This day wasn't supposed to have much in it, but after we realized that the two main nearby tourist locations in Atacama were either unavaialble during the AM of the Jan 1st, or sold out, it became a barren landscape. Luckily, because our flight time to Santiago had shifted like fifteen minutes, we were allowed to change it for free, so instead of a night flight that would land in Santiago at 11:15pm, we were able to move it up. I probably was too hasty, picking a flight that leaves at 3:30 from Calama (reaching Santiago at 5:50). Hasty because Calama is an 70-minute drive from San Pedro, meaning we needed ot leave around 12:30 - too late to do anything other than trawl the main drag a couple times.
That trawling revealed a town still recovering from the New Year's Eve celebrations from the night before, the ash leftover from burning the old man, the streamers and confetti. Not sure how they clean it up given it literally never really rains here, but that's future San Pedro's problem. For me, there were a few souvenir stores open that I could peruse, including a way too impulsive purchase of a stone carved llama, but I did want to get something of note.'
Anyway, the flight was fairly routine, with a nice churrasco sandwich for lunch in the small but well buult out Calama airport. Soon enough, we were in my favorite city in South America. Problem is, much like Christmas Day in Rio, New Year's Day in Santiago is similarly quiet. The only place I figured that would definitely have things open was in Barrio Bellavista. For that, I took my parents on a quick walking tour, starting at the cultural center in Lastarria, down some nice alleyways of bras, restaurants in Lastarria (a mix of local places and then modenr places that could easily be in New York) through a bit of the park that borders the Mapocho River (as brown and essentially ignored as always) and then into Bellavista. What I should've realized is Bellavista was robably a mad house for New Year's Eve, to which they hadn't yet cleaned up yet, so my parents got a wrong first (re)impression.
That all changed when we got to Patio Bellavista, which while more corporatized than it was eight years ago (which was soon after it opened), is still charming, upmarket and gives a sense of what Santiago is all about. Our dinner was out Le Virgen, which also had a location in the domestic terminal of Santiago airport. Now realize it is a chain, but still the food was dceent, including our first ever taste of pil pil, coming way too late into our South America days.
After that can the one huge positive of today, which was realizing that Siete Negronis, what had been my favorite cocktail bar in the city, is open again, and this time in Bellavista. Siete Negronis was our go to spot in 2024 trip, but they had mysteriously closed (a rent / expansion dispute). Apparently at the time it was clear to those in the know in Santiago they would re-open at some point, but the some point came fairly quick (about six weeks earlier) and their new locatin, to be honest, is better. It was the exact same conceit - the menu fronted with seven variations on negroni (one smokey, one with more chocolate, one "baconvardier") and other cocktails. I sampled four of the negronis, and called it a night. A quieter day, but probably needed before what I hope to be an action packed weekend to end the trip.
Day 23 - El Andes
The three days in Santiago to end the trip (technically four, if you count me working from here on Monday) was always given a bit of short shrift from a planning perspective. Not entirely sure why - as my parents had only been here once before, but I guess it was far more recent than their one prior trip to Lima (2018, vs 2005). They generally left all potential sites to me to plan, along with the meals (granted, meals were generally my domain for teh entire trip). The only thing of note that we pre-planned was the tour that would take most of the day today - labeled a trip to the Inca Lagoon, in reality it is a meandering little drive and traipse through the andes northeast of Santiago, a day full of enjoyment.
The started with a 7:30am pick up, us the last group in our sprinter van, joined by another couple and then a family of five. What we would soon learn by the second stop is that our van is one of about 5-6 vans all holding the same 10-12 people plus guides that would be doing this tour in parallel. Our guide Hector was a delight, a fount of knowledge, giving us facts about Chile, agriculture, wine, weather, mountains, etc., starting from the beginning twenty minutes from our hotel the gas station rest stop for breakfast, coffee, etc. (rest stops are quite nice in Chile), where for the first time we saw the other various vans.
