Day 3- travel day through the Andes/Day 1 Mendoza

An early start to the day. We had to be downstairs at 8am so we could get our transfer to the bus depot for our 9:15 bus from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina. An estimated 7 hour trip with the boarder/passport control taking about two hours from the time we arrived and sat until we were able to get off to leave "Chile" and arrive in "Argentina" even though the passport stamping was done right next to each other in a covered booth.




The bus was pretty nice. We had the half bed style bus, so it made for a comfy ride, much more comfortable than flying in coach from MIA to SCL. Everything was in Spanish, but when they went over the toilet usage, it was pretty clear that "pee pee" was okay, "poo poo" not okay. We had coffee/tea service and I opted for coffee. It was black, so I was surprised that it was super sweet when I took my first sip. Chile is not known for their coffee. It was drinkable.


I switched seats to the front of the bus (we were on the top deck) so I could take some pictures of the Andes as we drove by. Pictures and words cannot describe how massive these mountains are. Think driving to Vegas from San Diego, dry desert looking landscape but with the mountains more than double the size.



We went through tunnels, and climbed up the Andes, taking more than 30 curves where at times the bus looked like it was going to go right off the side of the mountain to make the turn. It was crazy.

When we got to the border, I was reminded of my Contiki Europe tour when we took the bus from Germany to Prague and how they made us get off the bus, take all our things off and lay out everything on the ground for dogs to sniff. That was a memorable moment on that trip. This border crossing didn't seem like it took that long. We sat and waited for the buses in front of us to go through, but we were able to get off the bus and stand outside in the cool, refreshing air. When it was our turn, we took our bags off the bus (hand bags) and went to leave Chile, getting our passports stamped, then moved to the next line to get stamped for entering Argentina. The border is in the middle of the Andes, so it's not really clear when you really leave and enter the two countries.

Once we were all in Argentina, they moved our bus up and unloaded our luggage, putting them through scanners, while we lined up to show them our hand luggage. It was painless. We were then on our way.


We passed an old hotel and a ski resort, a cemetery and a yellow bridge. Notice a lot of the altars along the road, which I assumed were for those killed on the road, but was told the red ones have to do with a gauchos, somewhat saint-like, Gauchito Gil, who was a Robin Hood like figure. If interested in learning more about him, do a google search. [look closely in the photo and you can see one above the large rock on the right]


I had asked Cecilia about Mate [maught-te] since I had read it when I was learning about the Argentine culture. She actually had some for the bus ride, so she shared with me. Mate is a social drink in South America. Every country and parts of the same country kind of do it differently, but it's similar to the Japanese tea ceremony in some respect. You have the tools: the gourd, a metal straw with a filter of sorts on the bottom- bombilla, hot water (not boiling and in the hotter regions, they use cold water) and then the yerba mate. You share mate, drinking from the same gourd and straw. You pass it to the host typically when you finish the water, it is then refilled and the next person drinks. When you are finished and do not want any more you say "gracias". Cecilia had the hot water in a thermos and it was more like a tea- not like an ash tray like Aydon said his first try tasted like. I enjoyed it.



You could tell when we were entering Mendoza because of the grapevines. Mendoza is very pretty, but man when we got off the bus, it was scorching hot out! We were now in a semi-desert. We had our local guides pick us up and transport us to our hotel, Dakar Hotel and Spa, which would be home for the next 5 days.

Because there were 3 single gals, and an odd number of nights, we had to flip coins for who would have 3 nights and who would have 2 nights to themselves. Jodi and I won, so we got to have 3 nights to ourselves. She started off in the single room first, so I roomed with Liba.

The hotel room was ok, not the cleanest looking, but we did have a patio. The beds were singles, unlike the beds in Santiago. The hotel had free WiFi and two computers down in the lobby.

After settling in, we met and walked through the city, Cecila showing us where the Harvest Parade route would be and you could see the city getting ready for the parade by installing the stands and other parade infrastructure. Grapes could be seen hanging from buildings. As we walked through the pedestrian walkway off Av. San Martín and through Plaza Independencia the fountains were dyed to look like wine flowing from them. We walked through the park and found a nice restaurant for dinner, Tristán Barraza Parrilla Restaurant. All of us but Liba ate dinner. We had wine (of course) and I ordered pasta with a cheese sauce. It was so tasty and the pasta was homemade! I ordered water "con gas" and it was a great dinner. Oh so filling too. We had coffee at the end of our meal. I really love these long dinners, where we take our time getting the food allowing us to chat and also taking our time to eat our food while drinking delicious wine. tristanbarraza.com.ar

Day 2- Chile

Woke up at 8am, slept ok after falling asleep to BBC (the only English speaking station) after 11pm. I had breakfast down in the restaurant- I had bread, dulce de leche spread, oranges and watermelon and cheeses with some OJ and coffee. Our van picked us up a little after 9am to take us to the first winery of the day, Concha y Toro.

