Chilling out in southern Chile

[RooFlyer]

Well, the title is mostly a lie, sorry. Not a good start. It was a work trip, but I couldn't resist the snazzy trip title. There wasn't a lot of chilling out at all, but rather a number of long drives, 4WDing over some atrocious tracks and some mild mountain-side climbing, checking out mineral areas. For those who have seen my figure, the latter may seem unlikely! But it was in a very scenic part of southern Chile so I thought I'd share what I can.

Guaranteed to be off the tourist trails!

I rarely go back to an area where I've visited ... too much of the world unseen! But having had this limited view of the area, I immediately thought about going back and having a proper look. And blow me down, I discovered JohnM was already planning a Chile fjord cruise and road trip into western Argentina next year. Count me in, I said! So the cruise is booked, as are flights and hotels ... already ... which for me is unheard of. So, be prepared for [-]Thelma and Louise do southern Chile and Argentina[/-] "JohnM and RooFlyer - a rake's Latin progress" .. trip report, next year.

Ahem. So back to the trip in question.

Like all my trips, it started at Hobart airport, this time in the rather pedestrian Qantas Club there. As keen followers of all things Tasmanian would know, they tweaked the QP there last February, and with some fanfare, introduced a sandwich maker! So, imagine my unfettered excitement when I discovered that they had also introduced ... hang the cost ... a pancake machine (left)! Some time later I was on a glorious 747 from SYD to SCL and had a nice in flight meal in J. Forget what it was, but here's a picture of it.




An uneventful flight, which is how I like it. Good service in the upper deck (I'm gunna miss that config!). The LH pic is the first sighting of the Chilean coastline; the RH pic is approaching SCL. I was on the LH side, so missed the spectacular Andean peaks seen out the RH side.




We overflew SCL (left) and landed on time, taxing to the terminal which was now familiar to me.





I was heading on to Mendoza, Argentina to hopefully continue some wine tasting that was denied me last year by a rude work interruption to my grand South American tour. So straight up to the LAN international lounge at SCL, which I absolutely love. Its light, airy, has lots of different zones, good wines and OK food. Don't miss it if you qualify when at SCL.

 

[kermatu]

Can't wait for Thelma and Louise. But this will do in the meantime.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Can't wait for Thelma and Louise. But this will do in the meantime.

What they said,

The title should be a cracker.

 

[LadyC]

Sounds like a few interesting trips - looking forward to reading about them!

 

[juddles]

... "JohnM and RooFlyer - a rake's Latin progress" .. trip report, next year....

Rest assured I will be there as a critic the whole journey

I really like southern Chile BTW. Lakes and trout and a wonderful German-influenced cuisine. Too good a place for the likes of you two to infest :/

 

[JohnM]

"JohnM and RooFlyer - a rake's Latin progress" .. trip report, next year.

Egad! :shock: More likely one pilgrim's and one rake's progress - respectively :mrgreen:.

 

[JohnM]

What they said,

The title should be a cracker.

Errr - what he said :shock:.

 

[JohnM]

Rest assured I will be there as a critic the whole journey

Oh, gawwd .

 

[RooFlyer]

I had 2 nights in Mendoza - enough to get over the worst of the jet lag. I had a winery tour lined up, but on checking into my hotel, I was told it wasn't going to run - not enough people. :evil:.

Mendoza is the provincial capital, and lies at the foot of the Andes, but not in a location where there are great views of the high mountains. I was staying at the Hilton downtown - not bad, didn't have much character and the club lounge was pretty basic but did offer some local views:



The thing that struck me most about the place was the trees - all the streets are lined with mature trees - one every 10m or so! An extensive irrigation channel system was set up in the early days and causes the trees to flourish:




Other than that, there are some OK civic buildings, but not much else startling, unless I missed it.

 

[RooFlyer]

In the absence of my wine tour I hired a jalopy (not intentionally) and drove myself south to Valle de Uco. I knew from JohnM's past TR that the industry there wasn't set up for independents wine tasting, but surely it shouldn't be too difficult to just drive through a gate?

Nope. Every place I went to had a closed gate. One had a guard on it, and I gathered he declined my question whether or not I could go in. The weather was cloudy too, so no views of the Andes as a backdrop. Just a few pics but generally it wasn't very exciting.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next day, a bit disappointed I flew back to Santiago, but it was a clear day so I looked forward to hopping across the Andes. Wasn't disappointed.

After taking off, we did a full 360 degree loop, I gather to gain altitude:






I swear the pilot didn't gain a metre of altitude more than needed; we 'just scraped' over!




At Santiago, it was a taxi into Las Condes and the Hotel Plaza El Bosque Ebro. There are a couple of El Bosques in the area, so 'Ebro' was important! It was booked by the client, but I gather it is quite a reasonably priced, all suites 'business' hotel, and I found it really good on all fronts.




Great rooftop bar, pool and restaurant. Super location for breakfast in the morning.