More facts followed on teh way to the first real stop of the day, which was well outside the city. First from Santiago we drive through the Coastal Range (the lesser known range that borders the city) and then out east into the Andes. About thirty minutes from the rest stop we pull over to the side of the road to take a look at Mount Aconcagua which is visible in teh distance. As we've come in summer, there is nearly no snow on any of the mountains, except for of course Aconcagua. While the snow would've made the sight that much more beautiful, it still worked wonderfully without it - the valleys, the mountains, the rocks. This was driving in teh mountains.
Anyway, back to Aconcagua - why the name might be familiar is this is the tallest mountain in teh Andes, and more than that, the tallest mountain outside of Asia. Truth be told, because it was quite a bit in teh distance, it didn't feel like you were looking at a point 22,800 feet up, but all the same there it is - the highest point I have myself witnessed - a small thrill to wake us up.
The first real stop of the tour is at a winery in the Aconcagua Valley (one of the various wine-making valleys in Chile) at the picturesque San Estaban In Situ winery. it was a bit odd having wine so early (it was about 10am) but it was a leisurely pace drinking a glass of white and red and getting a ton of facts, figures and anecdotes from Hector around the Chilean wine scene, from how they still have carmanere and other grapes that have long left France (mainly because they don;t have some particular fly or worm or something that used to eat wine grape roots), to so much more. The setting was gorgeous, with the rows of perfectly manicured vines in front of the backdrop of the Andes. Hard to describe really; good enough that it convinced me to buy a bottle.
From there we took off deeper and deeper into teh Andes, with the next stop being a little farm where they had some llamas, vicunas, sheep, ducks, horses all just lazing and grazing around an area where you can walk around with them. We were humorously told to net pet the llamas, as it can trigger them to spit back in fear. So we didn't, and just enjoyed the animals in their furry glory - especially a baby llama that was just too cute and seemed actually quite interested in coming close to me. Once again, like with every stop, the Andes are imposing their might on each side as well, just elevating these stops into something more.
The next stop was the namesake lagoon, which is actually at the Portillo ski resort of Chile, which is a famous skiing area in the Andes (quite close to the Argentina border actually). To reach it you have to drive up 29 switchbacks, which is a ludicrous number but offered just so many vantages of the brilliance of the landscape and scenery. About halfway through the switchbacks, Hector pointed out the start (bottom) of the chairlifts and tried to get us to visualize that in ski season this is all snow covered and skiers are literally skiing down these mountains. I'm not a skier, but even if I was, I don't even understand how taht is feasible. That all said, I would love to come back to see what this area is like with snow everywhere.
The Portillo resort from a lunch perspective was a disappointment, as they never served my order of beet ravioli in huacatay sauce. Our best guess is that they forgot to put the order in (as my parents food came rather quick) and realized only after a couple reminders, and then the kitchen was super backed up. We were given 90 minutes to eat and experience the lagoon, and it was cutting well into that time to the point I gave up, we cancelled the ravioli and just switched it to some empanadas to go. I didn't want to shortchange the lagoon.
So, how to describe the Inca Lagoon? The best comparison is probably Moraine Lake in Banff in terms of teh sheer blue-ness and the vastness of the mountains behind it. Moraine Lake is probably a scotch prettier just because of the increased greenery and the top of the monutains around it always being snow-capped, but this comes so close and is just a super cool feeling. It's about a ten minute walk down from the ldoge to the water-level but at the bottom you're able to dip your toes into this pristine Andean lake. Few feelings approach this.
The drive back nicluded one final stop, which was on switchback #17 of 29 where you can take some extreme photos, fo the switchbacks below and the valley, the mountains, the road upwards. It's all a scene and worht a few minutes stop and the few tense moments realizing how clsoe to teh edge the bus goes before letting people off. After this is a two-hour drive back to Santiago where we were all given time to rest and nap - Hector's fact vault seemingly sufficiently emptied. On the whole, the Inca Lagoon tour is a nice time and a great way to spend a day outside of Santiago.
