Terra di emozioni

Santiago and Vina del Mar

November 30, Santiago. We're already here, 400 kilometers from Santiago, and we have no idea (apart from a couple of days in Santiago) what to do... There are plenty of destinations, true, but none that really appeals to us. We visit Curico, whose plaza (de Armas, of course) according to the LP is one of the most beautiful in Chile (true), and then back in the car, toll after toll, at a Pronto Copec, besides filling up we treat ourselves to a hot dog, which we've been craving since we arrived............

But at 4 p.m. we're on the southern outskirts of Santiago. We decide to cross it and head to the mountains, to Farellones, the Cortina of Santiago. Santiago is under renovation and several times, despite there being a highway crossing it from south to north, we risk getting lost: in fact, because of the widening works the signs have been removed and only with the GPS do we manage not to get lost. It wouldn't be a big problem, in fact Santiago isn't like the other South American cities, the outskirts aren't as degraded, but it's still annoying to get lost in a big city.........

More by chance than anything else, however, we find the right road and begin to climb gently. The "Camino de Montaña" turns into a nightmare, thirty-nine narrow hairpin bends (and countless other curves) and without guardrails (luckily it's not the season....) take us in two hours into a fairy-tale landscape among the mountains. We're in Farellones, and we'd like to stop but the exorbitant price demanded by the first hotel (the others were very hidden) makes us give up the idea, and so after a brief tour we head back to Santiago. In fact I had spotted a motel, the Park Inn, just before the turnoff onto the mountain road, and indeed we'll stop here. Even though it's very far from the center. Unfortunately the restaurant is awful, and we eat really badly.

December 2, Viña del Mar. Contrary to our usual standards, this time we abandoned the final destination to take refuge at the sea..... Yesterday, December 1, we spent a wonderful day in the center of Santiago, seeing many shops and monuments that until now we had only seen and known on TV. Apart from the encounter with the traffic, Santiago is a beautiful city, much quieter and far less dangerous than others.

Avenida O'Higgins has five lanes on each side, but the 3 on the right are reserved and separated by a median for public transport, and in the middle there are gardens. Impossible to park, therefore, except on a side street. But to turn you have to get into the reserved lanes, lining up with the gap in the median, and turn almost immediately into a side street. Hard to describe and even harder to put into practice, also because of the chronic shortage of parking spaces. Anyway, we find an unofficial parking attendant who gets us to park in spaces reserved for the teachers of a school, and let's hope for the best.......

So on foot, we can finally go and see the historic sites of Santiago, the Moneda, and the other famous buildings that were the scene of the 1973 coup, and the commercial, pedestrian area, just a few meters away. It's very hot, but we're very excited, and despite the tiredness we'll walk a lot (and on foot), also visiting the classic "ferias artesanales". After confirming the return flight at the Lufthansa office, we'll try to go to Easter Island, but unfortunately there are no seats. Nor at the luxurious hotel in Viña del Mar, the Hotel del Mar, and so we'll have to find another solution. So we consoled ourselves at dinner, at Coco Loco, with fish: a bit expensive but excellent.

Today, however (December 2) we set off toward the sea, but first we'll stop at the airport to make arrangements with the rent-a-car for the return, and to find a hotel nearby where to spend the last night, since the flight is at 7 in the morning. The young lady at Econorent very kindly books the room for us, and much more relaxed we head to Viña del Mar. On the 5 norte there are a series of nice hotels, and we find one for 41 dollars. We took a great tour of the center (which we hadn't seen yet) and then went to the beach. Tonight we had a meat-based dinner (excellent) at El Gancho, an Argentine restaurant, on Av. San Martin. On the 3rd, instead, we followed the LP's recommendations and went to Concon, to one of the restaurants (specifically Aquì Jaime) that line the sea...... Excellent and quite cheap.

On the 4th, back in Viña and on San Martin, the seafront, at La Parilla, excellent meat here too. Not before having gone for a healthy one-hour jog.

December 5, Santiago airport. After three wonderful sunny days, we're ready to return to the cold and darkness of the Italian winter. This hotel, the Diego de Almagro - Aeropuerto, is brand new, the rooms are very spacious and it offers free internet, and a pool. The restaurant (fortunately) is excellent, partly buffet and with a choice of one hot dish out of three. And the breakfast room is open from 4 in the morning.

