CHILE
SANTIAGO, CHILE
Colette Moorehead (12/01)
3 days and 3 nights was not enough to thoroughly enjoy
the sights of Chile, but it gave these travelers (Jennifer
Inniss, Andrea Fleming and myself) a taste to come back.
Even though the entrance tax of $61 for US and $55 for
Canadian citizens seems steep, the country is worth it
(and as a tourist, everything is free of the 18% IGV tax).
Here are some suggestions for travel: TACA had special
fares for $206.56 round trip from Lima through their internet-only
"E-speciales". check out www.taca.com
and click on this section. Tickets can either be
picked up at the Taca office in Miraflores or the airport
ticket counter. Allow extra time at the counter
if you choose the latter. Also, make sure you have
a printed copy of your reservation for the counter staff.
We found the Hotel Orly through a friend's
recommendation. Write to them for a confirmation
on a reservation (h.orly@ctcinternet.cl).
Gloria Figueroa was very pleasant and helpful. They
also set up a taxi to meet us at the airport for about
$16. We stayed in a triple room with 2 bathrooms
for $110 a night. This included an incredible breakfast
buffet every morning from 7 to 10. We took the bus
one day to Viña del Mar. The buses leave
every 15 minutes from the bus terminal (Terminal Alameda).
You can take the metro there for about $0.38 from the
Hotel Orly (12 stops) to the Universidad de Santiago.
The bus rides was about 3 hours due to some road work
being done. It costs $6.34 round trip! Make
sure to make your return trip reservations as soon as
you get to the station at Viña. If
you are interested, there is a lot of information available
on the internet of places to stay, eat and visit in Chile.
This site will even make reservations for you at hotels
and for tours. You can also use it as a guide for
prices. As of Nov 1, the exchange rate with U.S.
dollars was 710 Chilean pesos to $1. Be careful,
the sign for Chilean money is also the $. No one
accepts US dollars at the stores or restaurants so you
will find many money exchanges houses around. The hotel
will change money for you too.
Hotel Orly, Pedro de Valdivia 027, Providencia, Santiago,
231-8947 or 232-7142
Taxi Trans-VIP, 236-0604
Restaurant La Pizza Nostra, Av. Providencia 1975, 231-9853
(1 block from the Hotel Orly)
Bus Tur-Bus, Terminal Alameda, www.turbus.cl
Lisa Taschenberger (4/01)
These travel tips are mostly what Cindy and Pete recommended
to Leslie and I as we traveled through Bolivia and Chile
this past Peruvian summer. We actually got to the
point where we stopped looking at the travel books and
solely relied on Cindy and Pete's recommendations!
They are great!
*Night train to Temuco -- BOOK EARLY!!! or have
the worst night train ride of your life!
*Temuco to Pucon - Tur Bus - excellent service,
smooth ride.
Pucon
*Hostel ecole! - ~$10.00 per bed. Hostel
style, great restaurant, travel agency, good place to
meet people, get ideas, get oriented with the area.
*Hostel Herberge - Urrutia 572 - two doors down
from ecole! $10 per night (double). Kitchen, quiet,
nice owners, house-like feeling. TV and cable for
communal use.
*RAP Hamburguesa - on O'Higgins. Excellent food!
All they serve is hamburgers and fries and the place is
ALWAYS packed! Open late.
*Bar de Palao - good food, nice atmosphere
*Travel Agency: Aquaventura - EXCELLENT!
They speak English, Spanish and French. We did two different
day trips with them and loved both of them. Great
people, really friendly, easy to talk to. Close
to ecole and Herberge.
Santiago -
*Hostel Paris - located near Hostel Londres in
downtown. Both are large hotels that offer several
different rates for rooms. make reservations for
the cheap rooms.... everything is expensive in Santiago,
but the advantage of these places is that it's easy to
meet people and they are close to the downtown area.
Jackie Petrosky(3/01)
Santiago--city of tall buildings, subway system, seafood,
blue and pink flowers, kind, fun people, lilted Spanish,
and dry heat. Spend three-four days there and explore
museums such as the Museo de Bellas Artes, Museo Historico
Nacional, and the Museo Precolombino, all located
downtown. Head over to the lively Central Market
and feast your eyes on an array of fish fresh from the
Pacific. Donde Augusto offers great values on machas
a la parmesana (clams grilled with tomatoes and parmesan
cheese) and chupo de centolla (king crab).
