Santiago

As the focus of our tour was Patagonia, we only had one proper full day in Santiago, which served more as an orientation and welcome point.  The city struck me as very modern and clean, but many of us were still "scarred" by the horrible traffic we'd witnessed the day earlier.  When we started our city tour, we were pleased to see that traffic was in fact very normal.  The city is quite sprawling and sits at the foothills of the Andes Mountains.  The climate felt very much like southern California and, like California, there was quite a bit of smog which hung in the air and obscured incredible views of the snow-capped mountains.  Palm trees also abounded, adding to the California-like vibe.  We were told that during summer, the air clears, primarily due to a flip in the temperature inversion and increased winds coming off the Pacific Ocean, about 80 miles from the city.  As a whole, Chile has about 20 million inhabitants, and almost a third of those (just under seven million) live in Santiago proper.  

Despite sitting on a two major fault lines, they city has quite a few skyscrapers (including the tallest in South America), most built to earthquake standards, with major help from the Japanese.  The city didn't feel overly large, but we did see signs of the civil unrest that had plagued the country from 2019 to 2022, locally referred to as the "Social Outburst."  It was sparked by increases in subway fares, but soon grew into very large demonstrations focused on economic inequality, school costs, wages, etc.  This led to an eventual referendum to rewrite the country's constitution, which passed by a wide margin.  The protests eventually died down after the pandemic started and strick social-distancing and quarantine requirements were put into place.  During regular elections in December 2021, a 35-year old leftist from Patagonia -- Gabriel Boric -- was elected president; the youngest leader on the continent.  His government eventually drafted a new constitution -- per the earlier mandate -- which went to another national referendum in September of this year, and it was NOT approved.  Feedback was that the draft was too leftist and there were broad fears of moving too far in that direction, and ending up like Venezuela or Bolivia.  Across Chile and Argentina we saw and heard about large groups of refugees from both of those countries, and that sparked fears across Chile.  The government now has to go back and redraft another constitution and bring it forward for another national vote.

While we saw signs of the protests in several areas, and despite the uncertainty over the constitution, Chile is remarkably stable.  They have the second-highest GDP in South America, low inflation, and a stable currency -- the exact opposite of what we'd later see in Argentina.

Chilean National Art Museum

Another Reminder of the California-like Vibe

Seat of the Santiago City Government on Plaza de Armas

Central Post Office

Plaza de Armas

Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Chilean President's Office

Security Personnel and Posters of Protestors Killed During Recent Unrest

Monument to Salvador Allende -- Marxist elected president, overthrown by CIA-led coup in 1973

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Chilean Cultural Arts Center

We toured the historic old town, main squares, and even got to watch the changing of the guard ceremony at the Presidential Palace.  There were, however, very few historic things to see, so having more than a day in Santiago would have been certain overkill.  We finished the tour with a trip up a funicular to a vantage point (San Cristobal Hill) overlooking the city, on which a huge statue of the Virgin Mary stands.  From up here we could appreciate the sprawl of the city, but it also accentuated the smog and how the views were marred by the haze.

On the Funicular Going Up San Cristobal Hill

Madonna Statue atop San Cristobal

Sprawl of Santiago

Gran Torre, the Tallest Building in South America (64 stories) -- and SMOG!

Following lunch we had an optional afternoon tour to a major winery -- Undurraga -- in the Maipo Valley, which is home to numerous well-regarded vineyards.  The grounds were extremely beautiful, and our guide was excellent.  The wines were quite good, but not on par with what we'd tasted the day before, at El Principal.  Most of the wine they sold is in fact available in the States, which made it much easier to pass up on buying any and adding to our expanding suitcases. 

Arriving at Unduragga Winery 

Extensive Gardens at Undurraga

Barbara and Katherine Taking it All In

Cellars at Undurraga

Native Art Museum on Grounds of Undurraga

Our Guide and Post-Tour Wine Tasting

Dinner was on our own.  As this was our one free night in Santiago, Jeff and Barbara volunteered to arrange a nice dinner.  They made reservations for us at a very well-reviewed restaurant called Ambrosia (Ambro-see-ah).  We took a ridiculously cheap Uber ($10) for the 15-minute ride to the restaurant, which was tucked into a toney neighborhood south of our hotel.  We sat outside in the perfect California-like dry weather, with overhead heaters to help once the sun set, and the meal and service were out of this world.  Prices, too, were extremely reasonable, and we all ranked this meal as either our first or second favorite of the trip (the other contender being at El Calafate, in Argentina, later in the trip).

Wonderful Outdoor Meal at Ambrosia in Santiago