Fascinating country Chile

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Atia Nasreen

Recently, during my tour around the world, I went to travel in Chile. This country has always fascinated me with its geographical location, shape, and archipelago.

After spending a few days in Easter Island, I flew to Santiago from Rapa Nui. Easter Island is also a part of Chile. I reached Santiago and my hotel safe and sound. The flight was on time and was a very comfortable one.

Chile features some of the most pristine parts of our planet. The geology of this part of the world has always fascinated me especially the western part of South America where several tectonic plates have met creating all the mountain ranges. The Andes Mountain Range borders Chile and Argentina.

Chile is a country of extremes. It is 4,329 kilometers in length, which makes it the longest country in the world and has at least 43,471 islands. It is called a shoestring country because of its shape.

I woke up very early in the morning, drew the curtains and saw the beautiful mountain from my hotel window.

I always love to see the clouds hanging over the mountains. An hour later I saw this. It was so beautiful.

I spent the first day walking around my hotel and taking rest as well. Last few days I have walked and climbed all day long, both in Galapagos Island and in Easter Island. I walked to a nearby shopping mall to buy a few small things that I needed. It was about 20 minutes’ walk from my hotel. Santiago city is beautiful with many beautiful buildings, as clean as any of the beautiful cities of the Western world. The shopping mall was so big and beautiful that my first thought was, ” I hope I won’t be lost “. I took some photos.

I always love to see the clouds hanging over the mountains. An hour later I saw this. It was so beautiful.

I spent the first day walking around my hotel and taking rest as well. Last few days I have walked and climbed all day long, both in Galapagos Island and in Easter Island. I walked to a nearby shopping mall to buy a few small things that I needed. It was about 20 minutes’ walk from my hotel. Santiago city is beautiful with many beautiful buildings, as clean as any of the beautiful cities of the Western world. The shopping mall was so big and beautiful that my first thought was, ” I hope I won’t be lost “. I took some photos.

With my fellow travellers. It didn’t take us long to become good friends

With my fellow travelers. It didn’t take us long to become good friends.

Chile is famous for its wineries. There are about 1200 wineries in Chile. The soil, climate, and humidity in Chile are highly influenced by the pleasant breezes of the Pacific Ocean and the massive mountains, ideal for growing vines for wineries.

We were taken to a winery in Veramonte, Casablanca valley. I enjoyed the beautiful place, surrounded by vine field and garden. It was pristine, beautiful green and eye-soothing. The place was also very quiet which I loved.

We were given a guided tour through the winery. We were shown the wine making process. I have seen it many times in other parts of the world. I do not drink wine, however, being a chemist professionally, I have always had a keen interest in the whole process. I used to give my students experiment of making alcohol by fermentation of carbohydrates. They did that experiment with much enthusiasm. I enjoyed the tour. After the tour we were entertained with snacks and wine to taste. As I don’t drink alcohol, I had the snacks with fruit juice.

From the winery we were driven to a restaurant for lunch. It was about 45 minutes’ drive. The Casablanca Valley was beautiful. I enjoyed the scenic drive on our way to the restaurant. I enjoyed the lunch. After our lunch we were taken to a scenic drive before being dropped off to our hotels.

Next day, I was picked up from my hotel in the morning for a day tour along Andes Mountain Range. The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world. It passes from Venezuela in the north, through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. These magnificent mountains impacted the culture as well as the geography of the region.

I enjoyed the view all along. The coach kept travelling through mountainous road, going up and up. The view was breathtaking.

On our way we stopped at a small town, San Jose de Maipo, for coffee break. It was a beautiful town, surrounded by mountains. The town is about 48 km Southeast of the capital Santiago. The town is bordered on the east by Argentina, across the Andes. After our coffee and snacks, we were given time to look around. It was a beautiful, pristine and a peaceful place.

We resumed our journey. We started going up the mountains. The view was spectacular. On our way, we saw beautiful mountain rivers, waterfalls. We went up 2500m above the sea level.

After about an hour, we stopped for a picnic. We were given some healthy snacks. I enjoyed the food as I always do. When we got out of our coach it started snowing. Everyone was so excited. After some time, I came back to bus as I didn’t want to be wet.

After going some 2500 m up the mountain and stopping occasionally, we started descending. I kept enjoying the beautiful view. Finally, I was dropped off at my hotel in the evening.

 It was my dream to see Patagonia and the Andes Mountain range. The place is so unique, so different from the rest of the world. I enjoyed the whole experience.

From Chile, I was flying to Cuzco, Peru next day, in the early morning, leaving my hotel at 2-30 a.m. which essentially meant another sleepless night . I went to bed early, with a feeling of happiness and contentment.

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