It was much cooler/comfortable today. I wore my boat shoes, t-shirt and capri pants. I did not get blisters and am quite pleased with my boat shoes purchase! I made sure I had sunscreen on before leaving the hotel. I don’t know the actual temperatures (primarily b/c of the States refusal to change to the metric system) but it felt like high 60s, but definitely not quite 75°.

It took us maybe a half hour to get to Concha y Toro and our driver didn’t speak English, so we were not told about the areas we were driving by, which kind of stunk. We did ask a few questions every now and then, but it wasn’t like the usual tour on a bus.

Concha y Toro is a huge winery. We got to the tour the grounds and it was so nice out. The manor house, built in 1875 is a typical Chilean style house with 23 rooms which no one lives in and numerous living rooms. Some rooms have since turned into offices. There’s 22 hectors of an English Victorian garden, complete with trees from Europe and the States, and the monkey tree from Brazil. Concha y Toro has 8,752 hectors in Chile, 950 in Mendoza for their wines. 68 hectors of grapes for wine in the Maipo River/Valley, primarily for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Monkey Tree

The Victorian Garden

We got to pick grapes off the vine to taste. First one we tried was Semillon and then Sauvignon Blanc which has a medium size leaf and the grapes are sweet- most popular. To be considered wine in Chile, the wine has to have sugar content between 11.5 and 14.5 so the grapes can’t be overripe or exceed the sugar level. I also learned that the grape vines can last 15-20 years or when the grapes stop making wine people enjoy, then they will plant new ones. This makes me sad b/c my two grapevines I had in California would have produced tasty grapes for 10 years more if my dad didn’t pull them out after I moved!

For over 10 year a wine was being made in Chile that they were calling Merlot, but after being tested, they learned that it was actually Carménère, which came from France and was recently rediscovered here in Chile. There are only two countries that produce Carménère, France and Chile- 95% of the wine is produced in Chile. I actually bought a bottle of this wine at the end of the tour to try back at the hotel. I had never tried this type of wine before.

Our first wine we tried was Casillero Del Diablo Chardonnay with 13.5% alcohol.

We toured the barrel room and this winery uses either American or French oak barrels. They hold 300 bottles of wine each and the barrels can be reused for 4 years before being sold ($1000 for the French barrel) and used by distilleries around the world to add extra flavor to their liquor. For American barrels, the wine can be aged no more than 10 months, for the French barrels, 18 months max.

We then went down to the famous devil’s cellar “Casillero Del Diablo”. Wine is stored in these barrels for 3.5 months before taken out so they can wash the barrels. They do this three times before moving on to the filtering process. The cellar was made in the 1840s with limestone, sand and egg whites for the mortar and bricks. The floor is dirt, which is wet down once a week to control the humidity. The natural temp in the cellar only differs 1°C between winter and summer- perfect conditions for storing wine. How did it get its name? In 1893 the owner brought some vines from France and wanted to save his best wines for his family in the cellar. However, he realized these wines where mysteriously disappearing. The locals were stealing the wine and he new how superstitious they were so he said that the devil dwelled in the cellar and the wine stopped disappearing. This then became a legend and locals really believed the devil dwelled in the cellar and so the legend lives on to this day.

We then went back upstairs and had our second tasting, the Trio. That concluded the tour. We got to go into the wine shop where I bought the Carménère, (which I was told was sold in the States).

Next stop on the tour was to a little shop that sold jewelry and handcrafted items. I purchased a pair of Lapis Lazuli (the national stone of Chile) earrings for myself (since I’m no longer collecting shot glasses, I’m going for something known for the Country so when I wear them I’ll be reminded of the trip). It cost 8000 pesos, or roughly $19 dollars. I charged it since I didn’t have enough pesos; so glad my card doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee!