Heading north

November 7, Reñaca. Finally in Chile! This year we left very late, partly by choice, partly because we underestimated the demand for flights to South America, so no upgrades or business class, although Lufthansa has excellent planes and spacious seats on these routes. So the 18 hours of flight between Frankfurt and Santiago (with a technical stop in São Paulo, Brazil) passed without worries (or almost...).

We arrive in Santiago at 11 local time, 4 hours behind Italy, and the temperature is great, and having found the Econorent car rental desk (booked from Italy, and very good and cheap, obviously recommended), changed some money and picked up the keys to the Subaru Impreza 4x4, we head for the sea. Valparaiso and Viña del Mar are our destinations, reachable via the (toll) highway 68, about 130 km from Santiago.

It's definitely shocking. Valparaiso rises on a promontory sloping down to the sea, entirely covered with houses and skyscrapers. Viña del Mar, too, has by now covered every square inch of hillside and, with no rules at all, skyscrapers, colonial houses and streets follow one another for kilometers. In Valparaiso (connected by a superhighway to Viña del Mar), modernity and antiquity coexist: the 14 funiculars (ascensores) are over 100 years old and connect the lower area to the upper one, and everywhere there are cars, taxis and trolleybuses from the 1940s, in a very "Italian" chaos....

After trying in vain to find a hotel on the sea (Valparaiso only has the port on the sea, in Viña only houses and big buildings) we move a bit north, to Reñaca, where we find a motel (expensive) on the ocean, one of the very few. Even though Reñaca has one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Chile. And here too construction is doing damage. It's relatively early, in fact it's 6:30 p.m., and dinner is talked about at 9 p.m. and later. But we'll have to get used to local customs: breakfast will be served from 9.

We'll discover from the newspapers that Pinochet has his house here in Reñaca. And on this very day he injured his arm, falling at home.

November 8, La Serena. Yesterday evening ended with dinner by candlelight, in the true sense of the word, since due to a power plant failure the area between Valparaiso and Concon was almost entirely dark. They say it happens sometimes on weekends. We wake up slowly, since desayuno (breakfast) will only be at nine. Then we follow the coastal road for a while, passing Concon, Zapallar (the Malibu of Chile) and Papudo, a village on a cliff with rigorously dirt roads, admiring pelicans and votive shrines along the way.

Another aspect of Chile appears dramatically as we rack up kilometers: abandoned dogs. They don't seem to be in bad shape, but there are definitely too many. No one bothers them, but they're a constant, sad presence. Many seem to be purebred (German shepherds, dalmatians) and we're terrified at the thought of finding one under my wheels.

Back on the 5 Norte, the landscape offers very little, except barren hills and votive shrines, in memory of some road accident that caused death and sorrow: it seems a popular art has developed: some are veritable works of art. So after 300 km of nothing but tolls, we arrive at La Serena, which as a seaside resort is supplanting Valparaiso, and we understand why.

Along the coastline, no big buildings or skyscrapers, but discreet low-rise buildings, and the city two kilometers inland, discreet, beautiful and vibrant. We stop at the Hotel Mar de Ensueño and throw ourselves into the heated pool. Refreshed, we head into town, and having parked the car we walk around the Mercado La Recova a few times, where — if you want — you can eat (the quality is beyond question, but as for hygiene I wouldn't bet on it...). Back on the beach we take advantage for a good run along the waterfront, in company. It seems, in fact, that running (and cycling too, especially mountain biking) is very fashionable. Lately, in fact, obesity in Chile is a real social scourge, and many Chileans try to stay in shape this way.

We're struggling with the language, here they speak little English and we speak even less Spanish, and I get nervous easily because of this. However, we try very hard to speak Spanish, certainly more than they try to understand us. Dinner, though, is excellent, at "Tololo," one of the many little restaurants along the waterfront, which delights us with hot and cold (fish) dishes. The prices. Chile is not cheap, definitely not as we'd expect.

To eat (fish) you always need from 20 euros up per person, and even for sleeping the average is around 30 euros. The Chilean Peso ($, like the dollar, but with a single bar) is pegged to the dollar, and with the euro we come out ahead. From today we discover another novelty: by requesting the "Factura per los Estranjeros" (invoice for foreigners) you save the VAT, 19% in other words.

November 9, Taltal. This year Carla, also because of the very patchy and inadequate guides, hadn't set a program, but even if she had, she would hardly have planned this stop. We wake up (this time) early, and after one of the rare buffet breakfasts we set off decisively, goal Chañaral, 500 km further north. If not Antofagasta, another 350 km. Nothing along the way, obviously: no towns, no lodgings.

