Chile is an interesting country. Climatically it seems similar to California in many respects, especially the area I recently visited (Santiago). A dry, mediterranean feel. They even have earthquakes! Throw in a couple of alpacas and Los Angeles feels much like Santiago.
I spent most of my time in conference rooms (really!), but the organizers did carve out organized sight-seeing time, which involved a trip through historic Santiago and wine-tasting. I was sadly disappointed with the wine we tasted, perhaps a combination of my high expectations but also because I had just in December visited Napa. Still, the valley we visited was beautiful, and not unlike the wine growing region north of Santa Barbara.
Nearby Vina Del Mar, where the conference met, is the town of Valparaiso. The downtown area was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and I could not pass up the opportunity to add it to my visited list. I’ve visited probably 10 by now, so only 868 to go!
Valparaiso is a wonderful town. It is listed because it is an example of 19th century development — basically colonialism. Neoclassical architecture abounds. You can see some examples in a few of the photos I took, but I found the areas up on the hill more interesting photographically
Selected photo from Santiago, wine-tasting, Vina Del Mar, Valparaiso and the Andes over at my SmugMug gallery.