We then pulled up to La Vaquita Echa for lunch. I was thankful they accepted credit cards, because that meant I could have lunch with the group. I ordered a Coke (tasted like Mexican Coke!) and the vegetarian salad. It came with hard boiled eggs, so I ate around them. It was filling. We were then entertained by a musician and dancers- adding was a nice touch. [note: video of the singing and dancing are the bottom of this blog]

With our stomachs full (now I understand why they have siestas), we made our way to the last Chilean vineyard we will visit. Located in the Maipo Valley, Cavas del Maipo. This one is a small, family owned vineyard whose wine is not sold in stores and they use the French way to make wines. Making wine for family consumption that is light, simple and acceptable wine (does not make table wines). They try to be as traditional in making wine to be different from the larger wine producers and strive to make the purest, healthiest wines. Jaime, the owner, gave us the tour. Everything from the picking, the mashing and the aging to the bottling, corking and labeling is done right here in their small winery.

The 120 acres of traditional grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon pictured at the vineyard) and they have moscat 400km north. In 1967 Jaime’s father wanted Chardonnay to make his own sparkling wine, which is produced, bottled and labeled onsite.

Their location gives them the best environmental conditions for wine making. They get no rain in the summer (Nov-April) which means the ripening of fruit is perfect for all wines (no rain = better grapes = better wine). The water for irrigation comes directly from the Andes, the melted snow from winter.

They harvest all by hand (vs. machines that are used by larger wineries).

The crushing machine- first step of the process. Before, the machine crushed everything, including the stems, but stems add bitterness to wines, so this new machines only crushes the fruit (skins and seeds- being the most important source of tannins and juice) and spits out stems. For whites, the skins and seeds are separated so only the juice of grapes ferments.

They use the champagne press (basket press), their devise has been working for more than 60 years. This is the same device that the French use to make champagne. It presses very softly, giving a softer, smoother wine without much histamine (which btw, I learned that if you take an anti-histamine pill 30 minutes before drinking wine, it lessens your chances of dealing with those allergy symptoms some get when drinking wine).

Next Jaime took us to see their stainless steel tanks (which are used for whites and hold 16,000 liters) and wood (which are used for reds and hold 10,000 liters). They make reserve wines, so all their wines are aged for 3 years before being bottled.

Then we were educated on wine and aging. This is very important b/c after opening a bottle of bad wine, I often wonder why. So here’s what Jaime told us.

Sauvignon Blanc is best if consumed within first year. (Check your bottles, if you have bottles dating before 2010- I’d dump it.) Sauvignon Blanc bottles are clear and have no protection from UV rays, which makes it spoil, so drink soon. Bottling in clear Sauvignon Blanc bottles is a reminder to consumers to drink right away and to not age it.

Champagne can age a bit, but no more than 8 years. However, Sparkling wines should be consumed within 2 years of the vintage (when the grapes were harvested).

Cabs can age for 5 years, easily.

The color of whites were golden, it’s b/c of the barrels.

Whites today must be protected from oxidization. Little oxidization needed for reds and get it from being stored in wood.

They make two Chardonnay’s- one goes directly into a bottle, while the other into barrels for no more than 2 months.

Their bottling line. They first filter for clean wine and then fill the trough with wine, placing the bottles underneath to fill. Then they have the corking machine.

We were educated on the different capping systems.

The natural 100% cork from the Cork Oak tree is very porous. These corks are stamped out from the tree bark (trees north of Portugal and Spain). The less porous the capping material, the better quality the wine. Why? With 100% cork, air is allowed in so the wine continues breading and changing b/c of oxidization. So, you really need a capping system to keep the wine in the same condition as it was first bottled. Which is where we get plastic. However, plastic gives off a negative connotation to consumers, making them think “cheap”. So, what’s the happy medium? Using the coarse particles from left over corks, which are compact and gives the consumer its natural cork look. Since it’s the left over particles, really compacted, they are less porous so less oxidization occurs. Now what about screw caps (which I want to say became popular thanks to the Aussies)? Wines with screw caps are meant to be consumed now. Like the clear bottles with Sauvignon Blanc, screw caps are a reminder to consumers to drink right away.

Labeling- they manually label their wines and allow for personalization of seals. The wind represented on their seal is Raco- which is a type of wind that blows through the area from the mountains in winter which helps make this area ideal for wine. Their wine is not sold in liquor or grocery stores, goes directly to final consumers. They produce about 200,000 bottles a year. I bought 3 bottles from him to take home with me.