 

[JohnM]

In the absence of my wine tour I hired a jalopy (not intentionally) and drove myself south to Valle de Uco. I knew from JohnM's past TR that the industry there wasn't set up for independents wine tasting, but surely it shouldn't be too difficult to just drive through a gate?

Nope. Every place I went to had a closed gate. One had a guard on it, and I gathered he declined my question whether or not I could go in.

You didn't try hard enough! El stupido Australiano (aka JohnM) managed to get into Catena Zapata (back near Mendoza), Salentien and O. Fournier . All utterly spectacular wineries.

Catena Zapata was with help from a rep of a winery-equipment company that took pity on me looking confused (nothing new there ) outside Chandon. At Salentien I just managed to make myself understood to the gate attendant (but with some being very puzzled and quizzical as to why they wouldn't let an Australiano in deep awe of Argentina just go straight in.) He phoned the winery and somehow it worked. IIRC O. Fournier was not a problem.

I think the issue is not so much that they don't want you to go in, it's that most people go on organised tours and most of those travelling independently actually make a booking for lunch or a tour. The gate attendants speak no Inglese and someone just rocking up (especially a solo foreigner, I expect) is way outside their job description to handle without referring to higher authority. Once in, everything was sweet.

 

[casanovawa]

How much is the cruise you guys have booked?

 

[JohnM]

How much is the cruise you guys have booked?

I'll PM you in a while.

 

[RooFlyer]

We flew from Santiago to Balmaceda, about 3 hrs including a stop in Puerto Montt (big blue dot).



Yep, its a fair way south - and as you'll observe, close to the Argentine border. Very close - the end of the runway is about 200 metres from the border.

We were told an interesting story, that I haven't been able to substantiate. in 1982 the Argentine dictatorship was looking for a distraction and decided that a move into Chile would do the trick. So they started mustering forces down south in the area of Balmaceda. The Chileans got wind of what was happening, so they mustered superior forces and the Argentines backed off. They then decided to move on the Falklands, with all its consequences. The Chileans then beefed up the airstrip at Balmaceda to an airport capable of taking A320s at least (and Air Force jets etc).

Its also the airport that services the provincial capital Coyhaique, as its rather hilly nearer that city

 

[JohnM]

We flew from Santiago to Balmaceda, about 3 hrs including a stop in Puerto Montt (big blue dot).

View attachment 71374

Yep, its a fair way south - and as you'll observe, close to the Argentine border. Very close - the end of the runway is about 200 metres from the border.

We were told an interesting story, that I haven't been able to substantiate. in 1982 the Argentine dictatorship was looking for a distraction and decided that a move into Chile would do the trick. So they started mustering forces down south in the area of Balmaceda. The Chileans got wind of what was happening, so they mustered superior forces and the Argentines backed off. They then decided to move on the Falklands, with all its consequences. The Chileans then beefed up the airstrip at Balmaceda to an airport capable of taking A320s at least (and Air Force jets etc).

Its also the airport that services the provincial capital Coyhaique, as its rather hilly nearer that city

El Chalten, the jumping-off point for spectacular Mt Fitz Roy and the N Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, just NW of El Calafate on your map was a town hurriedly put together by Argentina in 1985 to beat Chile to a land claim. Probably a good thing that Argentina won that as road access to this spectacular area on the E flank of the Andes would have been tricky from Chile.

 

[juddles]

...We were told an interesting story, that I haven't been able to substantiate. in 1982 the Argentine dictatorship was looking for a distraction and decided that a move into Chile would do the trick. So they started mustering forces down south in the area of Balmaceda. The Chileans got wind of what was happening, so they mustered superior forces and the Argentines backed off. They then decided to move on the Falklands, with all its consequences. The Chileans then beefed up the airstrip at Balmaceda to an airport capable of taking A320s at least (and Air Force jets etc).....

Rooflyer, I lived in Chile during the Falklands conflict. Locally the Chileans hate the Argentines (the Argentines always considered themselves superior) so the Chileans had no problem whatsoever "helping" the Brits. Fairly good sources advised me that during that conflict the British used those southern airfields a lot. They would fly in with Chilean air force markings, then fly out on missions with suddenly painted-on british markings

In Chile during that war the newspapers were filled daily with the news. There was something like 20+ times the Argentines "officially announced" that they had sunk the Hermes

 

[juddles]

...I think the issue is not so much that they don't want you to go in, it's that most people go on organised tours and most of those travelling independently actually make a booking for lunch or a tour. The gate attendants speak no Inglese and someone just rocking up (especially a solo foreigner, I expect) is way outside their job description to handle without referring to higher authority.

I speak very good Spanish and hereby announce that I am available as a guide for any jaunts to Valle de Uco. Malbec is a star in my life

 

[amaroo]

Looking good. Need some ideas for another (my) special birthday

 

[juddles]

Looking good. Need some ideas for another (my) special birthday

Do you need a guide?