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ChileTop to Toe StunnerBy Suna and Rusi Kanga
Getting to Chile may seem daunting but between Internet fares and mileage programs, South America is increasingly viable. Our gateway was Rio de Janeiro from New York, a comfortable, 10-hour flight by Varig Brazilian Airlines, using air miles. Then, Holland America’s ms Ryndam took us around Cape Horn to Valparaiso, Chile’s premier port.
Chile’s natural charm extended to three famous islands: Easter Island (Rapa Nui) which has gigantic sculptures or moais, Robinson Crusoe Island which is named after shipwrecked Alexander Selkirk who inspired Daniel Defoe’s classic and Chiloe Island in the south Pacific which has houses on stilts and abundant seafood. SEDUCTIVE MIDRIFF
Fashionable Viña del Mar, minutes away, was a study in contrast. The seaside resort of palm trees and sandy beaches offered a taste of the good life. Here, travel consultant Consuelo Miranda Albonico introduced us to Chilean seafood and famous wines. Later, we toured the luxurious Casino Viña del Mar, a gamblers’ heaven boasting a hotel, penthouse spa and conference centre. “During season, the casino attracts 8,000 players every night. We have 1,600 slot machines and the latest in games technology,” noted Carmen Gloria Fajardo over wine, cherimoya (like custard apple) juice and smoked salmon canapés. Along the bar counter, wine bottles floated within a trough of ice.
AWESOME NORTHA Chilean acquaintance seemed perplexed when we mentioned plans to fly up to Arica: “Why Arica? Tourists go to Calama to see the volcanoes, geysers and desert moonscapes.” Arica was relatively undiscovered, observed well-travelled professional Pamela Arostica Fernandez. So we took the national airline, LanChile, to the strategically-positioned port that formed a golden tourist triangle with Peru (22km away) and Bolivia (208km away). From the air, the coastal landscape was a forbidding sea of sand divided by waves of mountains between green arteries of life flowing towards the Pacific Ocean. Here, within the Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest regions, ancient communities lived and worked on land rich in copper, nitrate, silver and salt.
Tourism’s future was closely related to the mountains of the region, a fact obvious during a day trip that took us from sea level, through miles of desert, up to the Altiplano (High Plateau). En route, we saw several amazing geoglyphs, the giant pre-Columbian drawings of humans and animals upon barren, powdery mountains. One figure was 56 metres tall! The ancient people used either the ‘mosaic’ technique in which troughs were dug and set with stones or the ‘scratching’ technique which involved removing the earth’s crust to create oxidization and piling contrasting stones on light-toned soil. Driving along the quiet highway to Bolivia, we saw the corn, garlic and oregano fields of the Lluta valley far below and the conical houses of a Hari Krishna settlement. A solitary bus passed, transporting workers to a borax processing plant. The only vegetation was the cactus candelabros that survived on the mist.
SURPRISING SOUTHIn the south, we traveled through Chile’s main holiday region, a wonderland of lakes, snowcapped mountains and waterfalls where visitors come to sail, trek, kayak and fish. Puerto Montt, a good vacation base, offered cruises through a labyrinth of northern fjords and glaciers within a region of staggering beauty. A drive to enchanting Lake Llanquihue, set against snowcapped Osorno Volcano, revealed breathtaking glimpses of countryside, oxen-plowed fields and weather-beaten clapboard barns and churches. The influence of German immigrants was obvious in the architecture and cuisine.
CHILEAN WINE & TOURISMMore wineries are opening their doors to visitors, thanks to an expanding relationship between tourism and wines. Central Chile’s vineyards stretch over 875 miles around Santiago.While Chile is known for reasonably priced quality vintages, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, producers are now aiming for the high-end boutique market. Curico town is a good base for wine tours in the Curico and Maule valleys. Here, one can meet traditionalists like Rodrigo Balbontín Vicuña of Viña Las Pitras who promotes a family business started by his grandfather. Or, Raul Navarrete Jara who runs the Sociedad Vitivinicola Sagrada Familia SA, a group of 17 producers with five acres each, marketing the international label Lautaro. There are those like export manager Maria Pia Merani of respected Viña El Aromo wines, eyeing the Asian market. Weekend wine tours cost about $155 and day tours about U.S. $50. Website: www.chilewineroute.cl SEEING SOUTH AMERICA WITH MARRIOTT INTERNATIONALMarriott International’s many hotels in Latin America are an attractive option as a safe and comfortable base. Their portfolio includes hotels in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama.
In Peru, the JW Marriott Hotel & Stellaris Casino Lima in the fashionable suburb of Miraflores faces Larcomar, a shopping and food centre on the ocean. The hotel’s sparkling, 29,515 sq ft Casino is a major attraction. Website: www.marriott.com IT NEVER RAINS IN ARICA -- A GROWING REGIONArica, Chile’s northernmost port, is a region on the march in tourism, agriculture and high-tech investments within free trade zones. Miles of desert dust have been transformed into orchards and olive plantations. “Arica gets no rain because of the micro climate created by the mountains, but there is enough humidity to develop agriculture. The desert is so dry it is also an ideal testing ground for equipment for Mars,” noted local guide Ernesto G. Aguirre. “We are in a privileged location near Bolivia and Peru. We have three fibre optic cables in Arica and we visualize this as a strength of the area,” said Sebastian Weinborn de la Calle of the region’s development corporation. Zofri Chacalluta, a business and industrial centre, offers investors special benefits for trade between South America and the Asia Pacific. “With an investment of U.S. $80,000 we offer residence in Arica,” noted Cristian Neira Vera of the agency for the promotion of investments. Email: ait_arica@chile.com.it_arica.comch Kanga Concepts |
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TM
Chile -- the longest and narrowest country in the world
– has enviable attributes that go beyond the similarities. Elongated like a
chilli, the country is physically a stunner, her captive charms confined
between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. We discovered there is
much more to Chile than copper, salmon and wine or the names Pinochet,
Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. Chile – the last country in the Americas
to be occupied by the Spanish -- is full of surprises for nature lovers,
aficionados of the good life and forward thinking businessmen.