They also make their own sparkling wine in which the fermentation and aging process happen directly in the bottle. The capping system mirrors the process in Champagne. Inside, the cloudiness from the fermentation process builds up and needs to be shaken out. The bottles are stored in wine racks, at an angle and turned until sediments sink towards the cap. When the sediments settle, the cap is removed and the pressure shoots out the sediment, at this time the final cork is placed in the bottle.

Jaime said that they do not add any chemicals to their champagne. Brut is the most healthy. His Brut has 0g per liter of sugar and the yeast dissolves naturally. He mentioned that sweetness is sometimes added by other companies to mask bad champagne/wine. Also stating that chemicals are added to kill yeast in other sparkling wines and warned us of the ½ off priced wines at stores and keeping sparkling wines. More than two years after processing, the quality disappears. It is wise to ask the retailer which delivery arrived most recently from the producer. Last year, they produced 1,200 bottles of Sparkling Wine- I purchased one to bring back with me to the States.

Other notes. No rain in the summer = a good year/vintage. No sugar added b/c the sun works with the grapes to produce the right amount of sugar. In a bad year = wet year, sugar is added, more fruit, but less sugar so producers add sugar which creates cheaper wine, sells for a lot less. Jaime also mentioned that some other wine producers add dye to their reds to make it look darker. He warned that darker does not equal better. All his reds are the natural color given from the skins of the grapes.

Tasting:

1. 2004 Harvest: Chardonnay Reserva- no oak, suggested pairing with seafood. We had cheese and crackers and I really enjoyed this one b/c it was light and refreshing and very smooth. I guess I’m turned off by oak.

2. 2004 Harvest: Chardonnay Oak Melody- suggested pairing with appetizers. Light oak flavor, I wasn’t a fan.

3. Rose- little sweet, suggested pairing with spicy foods and salmon- including paella and pizza. There was a slight spiciness to this one and I liked it.

4. Cabernet Sauvignon- like Pinot Noir, lighter and suggested pairing with pasta and white meats. I thought this was earthy and oaky.

5. Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva- more robust, suggested pairing with red meats. This one was kept longer with skins.

6. Moscatel- sweet, I purchased this one to bring home with me.

7. Brut- we didn’t taste this, so I purchased a bottle to take home with me. According to Jaime, sparkling wine tastes good with everything- I couldn’t agree more J

http://www.cavasdelmaipo.co.cl/

After leaving Cavas del Maipo, we made our way back into Santiago. Liba and I went walking around for a little bit before going to the supermarket to grab some cheese for our groups wine and cheese dinner. Of course, Liba doesn’t quite understand that not everyone speaks English (I mean we are in Chile afterall, where they speak SPANISH) and she did cause quite a scene in the checkout line (and you know how I LOVE it when people cause a scene with me- not!). She didn’t understand the cashier and then opened her hand out with pesos so the cashier could take the correct amount. I was embarrassed and was standing a few people behind her with Aiden (one of the guys in the group) and we were making comments, which the others in line understood. We through out words like “loco” and it’s funny how the meaning behind eye rolls and head shaking can cross language barriers, b/c the people in line understood. Afterwards, I made sure we got out of there as fast as possible before another scene was created.

At Concha y Toro, they gave us a glass to keep so a few of us met up on the patio where the pool was to drink some wine and eat cheese and crackers. I opened my 2010 Casillero del Diablo Carménère and actually enjoyed it. Aiden and Merilee had two bottles they shared, I really liked the 2010 Casillero del Diablo Viognier. It was a fun time and we were up there for a few hours. So much for going to bed early! Tomorrow is not going to be fun, with an 8am departure as we head to Argentina via bus.

Where we stayed in Santiago Chile:

Hotel- Diego de Almagro, located about a block from the bad part of town, two blocks from the civic center. 3 stars. Free computers and WiFi, but signal is weak. Cute boys, two spoke English quite well. Many of the other staff didn’t speak English. Breakfast was ok- fruit, yogurt, breads, butter and dulce de leche, meats and sliced cheeses, coffee, OJ (which didn’t taste like real OJ) and tea. Rooms were clean, bed wasn’t all that comfortable, but I slept well. The room I was in had two double beds (versus two singles like most European hotels).

Bruno the very cute and helpful day manger.

1 US$ = 480 Chilean Pesos

To charge my phone and laptop I had to use my adapter for Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Caribbean.

My friends in Boston are huggers which takes some getting used to. I’m not so sure about the whole kiss on the right cheek thing that they do here in Chile.