We set off and the Norte Chico presents itself: a collection of hills first purple and yellow, then red, white, green depending on the minerals present. Or rocky masses with boulders high above the road, menacing..... Also roads built on the hillside.... But also desolate plains as far as the eye can see..... Roads traveled only by truckers, and rare service stations that are nothing but shacks.

It's hot, and mirages are a reality......... So Vallenar, Copiapo, Caldera and Chañaral slip by. It's early, and it's not worth stopping here, so we continue. After 80 km there's the turnoff for Taltal, and we're low on fuel, but we know from the map "Rutas de Chile 2003" (by Copec) that a few km from there there's a gas station, essential to reach Antofagasta.

Unfortunately a printing error means that at km 1122 there's nothing (and not even that it could have escaped us!), and not wanting to risk being stranded (we had a range of about 100 km, against the 170 remaining to Antofagasta), although we consider it impossible that there's no gas station, we turn back to Taltal, where we know there's certainly a gas station (they're rare in general, gas stations, so it's advisable to always top up the tank!)

You reach Taltal suddenly, after 22 kilometers of hills and curves, and with it the sea. The miners' shacks (the main activity up here in the north) coexist with more modern houses, paved and dirt streets, the sea populated by pelicans and seagulls seems teeming with fish, continuously, in fact, the birds dive headlong to catch fish. Here we meet one of the very few Chilean cats....

The people are simple, in their dress, almost modest, almost as if they've seen (indeed, certainly) better days, but the current president, Ricardo Lagos, a native of Taltal, has earmarked funding to recover this stretch of coast, still very wild and little known. With a stroke of luck we find a new B&B, the Mi Tampi run by Croatians, very nice and clean. Incredible, almost, because it's in a neighborhood where there are practically only shacks. The price is low, and the room delightful. Too bad it doesn't accept credit cards.

It's better, rather than changing euros or dollars, to make an ATM withdrawal, the cost is just 2.5 euros. The exchange rate is honest too. For eating there's no choice: "Las Brisas" on the port. Although the place could be described as "avoidable" by any normal person, the food is excellent.

San Pedro de Atacama

November 10, San Pedro de Atacama. Here we are again on the road to Antofagasta, and we discover the mystery of the gas station. Instead of at kilometer 1122 as indicated by the Copec guide, it's exactly 20 kilometers later. Past the turnoff for Antofagasta, we leave the 5 Norte for the 25, heading for Calama-San Pedro de Atacama. It's a road that connects Calama and other small settlements to the mines, extremely boring but extremely well-maintained, built for trucks and minibuses (the former for materials, the latter for miners) and guarded by the Carabineros who monitor speed with lasers and are relentless.

Past Calama, home to a large cement plant (and the air is unbreathable) and Chile's (and the world's) largest copper mine, Chuquicamata, we continue toward San Pedro. We admire more shrines, expressions of a far from negligible art, and the road that begins to climb gently, but we only notice from the GPS, which at a certain point reads 3428 meters. Then it descends (a little), in the middle of a salt desert (the Salar de Atacama), and the landscape becomes truly ghostly. And here's San Pedro (but is it really?), a town "apparently" left to colonial times, so narrow dirt streets, mud walls and little else.... No guide had forewarned this, and we think we're not in San Pedro, or that there's a new area.........

No way, we're right in San Pedro, and boldly we head for one of the best hotels (La casa de Don Tomas), where as soon as we enter a clean, tidy, brand-new atrium welcomes us. At reception they inform us that the hotel is full, and that probably most of the hotels are full. Panic, obviously. How are they full? There are no holidays nearby, it's November 10, a Monday.... So a "dead" period.......... To cut a long story short, with a bit of patience (I, in truth, was already losing it) they find us a hotel (but just one night) at the Tampillo, which isn't bad.

It's important to know that here you can't park on the street, and you have to find the hotel with internal parking, otherwise there's trouble. So we rush to secure it, because (still today it seems like a delirium to me) when she said yes, the girl at reception hung up the phone (I can assure you she didn't say "hold the room for a moment" or "some customers are arriving"). I was saying it isn't bad, as a hotel, simple but clean. Once the luggage is unloaded, since it's early we take a walk in the center, to understand this place better and to book the tours.