We actually reached back early to Santiago (4pm, rather than closer to 5pm like expected), giving us more time than expected before our dinner at 8pm. With this little window, I decided to check off the site that could take the most time, the combined funicular up Cerro San Cristobal and the cable car (teleferico) down it. It's a wonderful site where you get the best views of Santiago, and the lines can get lengthy, specifically on weekends. Here, early on a Friday evening, we had to wait until the 4th funicular (about 20 minutes) but from there were then at the top near the Virgin Mary statue and chapel, along with an exhibit where famous Chilean artists painted imagery on five crosses. I think that all helps make the first viewpoint from the actual San Cristobal hill better because of where it is positioned you don't get the best views of Santiago yet.
You don't have to wait far, though - as when you make taht turn towards where you catch the cable car, you get to see Santiago in all its modern glory - with the gleaming glass of Sanhattan and the Gran Torre, with teh mountains behind it - a truly splendid scene. My parents couldn't stop taking pictures of Santiago from this angle - I think this view with its grandeur, vastness and modernity, being the first time it clicked when I told them that Santiago to me is by far the most developed, modern South American city.
The cable car down is lengthy and slow, intentionally so, giving you a good ten minutes or so to just soak in the views, but also the beauty of Parque Forrestal, and the great homes, gardens of the Pedro de Valdivia barrio. That continues when you finally reach the bottom and walk towards the Mapocho River and the Costanera mall (where the gran torre is) as again you walk by a series of blocks of houses with immaculate greenery, flowers, and sightlines. The costanera mall is also a nice reminder of the modernity of Santiago - though in a way malls like this exist in many cities; what don't as easily are the beauty of the blocks surrounding it. Luckily they got that takeaway from the short trip, because the line was a bit too long to to up the tower today.
Dinner was at a new restaurant, one of the few I'll be eating at in my time in Santiago. However, if I got my way and was able to snag a seat at Restaurant 99, it wouldn't have been. Alas, they were fully booked so I went to my backup option of Peumayen Ancestral Food. It is quite a well reputed restaurant and serves lovely food, if I do take maybe a hint of issue with them calling it a tasting menu. Anyway, it is located deep in Barrio Bellavista, which itself is a bit odd for a fine dining restaurant, but once you go inside and see the thoughtful craft decor and the open courtyard, you're transported away from Bellavista.
So, generally people come here to get a four course dinner where each course has multiple bites - total about 19 "moments". You can go with either a land (meat), sea (seafood), vegetarian or mixed option - the mixed annoyingly being a mix of all three and not just a mix of land and sea like I had assumed. My parents both went with the sea, I went with the land, and I think all of us were happy with our respective choices. The first course of a bread board made up of seven little blobs was the same no matter the menu - and here you see what tehy are goign for. Some are traditional bread, one was a delightful pumpkin fudge almost, two were legume balls, another was honey and barley; all of them tasty enough and a good way to get you started.
The next two courses were teh ones taht were land or sea specific, and in my case included things like beef tongue pate (excellent), a potato cylinder with stewed beef (tasty), a blood sausage croquette (better than most blood sausage things I've had), pickled rabbit in broth (excellent), confit pork with quinoa puree (not the best) and more. They were all presented well, and all were at minimum tasty. The desserts could've been better, but overall Peumayen was a solid choice. Restuarant 99 would've been better, but it was nice to try Peumayen out as well and realize that there is good food deep in the heart of Bellavista.
My parents were fairly tired by this point (understandable) so I said good bye to them and headed to Backroom Bar, the cocktail bar I first went to earlier this year when Siete Negronis was still closed. Backroom was as good as ever, from teh cocktails, to the vibe, to the live music, to of course the site of Santiago's hills above you along with the moonlight as you sip the night away. The open back area is just a perfect spot in my mind, elevating the drinks probably even higher than they already are by themselves.
From tehre, I ended the night heading back to Bellavista (of course) ping-ponging between La Feria and Ambar - for the latter the two side rooms that play house and techno (basement). On this night, preferred Ambar as they stayed true to their mission, while the DJ at least at the time I went to La Feria was playing more latin-beat EDM (much like Bizarro back in Lima). Both are excellent spots however, with these new self-ordering machines that make getting drinsk quite easy (and quite cheap as well - the one area that Santiago is cheaper than Lima in). In the end, settled msotly at Ambar until about 2:45 when I finally felt the urge to sleep a bit after a long, delightful day in Santiago.