We saw three tremendously different faces of Chile: the
central region’s colourful Valparaiso port, capital Santiago and the wine
regions of Curico and Maule; the northern port of Arica and bone-dry Atacama Desert leading to the High Andes; and the
southern holiday region of lakes, mountains, fjords and stunning glaciers.
Somehow, we had not associated Chile with glaciers. 
Valparaiso charmed us with its unique character. The
port has steep streets, quaint funiculars, painted dwellings perched on
rocky precipices and women with beautiful legs exercised on hilly terrain.
“This city is magic! Many poets and writers live here. Chile’s greatest poet
Pablo Neruda had a home which is now a museum,” said enthusiastic local
Renzo Uccelletti Zamora. His observations added romantic brushstrokes to the
immensely photographic town’s shabby shacks, historical mansions, charming
restaurants and a lively waterfront where port chief
Gonzalo Davagnino was steering major development for tourism.
Sprawling capital Santiago, 90km from Valparaiso, is one of the world’s most attractively
positioned cities. Sited near the Andes and the Mapocho River, it is well
planned, progressive and has a stylish European flavour. From the
distinguished Hotel Carrera, guests could walk to Moneda Palace, the
President’s office, for the changing of the guard ceremony. “Being in the
historic core, this hotel has witnessed important events of 20th century
history,” noted general manager Paulo Rosales whose hotel played host to
celebrities. 
In Chile, it was easy to get by without knowing Spanish
as people were friendly, helpful and professional. On a bus tour, we learned
several facts: the main Avenida Libertador Bernado O’Higgins was named after
Chile’s liberator from the Spanish; the country’s 15 million population
included the indigenous Aymaras, Mapuches and Fueguinos; the National
Library stocked over five million books; CTC Telecommunications Tower was virtually the world’s biggest cell phone; soccer was
the common man’s game while golf and polo were for the rich; and South
America’s main ski centres were just 40 km away.
The tour took us to the main square, Plaza de Armas, where artists had set up easels, then up woody Santa
Lucia Hill for a sprawling view that gave no hint of the city’s gracious
mansions. After taking the cable car to Cristobal
Hill for another view, we
visited poet Neruda’s fascinating home, La Chascona, named after his last
lady love’s tousled hairstyle. Nearby Bellavista was an interesting
neighbourhood to stroll, shop for lapis lazuli and
sit at a roadside restaurant.
Cruise ship regularly touched Arica, a Spanish-flavoured
port enlivened by a decorative cathedral, state-of-the-art casino, beaches and parks.
Several French, British and Italian families lived here. A spectacular
headland, El Morro, overlooked the city near our seaside
Hotel Arica.
The high fortress offered a magnificent view of the port fringed by ocean
and sand dunes. Nearby, the Museum of History and Arms commemorated the War
of the Pacific between Chile and Peru with gripping displays of weaponry,
uniforms and medals. .jpg)
Gradually, as we climbed the ecosystem changed and the
ground sprang into life.We stopped at Zapahuira for a traditional snack,
sopaipilla, a round crispbread enjoyed with coca tea to counter elevation
discomfort. At Parinacota, an Ayamara village, we
marvelled at ancient frescoes within the 17th century church.Then on to
glorious Lake Chungará which, at 4,500m, was the world’s highest lake.
(Peru’s Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake). It was a scene from
heaven: a sheet of crystalline water mirroring a snowcapped volcano and
llamas and alpaca roaming in a nearby meadow. Glorious!
Nearby Putre, (3,500m), was a remote village of rustic
homes and pre-Inca terraces cultivated with alfalfa and oregano. Here, over
lunch, Parinacota Province’s governor, Mr Isidro Vasquez Mazuelos, a
university graduate from Santiago, and his wife Margot Herrada Tapia spoke
of the popular harvest festival in April-May and the village’s internet
facilities. Owner Gloria of Kuchu Marta restaurant
served a delicious meal of quino vegetable soup, alpaca steaks with locoto
chilly sauce and cactus fruit salad. How the world was shrinking, I thought,
sipping pisco drinks amidst the rusticity of adobe walls, painted murals and
dry flowers in a remote Chilean mountain village.
Far
down, Punta Arenas on the
famous Strait of Magellan is an important centre for Antarctic research
ships and for sightseeing flights to the world’s last icy wilderness.
Sailing through the Beagle Channel located at the End of the World, we
passed the stunning southern fjords and hanging glaciers set within a lonely
landscape of mountains studded with islands. In this majestic vista was the
final testimony of the marvellous diversity of Chile.
In Chile, the 25-storey, iridescent Santiago Marriott
Hotel is a stone’s throw from the capital’s largest
shopping centre, Parque Arauco. Luxury suites, which give an insight into
Chile’s executive style, come with mountain views and access to a concierge
lounge where the wines and culinary temptations like salmon, artichoke,
asparagus, heart of palms and desserts exceed expectations. Nearby, Los
Leones Golf Club offers an 18-hole, par 72 course. 
In Brazil, sleek Rio de Janeiro Marriott Hotel faces
exciting Copacabana Beach. The hotel has a helpful tourist activities desk,
a casual restaurant serving local delicacies and a rooftop pool where one
can sip cold caipirinha (Brazil’s national drink) and enjoy views of Sugar
Loaf mountain. Marriott also has hotels in Sao Paulo and in Costa do Sauipe
on the Bahia coast which offers Asian cuisine.