22/08/2012 – 25/08/2012 – Chilly in Chile

The vines might not look up to much (the winter'll do that to them, didn't really think of that!), but good to have a private
tour at Concho y Torro

Packed and ready to roll,
at an unreasonable hour!

The final leg, part III of the avoiding work series, started at the crack of dawn in Torquay where big Al was kind enough to rush us down to the coach station with our luggage. If you’re ever needing to get to Heathrow from the counties, take a look at National Express – much cheaper, no changes required and almost the same time. Jumbo would have been proud – 3+ hours to kick back in the airport.

Fun in the funicular!

Santiago's central square - the old-timer
chess players just out of shot

A few films later and we were at the halfway point in Atlanta, doing our utmost to stay awake for the 3 hour layover. No personal screens in the next flight, but not to worry as we both were on the verge of collapse as we boarded the plane and had the most sleep we’ve ever enjoyed on a flight.

Was a fresh 0⁰C when we landed in Santiago, and after braving the bus and metro systems to get to our hostel we huddled round the heater to recover the feeling in our hands and feet! Wrapped up a bit better and then headed out again, this time to a shopping centre to stock up on all the things we’d neglected to bring from the UK… Ooops – note to self to leave a bit more time for packing in future!

Awesome mountain views surrounding the city

A legendary Balfour photo opp

The phone box bar - genius!

Headed up the funicular to Cerro San Cristóbal so Annaliza could follow in her father and brother’s photosteps – the views of the surrounding Andes were fantastic. Our first attempt to sample the local wines was a failure, where we were turned away at the door, so made up for it by going out for a cerveva and empanada at the hilarious Phone Box bar. This had only whet the appetite, so followed it up with a steak sandwich and malbec – as they would say at the ambassador’s reception, exchellente!

Exchellente!

The next day proved more successful on the winery front, and we ignored the tour on offer in favour of a more complete tasting experience. Good thing too – after briefly chatting up the waiter we got our own personal tour free of charge. The wines at Concho y Torro weren’t half bad either!

Just a little sip...

Key Learnings:

1. Tony should never let Annaliza miss an aeroplane meal again. Ever.

2. Chileans love their street performers – we noticed one guy watching a clown in the main square in Santiago for over an hour…

3. Skiing in Chile hasn’t quite taken off, and can only be done through expensive tour agents. Shame, would have been cool!