Bellavista is a lovely district, where you can
tour "La Chascona" ("The Woman with the Tousled
Hair"), a house designed by Pablo Neruda.
The Cementerio General contains many marble mausoleums
and Salvador Allende's grave.
For day trips to the coast (Vina del Mar and Valparaiso)
or out into the vineyards or to the Maipo Canyon,
there are busses from the main terminal or tour vans
(arrange ahead with your travel agent or hotel).
The Maipo Canyon is full of harsh wind, intense sun, and
a haunting canyon. You can hike there (make sure
you have a hat, water, and sun protection) or use the
mineral baths. There are only a couple of restaurants,
which serve good empanadas. There is also horseback
riding available. Only the 7:30 AM bus goes up to
the mineral baths; it leaves from the Buses Manzur office
on Ramon Carnicier, near the Plaza Italia. The trip
is about two hours.
SIETE TAZAS, CHILE
Jackie Petrosky (12/00)
If you plan a trip to Santiago, don't forget to soak
in the sun-drenched wine country south of the capital.
You can take Tur-Bus two and a half hours south on the
Panamericana to the quiet, hospitable town of Curico.
From there, you can visit the vineyards of Miguel Torres
(mtorres@entelchile.net or 75-310455); call the day before
you plan to visit.
Plan a whole day to explore the pristine area of the nearby
Cordillera called Radal Siete Tazas National Parque, which
is about an hour and a half from Curico. Direct
buses only run during the high summer season; at other
times you can call reliable and professional Senor Miguel
Gamboa (319090) who can take you into the mountains. There
are a series of waterfalls including the Velo de la
Novia and the Siete Tazas (seven separate waterfalls
and pools of turquoise water). The hiking trails
are accessible and safe. Once up there, continue
until you reach Parque Ingles where there is a
nice hosteria and restaurant run by Senor Ruboan Gujardo
Moya (75-491613). If you're game enough, you can
stay up there during the magical winter season when the
river is covered with ice and snow.
Mark Hughes
In the south, high season means high season. Booking
ahead is a good idea. This is especially true around
the popular spots like Torres del Paine NP.
Punta Arenas:
El Mercado Restaurant, Mejicana 617. It is on the
second floor, above a shopping center so the entrance
can be hard to see. Food is good. The scallops
(ostiones) were delicious.
Puerto Natales:
La Frontera Cafe Restaurant, Bulnes 819. Good food,
great service, funky atmosphere. It is a little
off the main drag, but well worth it.
Chiloe Island:
Definitely worth a visit!
Vina del Mar:
Don’t arrive during their big song festival without hotel
reservations. I finally found a place which turned
out to be the best one I stayed in in all of Chile.
It is a hostal run by a Canadian/Chilean couple.
They have a beautifully renovated, old house with a number
of rooms, all with private baths (single-US$27).
It is about a ten-minute walk from the main streets, five
minutes from the train station to Valparaiso. It
is a much longer walk to the beach if that is what you
are looking for.
Easter Island (Rapa Nui):
 Worth
going to although it will cost you. Flights for
foreigners are about US$800. If you can, make your
flight reservations as far in advance as possible.
A four-day stay is just right. There are lots of
residencias and hostales on the island (starting at around
US$20). The proprietors will all be waiting at the
airport so advance reservations are not a must.
Food is expensive because everything is flown in from
mainland Chile. I happened to be on the island during
the annual cultural festival (always in February) which
was very interesting--and provided evening entertainment!
Ann Backus
Traveling to Chile? Here are some suggestions:
*Scott in Santiago is very helpful. He runs
a hostel which is very reasonable. His information
is excellent. He helped us out even though we didn't
stay with him. (2)683 37 32
* Isla Negra, lovely seaside place to relax near
Santiago. We stayed in the Casa Azul bed and breakfast.
Met several foreigners there. Can camp or
get a room. Can use kitchen. (035)461154
*Curacautin. Stayed on a little farm with a
Swiss couple for about a week. Great food.
Horses to ride. Informal. Lovely, helpful
people. Near National Park Conguillio. (09) 884
9541
*Villarrica. Climbed the active volcano.
A great trip but strenuous. Five hours up on snow
with ice pick, etc. Avoid contact lenses because
of the ash. Ice slides down the mountain.
Cost about $40.00 with equipment, transportation,
everything. Do not recommend La Torre Suisa bed and breakfast.
Unfriendly atmosphere.
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