It's very hot, but dry, and on top of that we're at 2500 meters altitude, and you need to acclimatize. So after booking 2 tours (one for the desert and surroundings, the other for the Taito geysers), and finding another hotel (where we go to confirm the booking) we can't manage to go to the museum to see the mummies because Carla got a nasty sunstroke. And all shivering she takes refuge under the covers. We end the evening at a restaurant (the Paacha) where we eat badly (although our LP speaks very highly of it) with Carla clearly suffering.

November 11, San Pedro de Atacama. It's seven and the car is blocked in the little courtyard, and despite my protests I can't move it. We were supposed to take it to the Katarpe, the new hotel, but oh well, I'll do everything tonight. After the tour.

Iquique and Arica

13 November, Iquique. Dinner (at La casa de Don Julio) was a bit of a mystery: it seems Carla's dishes were salted more than once, making the fish almost inedible, while my meat was fabulous. We wake up slowly and set off again after a good breakfast. The road (recently paved, runs along the sea, and in parallel the cordillera, sometimes very close, sometimes farther away, creates striking landscapes. Over these 250 km you can appreciate only wild nature, with sandy beaches and bare mountains, a few fishing villages and a few mines.

So shortly before 2 p.m., after crossing a big hill, we're in Iquique, which is a large city (at least by Chilean standards) with a beautiful bay and long beaches. Here too the houses have been built without any logic, and skyscrapers and big blocks alternate with beautiful colonial houses. After wandering around looking for the hotel "highly recommended" by the LP (ours is the old edition anyway), which for the record is the Chucumata, we decide on the Hosteria Cavancha, since the Chucumata building is abandoned. The Hosteria Cavancha would be luxurious, but as we've learned, the word "luxury" is relative here in Chile.

We're on the beach, the room is decent (expensive, though), and the bathroom (as usual) is well below expectations. We decide to go and see the "famous" El Gigante de Atacama, a rock carving on the side of a hill about 100 km from here. We climb the hill on which Iquique slopes down, and after passing Humberstone, a ghost mining town, and Huara, we take the turn-off for the giant. To our left, after about 20 km, we should find the hill.

Unfortunately, though (without anyone having thought of putting up a sign), they're rebuilding the road, and the detour (of at least 20 km) that allows them to work on the surface without lane changes is on the right, effectively preventing us from going to see El Gigante. So after quite a few kilometres, asking a minibus for information, we learn that it's impossible to go and see El Gigante. Somewhat disappointed, we turn back and prefer to rely on far more tangible attractions: the beach, the sea and a good dose of sun. About ten times I'll try to go for a swim, which many locals do without a care, but I just can't manage it, the water is about 17 degrees, and it's really cold.

14 November, Iquique. This is why we travel the way we do. We hadn't planned to stay here, nor even to get to Arica. Improvising, in fact, and knowing that in a week we'll have to board at Puerto Montt (2869 km from here!!!) in the morning, we extend the room for another night, and during the day go for a trip to Arica, coming back at our leisure this evening.

So after a refuel in Iquique (avoid the Esso at the edge of town, it tends to rip you off, it charges more to your credit card, while the "partner" zeroes the pump) and 315 kilometres of good road (but with no petrol stations and with the only stopping point, Cuya, where the Carabineros checks on fruit are strict), and always with a fairytale landscape (moreover protected by the Presecias Tutelares), we arrive in Arica around midday.

Arica is very lively, full of young people, stalls and shops, like all border towns. And then plants (palms) and greenery, in short an oasis. Considering, moreover, that it rains barely 4 days a year. So, after a good walk around the city (admiring the Plaza Colon and the Morro de Arica) we return to Iquique, not before admiring a "desert" sculpture.

Thus we visit Iquique properly, admiring the centre, with its beautiful colonial buildings now under renovation, and an outer area, poor, simple, but not desperate. Excellent dinner based on fish at Don Rodrigo.

15 November Antofagasta. Yesterday we took the dirty laundry to the laundrette and for a small cost (600 pesos, less than 1 euro) they washed and ironed by hand 8 kilos of stuff. We gladly recommend it, it's the Lavaràpido of Opisbo Labbe', because it did an excellent job. We decide to go back along the coastal road, missing the Pintados geoglyphs, but I prefer to stay by the sea rather than drive quite a few extra kilometres and more desert. Anyway, along the coastal road there are interesting things too, such as the ghost town of Cobija and the monolith of the Tropic of Capricorn.

We arrive in Antofagasta, which like all coastal cities is - anyway - perched on the hill that "defends" it, as well as being very long and stretched along the coast. We feel like "treating ourselves well", and aim for the best hotel, the Antofagasta, which is part of the Panamericana chain, overlooking the port. The port blocks the view of the sea for a great stretch, although here tsunamis haven't been rare, so even where it could be open there are protective barriers.

