Chile

Santiago, Chile. Chile is South America with a European flare. The scenery, the architecture, the music, the food, the people...sometimes it's easy to forget that you're not in Europe. Where else are you gonna find some really good (and quite sexy) tango dancing on a downtown street in the middle of the day?

Santiago, Chile. The city skyline, framed by the snow-capped Andes in the background.

Santiago, Chile. More European-ness. There is just art and music everywhere on the streets. And most of it was pretty good stuff, too...

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. City life is fine but the countryside ain't so bad either. Torres del Paine is one of South America's premiere national parks, located way down south in the Patagonia region. The granite spikes are a little reminiscent of Yosemite here in the US. A guanaco (smaller cousin of the llama) admires the view.

Torres del Paine National Park. Stunning scenery is around every corner in this huge park. Multi-day hikes run all through (& around) the mountains in the background. A hiker's paradise..

El Colorado, Chile. Snow-skiing in August? Well, that's mid-winter down here after all. This was a pretty good ski mountain : lots of good snow, plenty of challenging runs, modern lifts, nice hotels. And all within sight of Santiago, far below. Or I should say 'sometimes within sight', as smog hides the city late in the afternoons. In the photo above Santiago is somewhere in that smog-bank above the flags. You can ski for pretty cheap down here in South America - lift tickets, lodging, & food are all way less than in the US. It helps offset the cost of the airline ticket.

Valle de Maipo, Chile. Wine production is a huge industry in Chile and some of these vineyards are many square miles in size. This one looks dead but it's just dormant in the off-season.

Concha y Toro Winery, Chile. I think this was about my daily intake of wine during this trip. Good stuff, somehow even better when it's enjoyed right at the source.

Patagonia Region, Chile. Guanacos are normally pretty hard to find in most parts of South America. Not in the protected regions of Patagonia though.

Santiago, Chile. It's not a true South American trip unless you pose with a llama!