Travel Day/Day One- Santiago, Chile

My flight from BOS to MIA was practically empty. We had the three seaters to ourselves and had some empty rows. I talked to one of the flight attendants and mentioned my mom is an AA flight attendant based in LAX and we talked about the airline culture now and when I mentioned my mom has been working with AA for 42 years he said that they would take care of me on the flight. I was given a cheese and crackers snack for free and really enjoyed my flight. This was my first time flying to MIA, and it looked pretty at night, I’ll have to go and visit someday.

We landed in MIA early, and since they had changed my original flight times, but not my connecting flight, I didn’t want to see if I could get an earlier flight to Santiago for fear of waiting around that airport for my arrival transfer to the hotel. So I had a few hours to spend before boarding my MIA to SCL flight. I asked an agent if they had a non-rev lounge for airline employees and family, they said yes, but I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t find anyone around the area the gate agents said it was near, so I went up to the Admirals Club and asked the guy working the desk. He said yes and I told him I couldn’t find it, that I only saw the a door that said “Employees Only”, so he went down with me to look, and it was the non-rev lounge, but was incorrectly labeled but he said he’d let me into the Admiral’s Club b/c he knew I was related to an employee. He asked how old I was b/c they give 2 complimentary drinks, and when I said 29 he was blown away, thinking I was younger and should be traveling with family. I’ll take it seeing I’m 30 in April.

This was the first time I’ve ever been in an Airline lounge (not counting non-revs). I spent my 3 hours eating nuts and crackers, fruits & veggies, checking the internet and drinking [This was the first time I’ve ever drank at the airport traveling alone]. I had a beer, followed by a white Russian (after I learned that the complimentary drink tickets were for any drink- including cocktails!). A guy gave me his two, so after asking for a mojito (but they didn’t have mint) I had an apple martini and then before leaving to board my place, I got a bottle of water.

I was in the second group to board, so I had plenty of space in my two-seat row to drop my stuff off and change into my AA PJs. We started boarding at 10:45pm. I sat next to an American college student who just came back from West Africa studying abroad as a mid wife, who was now going to Chile for another semester studying abroad. It was nice sitting next to someone who spoke English.

I was not expecting them to serve dinner on the flight since we had an 11:20pm departure, but they did, around midnight! I was exhausted and rehydrating after the alcohol. They had my pure vegetarian meal, which came with 2 salads, fruit, and a rice Indian dish with peas and potatoes and something else. I had wine with dinner [probably shouldn’t have, in hindsight] and of course more water. They followed the dinner service with coffee and tea service. I opted for tea.

[***TMI ALERT***] I honestly have no idea what time it was when they finally dimmed our lights, but I did not sleep much on the flight. I started getting those uncomfortable gas pains but since I was in the window seat, I didn’t want to disturb the girl next to me. As a girl scout, we learned to always be prepared. And prepared I was! I took a Gas X hoping that would help me out so I could sleep. It did not. Finally, when the sun came up, I asked to get up so I could use the toilet. I got there and nothing happens. So, I went back to my seat as they were starting to serve breakfast. I got fruit, OJ, yogurt, a gluten/wheat free brownie/cake and a croissant. The minute I took a bite of my croissant my stomach churned. So I had to go use the toilet again. They both were in use and I had asked the flight attendant if they had the barf bags in the bathroom b/c I felt sick, she told me where to find them. I started doing that whole gagging thing while waiting for the toilet. I held it in until I was able to get into one, and relieved myself (more ways than one). I have never gotten sick on a plane, but there’s a first for everything. No, it wasn’t from the alcohol I had last night; the only thing that came up was that damn Indian dish. I stayed at the back of the plane for as long as I could just in case I had to use the facilities again.

Meanwhile, outside I was missing flying over the gigantic and magnificent Andes. The only thing I could think of while flying over and looking through the round hole in the plane’s doors was how many earthquakes did it take to create these? What a sight! 40 minutes before landing, I took my seat and prayed that I would be fine until landing.


Flying into SCL reminded me of flying into ONT with the mountains so close to the airport. I also thought about all the times I flew over the Rocky Mountains either passing or flying into DEN and how bumpy it always is- we didn’t experience any turbulence while flying over the Andes which I found interesting.