After resting, we take the opportunity for a visit to the "Portada", a rock formation created by the sea and wind, and a wander around the main square, Plaza Colon, with a copy, small, very small and far less resembling, of London's Big Ben and a beautiful church of San Jose'. Dinner at Portillo, this time (after 7 days) I need meat, so we feast on an excellent T-Bone, the classic big grilled steak, and a giant skewer. And - obviously - Chilean red wine, Carmenere, this time.

16 November, Copiapò. The "long hauls" begin, that is, kilometres upon kilometres to reach Puerto Montt (comfortably, anyway) on the 22nd, one of the few fixed appointments of our trip. So apart from highly spectacular spots, such as the "Hand in the Desert", or breathtaking views, there isn't much. We come across the "ghost" petrol station of Agua Verde again (which doesn't take credit cards) and, back on the sea at Chañaral, we follow the coast for a while, then inland again as far as Copiapò. Unfortunately it's the only road, and to avoid getting bored it's best to do different towns on the way out compared with the way back.

Copiapò is quite tricky to get around (above all it's hard to find the entry road into the city from the 1 Norte), and to find this splendid hotel, La Casona, we have to drive around quite a bit. After taking the room, and admiring the beauty of this colonial house turned into a hotel, with a flower-filled courtyard, we take a little walk on foot in the centre, and even though it's Sunday the department stores and supermarkets are open. Dinner, at the hotel, is simple but very tasty.

From north to south: from La Serena to Puerto Montt

17 November, La Serena. The journey back continues, and we return to La Serena; this time we stop at another hotel, near the lighthouse, La Serena Plaza, which offers internet in a quiet little room, and obviously free of charge. The day is windy and we limit ourselves to a long afternoon walk on the beach and a little run in the evening, before another excellent dinner, this time at the Chiringuito, again by the sea, obviously based on fish, cheviche and mariscos.

18 November Viña del Mar. After another boring 350 kilometres of motorway (toll road) we return to Viña del Mar, which seems to us less chaotic and more defined, and after taking a small room but facing the sea at the old (being refurbished) hotel San Martin, we go straight to the beach, spending the whole afternoon in the sun. Naturally I'll try to swim again but the water is too cold (here it's about 15°). After long discussions we decide to have dinner in a (too) touristy place, the Delicia del Mar, a few steps from the hotel, and a very salty bill corresponds to a very low quality of food, with a reheated paella and anonymous prawns. Only the oysters were good.

19 November, Talca. We're at the Hotel Terrabella, the most luxurious in the city. And luxurious too is the suite with a little sitting room, 2 TVs and a jacuzzi. The price is - on the other hand - excellent, 45,000 pesos, about 65 euros. It's very hot, and after a good walk in the centre we bask in the sun by the pool, and then late in the evening we choose the restaurant Ruben Tapia, excellent.

21 November, Puerto Montt. Yesterday we stopped in Temuco, at the NEW Hotel La Frontera (let's be precise about the "new"). We've entered the Araucania region, Mapuche country, the most important remaining indigenous ethnic group. And it's also the lake district, very green and very "Mediterranean" to look at. The rains have also begun (snow on the mountains, so much so that they've closed the main passes to Argentina), after so much sun and aridity. So we've arrived in Puerto Montt, where, from tomorrow, we'll board for five days for the cruise to the Laguna de San Rafael.

We've found a nice hotel, the Viento Sur, situated in an elevated position, and indeed it commands a view over the whole city. The rooms are delightful, in German style. So after a quick freshen-up we took the opportunity to visit the surroundings, Puerto Varas, on Lake Llanquihue, starting point for an excursion to San Carlos de Bariloche, in Argentina (combined, hydrofoil-bus). Back in Puerto Montt (which isn't easy to get around by car) we went to the Navimag boarding point to collect the cruise tickets (booked online) and to see the characteristic "Feria Artesanal", on avenida Angelmo, which ends at the fish market.

The "feria" is very touristy (and the objects are not very artisanal and very industrial), the market, on the other hand, is very real, and boats full of fish keep arriving, which is immediately "processed". The salmon are impressive, enormous. The stray dogs (you'll find them everywhere, unfortunately) clash with the cats to fight over fish scraps. Here you can also admire the "necklaces" of dried mussels.

