How many drinks did Max have at the moment of this picture? Take a wild guess

Return to the Andes

Group picture on the way up

After spending a quiet day in Mendoza yesterday, I opted for a day trek in the Cordon del Plata to discover this part of the Andes. It doesn't look at all like the southern part I saw in Bariloche and Patagonia. There are more than 300 days of sun here in Mendoza, the vegetation is very dry if existent and the land is very rocky - all of which explain the excellent quality of the wine made from grapes that can grow here, primarily Syrah and Malbec.

The hike is not very hard - about 1000m of vertical rise - and the summit is one of the lowest of the mountain range (where peaks flirt with 6000m) but the view at the top is very nice: on one side, it extends to the Pre-Andes and the mendocino vineyards, on the other to the highest peaks in South America (the Aconcagua being the highest at 6962m but cannot be seen from there).

Drinking mate at the summit of Cero Arenales (3450m)

República de la Boca

After a Saturday night of partying in Buenos Aires until dawn with Argentinian friends I met back in New York, I spend my penultimate day visiting La Boca, one of its poorer neighborhoods but also the most vibrant (I was just recommended not to hang out there at night). Religion here - as you can guess from the pictures - is called football.

Tomorrow night I leave Bs. As. for Mendoza, returning at the door of the Andes to continue my journey North.

La Boca, home of colorful houses...

... fútbol...

... fútbol... (la bombonera, stadium of world-famous football club CA Boca Juniors)

... and fútbol... (on the left Diego Armando Maradona, a.k.a. el pibe de oro, a.k.a. la mano de Dios, on the right Maxi - my new latinoamericano nickname)