We landed a few minutes late, but paying the $140 reciprocity fee [since the US charges Chileans $140 for visas, the Chileans don’t make us get a visa but force us to pay a fee to get back at us for charging them so much to enter our country]. I got in the wrong line first b/c the signage was poor, but there was no line to pay the fee and getting through immigration was easy. I didn’t have to answer any questions like I’ve had to do when I flew to Europe. By the time I got my luggage, 3 other flights had landed so getting through customs took a while. It was about 10:30-10:45 when I got through Customs and went to look for my ride to the hotel, which I confirmed twice with two different people prior to leaving the States. I looked, and looked and looked for a sign with my name on it, but didn’t see one. I was bombarded by guys for Taxi, and two nice gentleman spoke English and asked if I needed a ride, but I told him I had a transfer to my hotel. They called the hotel, the only number in Chile that I had b/c the pay phones at the airport were only for local calls, so I couldn’t contact the tour company bc the number I had was in Argentina. What a mess. So one of the guys took me in his car to my hotel at 11am. I was not too happy, but after being sick and awake for 24 hours, I wanted to get into the city. It cost me 20,000 Chilean Pesos. That was almost all my Chilean money I had brought with me to get me through my 2 days in Chile (roughly $54 American dollars).

First impression of Chile…dirty, hot, dry. I got to my hotel (did not tip driver, b/c you don’t tip them here) and was greeted by the bellhop and checked in with the day manager, whose name was Bruno. They both spoke English and were cute. I went up to my room and the bellhop showed me how to use my key in order to get power in the room and told me about the WiFi and gave me the password. I thanked him and I got organized. I tried the password and it didn’t work. So, I went downstairs to use the computers in the lobby to let everyone knew I arrived safely and was at the hotel. I then asked Bruno what they correct name was for the internet connection since quite a few showed up and the password didn’t work for any of them. I went upstairs and tried the internet again, but I didn’t get any of the names he told me were the hotel’s. So, I decided to take a shower and freshen up. I get out of the shower and put on PJs with intentions of going to sleep, only when I went to get my toothbrush I noticed I didn’t have my black bag with my carryon items. “OH F@#&”! I went through my suitcase and carryon bags and I didn’t have it…S.O.B., I left it on the plane, which I didn’t see b/c it was pushed behind my feet. I was so mad at this point, being tired, getting sick, not having my airport transfer, spending nearly all my Chilean money (cabs didn’t take credit cards) and now, I had to try calling the SCL AA baggage office. I wanted to cry!

So, I went down to my favorite Chilean boys and asked how much it cost to call the SCL airport and explained to them what happened. It was free and I managed to dial from the room and asked (in Spanish) the lady who answered the phone if she spoke English. She said yes, so I explained what I left on the plane and gave her my flight and seat number and my hotel number. I got a call back less than 5 minutes later saying they had it and that I would have to go back out to the airport to pick it up. Well shit!

Back downstairs to the boys who were probably getting sick of me, I told Bruno “by the end of this trip you are going to say thank goodness that crazy American is gone” and we all laughed. I told him I had to go back out to the airport, but after spending too much money on a cab to get here, I had to take a bus. He told me where to find the bus to the airport and I showed him how much I had left (2,000 pesos) and he said that would be enough to get to the airport, but then I would need to exchange some US dollars at the airport to get some more pesos for the return trip. The bus was easy to find and it went from the city to the airport, with limited stops. It was like a tour bus and very comfortable. I didn’t have to wait for one, so that was nice. I made it back to the airport and got my bag, exchanged my money and was able to board the bus back to the city- again without waiting. It took me about 30 minutes each way and cost 3,200 pesos RT (18,800 pesos cheaper than my freaking cab ride!).

I made it back to the hotel just before 3 and the whole nap thing went out the window since we had the tour meeting at 7pm. I was afraid I’d fall asleep and miss the meeting. So, I went walking in hopes of finding the Plaza de Armas to do a free 4-hour walking tour of Santiago. I couldn’t find it, so I walked about a mile seeing different buildings, including government buildings and Palacio de la Moneda, where the President, General secretary and interior minister sit. I went back to the hotel and hopped on the internet in the lobby and met another person on my tour. She is a Canadian and very talkative. She filled me in on some things, like our tour guide and how many people were on the tour (7 plus our guide) and we decided to go out walking around. She had met and befriended a gal that worked in the Department of Agriculture, so she introduced me. We walked and took photos with the guards at the palace (we just missed the changing of the guards by 3 minutes).

I learned that last year during student protests, many of the buildings in the financial/government area were vandalized-graffiti can still be seen on many buildings, including a church we walked into.