The cruise to San Rafael Glacier

22 November, sailing. After a bad night sorting out loose ends (where will we leave the car for five days? Why is the mobile phone acting up - again? What do we take on board?), at half past seven we're already up. The mobile phone doesn't work, oh well, never mind. We'll leave the car at Eurorent a few hundred metres from here, a few things in the suitcase, and the problems are solved. So, accompanied by the rent-a-car mechanic, we're at the boarding point at midday (boarding time was 16.00). As our fellow travellers arrive one by one, my doubts pile up....... What will the cabin be like? Will it be true that it's a cabin with 4 beds but that only we will occupy it? And the ship? And the food they'll give us? (3 meals guaranteed every day........)

After the captain's presentation of the cruise (he too doesn't exactly inspire confidence with his 150 kilos), we board the ship, the "Puerto Eden", which, as we learn, will also provide a cargo service between here and Puerto Aisen, so as to offer a very good price and a high quality of service. The doubts quickly vanish: the ship is very clean, the cabin perfectly furnished (bathroom in the cabin) and the atmosphere cheerful and courteous. In the end we set off, and very soon the deck comes alive with travellers. In the evening, then, Maximiliano Ramos, a great impresario, organises songs and parties. And there's certainly no getting bored! Too bad for us, we wanted to sleep.........

24 November, Laguna de San Rafael. The first night (between the 22nd and the 23rd) the ship rocked a lot, and with the party ending after 2 we got little rest. In the early afternoon we arrived at Puerto Chacabuco, where we disembarked and for the modest sum of 2500 pesos (less than 4 euros) they took us by bus to admire Puerto Aisen, a typical village isolated from the rest of Chile (the road is impassable for many months of the year, and anyway unpaved and unstable), where order and cleanliness reign supreme. So we understood the importance of our ship, which brings goods to these otherwise unreachable lands.

At 8 p.m. we reboard, and following the rotation system we eat last this time. The cabins are divided into 3 hundreds: those numbered 100 are the best, with 4 beds but with a bathroom in the cabin (like ours) or private on the deck and upper deck. Those numbered 200 are cabins without a bathroom (with 4 beds) on the middle deck, finally those numbered 300 are just beds, in a single dormitory, on the lower level. Almost always our hundred is the first to dine. I've met an American couple (our age) and a couple of retired Canadians, with whom, once dinner was over, I stayed to play cards.

This morning (24th) we were woken at 7 by Maximiliano's booming voice informing us that we were entering the lagoon. After the usual, abundant breakfast (all the meals during the cruise were excellent) we quickly went up on deck to admire this wonder of nature. It's very cold (after all we're among the ice) and it's raining, but the anticipation is great. Here come the first icebergs peeking out, along with the Chilean national anthem, sung loudly by most of the passengers. Yes, because the cruise isn't a tourist attraction for foreigners, but typically a Chilean holiday. Tour operators prefer to take tourists to Torres del Paine, much further south. But there there are no glaciers..........

On this sailing there are - however - many foreigners, us, another Italian from Ivrea, English, Americans, Canadians, and four French girls and several German couples, and the crew is very amazed by this, as well as unprepared, given that the instructions are given in Spanish and badly translated into English. But here comes the glacier before us in all its majesty....... Although it's in retreat (more than a kilometre in the last 3 years and over 5 in a century) it's very imposing. As for the meals, to approach it by boat we're also divided by numbers, and (luckily) we get the first turn.

So, having put on life jackets, at 10.30 we're on the boats approaching the glacier. The ice is very thick and an incredible blue, and often we have to open channels with the bow, pushing the ice aside by force......... It's raining hard and it's even colder, my jacket, however, holds up, unlike Carla's, who will suffer a lot from the cold. Just when we're about to freeze, our guide uncorks the whisky, and passing us the glass that will remain ours, invites us to taste it with the eternal ice. He also has orange juice, but it's certainly not the same thing!

There are three boats in this turn, and now we've got very close to the glacier, and our helmsmen hurry to tie us together: we'll soon understand why. The chunks of ice, enormous, begin to break off from the glacier forming sizable waves, and so with the boats tied together we risk less of capsizing. The noise of the impact with the water is shocking, and immediately the silence that returns. After a nice icy shower under a waterfall we return numb and trembling to the ship (which remained anchored not far away), and only after a long hot shower do we get our temperature back.