Chileans have a slow sense of time, and are not in a rush like most Americans. They take a 2 hour lunch and some businesses stay open until 6pm. All the guys I saw wore shirts with ties and all looked very polished. They have Café and Legs which is a coffee place where the girls wear bikinis so the guys can watch them (but no touching) during their break. Interesting. [No, I did not go in one, but they are allowed to smoke in there as the Canadian gal actually met an architect and she went inside one briefly.]

We walked 2.5 miles and I couldn’t believe how many dogs there were lying around on the streets or roaming the streets, but felt safe because there were police everywhere.

Back at the hotel, we had our meeting. I am the youngest in the group and the only American. Our tour guide is Argentinean, there is an elderly English couple, the Canadian lady I walked with, a Canadian couple- the 3 of them about my parent’s age and another Canadian girl who’s a nurse. I learned that our guide is with us on our trip mostly as a translator and organizer, when we go out to the vineyards and to Mendoza, there are local operators that provide the rides and tours. I also learned that we won’t have much free time in Buenos Aires as I had expected b/c our full day there in the city we are going someplace for a planaterra project- something I was unaware of.

I ended up eating a yogurt and one of my PBJ sandwiches that I brought with me for my dinner and the Coca Cola Light I had bought at the grocery store next to the hotel. BTW it tasted kind of like Coke Zero made with sugar cane instead of corn syrup (so a mixture of Mexican Coke and Coke Zero). I then went to the Canadian’s room and snacked on crackers and trail mix and uploaded my first batch of photos from her room since I got signal there. My hopes of going to bed early went out the window. Chile and Argentina are 2 hours ahead of Boston time and the light threw my sense of time off. It was still light out at 9pm. I got back to my room after 10pm and organized my things for the morning’s tour- 9am we load the van for our Chilean wine tours.

Adios Boston, Hola South America

My bag is checked, I made it through security with the usual pat downs and am sitting in the AA terminal waiting to board my flight to MIA. It's going to be a long travel day. From MIA, I board my flight to South America. I leave MIA around 11pm for about a 10 hour flight, hopefully I'll be able to sleep. The nice thing about traveling south vs. east or west is there isn't a large timezone gab. Both Chile and Argentina are 2 hours head of Boston, so hopefully no jet lag.

I have a car picking me up in Chile, very VIP. I just need to look for a guy with a card that says my name. From there, I'll check into my hotel and have to day to explore on my own. On Wednesday I meet up with the tour group and the wine festivities begin.

I was fretting over my checked suitcase since I don't have a scale, I was hoping it would be under 50 lbs. It weighs 39 pounds. Not bad considering most of the contents aren't clothes. I have 6 water bottles, 4 types of shoes and tons of first aid/toiletries. I also have my huge backpack I'm taking on the plan. It includes PJs for the flight from MIA to SCL, flip flops, my liquids in a bag, 3 books, my laptop, and tons of food and snacks. I always bring food and water when I travel to foreign places, partially to save money, but also b/c as a vegetarian I have learned that traveling outside the US can be somewhat trying with regards to eating, so I make sure I have stuff I can eat in the event I can't eat a meal. (I remember being served omelets in Europe and I can't eat eggs, so my oatmeal totally came in handy!)

I triple checked that I have my converters, charges and passport. I have copies of all my cards I'm carrying and after having a rough night last night (tossing and turning, having strange borderline nightmarish dreams and waking up every hour) I finally have my typical flying jitters. This is my last post in the states. I'll try to post my adventures and photos whenever I get internet. So excited to cross off one more continent off my bucket list!

Dish #12

Eating poor has forced me to get creative. Not only have I had to cut spending, but because of my upcoming trip I also don't want to buy food and have it go to waste because of not finishing it in time. So, this dish was made with stuff I had on hand- red lentils with chopped onion, minced garlic and garam masala found in my spice rack. After simmering everything in water for 45 minutes, I had a nice filling meal after adding some tofu.

#11

I'm loving my juicer. I made spinach carrot juice and was a little hesitant to drink it, but it was surprisingly delicious. Thank goodness for the cheap veggies at Haymarket. Now I just wonder how much carrot juice I have to drink before my skin turns orange.

Dish #10

I unpacked my juicer tonight and made carrot juice for the first time! The juicer worked really well, but I have no idea how many carrots I used b/c I mixed whole carrots (4) with baby carrots. I think I'm going to hit Haymarket this weekend to get some cheap produce to make more juice! Yummy!