Now, living in close contact with Chileans, we're getting to know them better. Among themselves they're definitely rowdy and likeable, every occasion is good for a joke, a prank. With foreigners, apart from forced exceptions (like the cabin shared with some Germans) they prefer a respectful admiration, perhaps out of shyness but more probably because they don't know foreign languages.

25 November, sailing. (Still the 24th) Big party on board, last night. The desire to party, to have fun is inexhaustible. And Maximiliano doesn't need to be asked........ But this time everything is prepared. The "competenzia" (the competition) will take place between two teams (alliances): the Roja (red) and the Azul (blue). We foreigners are involved too, and equally divided. We're in the Roja, and we'll have to sing "LA BLANCA, LA FLACA, LA COJA, SOMOS L'ALEANZA ROJA!". In the end even the Canadians will sing at the top of their lungs. Then the competenzia, the contest, proper. In front of a large audience (more or less all the passengers) and a severe jury (complete with "Carpeta Jurado"!) each team presented its own champions in dancing, skill and beauty.

In the end the Azul team will win (captained by "El Mismo", the same one, because practically they did all the events), but applause too for the losers. And our Canadian friends winning in the balloon round. This morning (25th), on the other hand, wake-up at 6 to get ready for the second tour, the one that will let us get to know Coihaique, a town much more immersed in the Chilean cordillera. Splendid specimens of Araucano, the local tree similar to our pine. We return to the ship at lunchtime, where there has been the loading of goods now destined for Puerto Montt (sheep and cows) and a few fewer passengers, like our friends Kevin and Sharon, who will do a longer tour of the surroundings.

Toward Santiago: from Chiloé northward

26 November, Castro. Another evening of partying yesterday, this time with bingo.... But the sea is rough, we're tossed about in the cabin, they (the Chileans) cheer at every wave.........This morning we packed our bags, and before disembarking they even prepare lunch for us. Having reached by taxi the Econorent that kept our car, we're mobile again: we quickly reach the ferry for Chacao, on the island of Chiloe, which is about sixty kilometres from Puerto Montt. We board and in half an hour we're on the island. This island is famous for its climate (in fact after days of rain we find the sun again), relatively mild, and because it's the buen retiro of many writers, from Neruda to the Serrano.

Unfortunately the roadworks in progress (twenty kilometres of unpaved road with alternating one-way traffic!!!) ruin our plans, and only in the evening are we in Castro. The chosen hotel is full, but they point us to the hostal Casa Kolping opposite, and we're grateful, because it's very charming and with a beautiful view. This island is also famous for about ten wooden churches protected by UNESCO as world heritage sites, and in our little tour of the centre of Castro we visit one. Then we take the car and go in search of the craft market, in the port area, and of the restaurant, which however is in the surroundings of the hotel, the Sancho.

27 November, Ancud. We spent the whole day visiting the island, first the stilt houses of Castro, still fishermen's homes, then we went on to Quellón, the southern tip, which offers a nice museum of old farm machinery, then we returned north, as far as Ancud, where we stayed at the hotel Ancud of the Panamericana chain (terrible service at breakfast) and ate near the port, at the Kuranton, the true local dish, the Curanto. It's a rich dish, with sliced smoked pork, pork sausage, mussels and large clams in quantity, potatoes, corn bread and barley purée. In short, a bit complicated to digest but very tasty.

28 November, Valdivia. Back on the mainland, we took the 5 Sur heading north. After a short stop in the cheerful (and very tidy) town of Frutillar (on Lake Llanquihue) which stands opposite the Osorno volcano. We then arrived (about 200 kilometres) in Valdivia, a splendid town on the Calle Calle river, home to a large university. And indeed our hotel, the Isla Teja, is in the university area, surrounded by greenery (we'll even go for a healthy jog). Valdivia is very lively, maybe also because we're close to Christmas, but there are a lot of people on the streets and the mood is euphoric. We have dinner at the Camino de Luna, a floating restaurant, very charming.

29 November, Salto del Laja (Laja Falls). We're lounging in the suite that overlooks the falls. It's really a fine sight. We got here by chance. After leaving Valdivia this morning, we had no idea where to stop. In fact, after a splendid detour to Villaricca on the lake of the same name overlooking the volcano of the same name, and Pucón (much more like an Austrian ski resort) immersed in immaculate woods, with (finally!) houses and hotels in harmony with nature, having passed Temuco and Los Angeles we decide to make the stop at the falls.

Then when we saw this room we decided to stay. The place is called Hotel y Hosteria Salto del Laja, and the restaurant is also tasty in its dishes and honest in its prices. Apart from a few Cabañas (bungalows) and a couple of other hotels and restaurants, the area is completely surrounded by greenery, and very beautiful.

Santiago and Vina del Mar

November 30, Santiago. We're already here, 400 kilometers from Santiago, and we have no idea (apart from a couple of days in Santiago) what to do... There are plenty of destinations, true, but none that really appeals to us. We visit Curico, whose plaza (de Armas, of course) according to the LP is one of the most beautiful in Chile (true), and then back in the car, toll after toll, at a Pronto Copec, besides filling up we treat ourselves to a hot dog, which we've been craving since we arrived............

But at 4 p.m. we're on the southern outskirts of Santiago. We decide to cross it and head to the mountains, to Farellones, the Cortina of Santiago. Santiago is under renovation and several times, despite there being a highway crossing it from south to north, we risk getting lost: in fact, because of the widening works the signs have been removed and only with the GPS do we manage not to get lost. It wouldn't be a big problem, in fact Santiago isn't like the other South American cities, the outskirts aren't as degraded, but it's still annoying to get lost in a big city.........

More by chance than anything else, however, we find the right road and begin to climb gently. The "Camino de Montaña" turns into a nightmare, thirty-nine narrow hairpin bends (and countless other curves) and without guardrails (luckily it's not the season....) take us in two hours into a fairy-tale landscape among the mountains. We're in Farellones, and we'd like to stop but the exorbitant price demanded by the first hotel (the others were very hidden) makes us give up the idea, and so after a brief tour we head back to Santiago. In fact I had spotted a motel, the Park Inn, just before the turnoff onto the mountain road, and indeed we'll stop here. Even though it's very far from the center. Unfortunately the restaurant is awful, and we eat really badly.

December 2, Viña del Mar. Contrary to our usual standards, this time we abandoned the final destination to take refuge at the sea..... Yesterday, December 1, we spent a wonderful day in the center of Santiago, seeing many shops and monuments that until now we had only seen and known on TV. Apart from the encounter with the traffic, Santiago is a beautiful city, much quieter and far less dangerous than others.

Avenida O'Higgins has five lanes on each side, but the 3 on the right are reserved and separated by a median for public transport, and in the middle there are gardens. Impossible to park, therefore, except on a side street. But to turn you have to get into the reserved lanes, lining up with the gap in the median, and turn almost immediately into a side street. Hard to describe and even harder to put into practice, also because of the chronic shortage of parking spaces. Anyway, we find an unofficial parking attendant who gets us to park in spaces reserved for the teachers of a school, and let's hope for the best.......

So on foot, we can finally go and see the historic sites of Santiago, the Moneda, and the other famous buildings that were the scene of the 1973 coup, and the commercial, pedestrian area, just a few meters away. It's very hot, but we're very excited, and despite the tiredness we'll walk a lot (and on foot), also visiting the classic "ferias artesanales". After confirming the return flight at the Lufthansa office, we'll try to go to Easter Island, but unfortunately there are no seats. Nor at the luxurious hotel in Viña del Mar, the Hotel del Mar, and so we'll have to find another solution. So we consoled ourselves at dinner, at Coco Loco, with fish: a bit expensive but excellent.

Today, however (December 2) we set off toward the sea, but first we'll stop at the airport to make arrangements with the rent-a-car for the return, and to find a hotel nearby where to spend the last night, since the flight is at 7 in the morning. The young lady at Econorent very kindly books the room for us, and much more relaxed we head to Viña del Mar. On the 5 norte there are a series of nice hotels, and we find one for 41 dollars. We took a great tour of the center (which we hadn't seen yet) and then went to the beach. Tonight we had a meat-based dinner (excellent) at El Gancho, an Argentine restaurant, on Av. San Martin. On the 3rd, instead, we followed the LP's recommendations and went to Concon, to one of the restaurants (specifically Aquì Jaime) that line the sea...... Excellent and quite cheap.

On the 4th, back in Viña and on San Martin, the seafront, at La Parilla, excellent meat here too. Not before having gone for a healthy one-hour jog.

December 5, Santiago airport. After three wonderful sunny days, we're ready to return to the cold and darkness of the Italian winter. This hotel, the Diego de Almagro - Aeropuerto, is brand new, the rooms are very spacious and it offers free internet, and a pool. The restaurant (fortunately) is excellent, partly buffet and with a choice of one hot dish out of three. And the breakfast room is open from 4 in the morning.