The Heart of Chile... Santiago

Santiago Skyline with 1000 foot 64 Story
Gran Torre Skyscraper in Front of the Andes

We awoke to sunny skies, had breakfast in our room, a shuttle from the pier to our bus, and we were off to see Santiago...Chile's modern capital city of 7 million nestled at the foot of the Andean Peaks. Driving from Valparaiso, we entered hills and forests of pine and sycamore, neither native to the area. Loggers had completely denuded the land in the 1800s, and faster-growing trees were brought in.

Cattle Ranches

We were impressed with how dry it was. As the land flattened, cattle ranches predominated.

Vineyards of Santiago Area

Then it was vineyards, not only in the flats but up the sides of the hills, where according to our guide, the grapes are the best. The dry rocky hills stress the plant to make grapes more flavorful.

Our guide said when God created the world, He put all the leftovers into one country and called it Chile. 2,700 miles long and on average 100 miles wide, this string bean of a country covers many latitudes and variable climates. To the north is the Atacama Desert, the driest place on the earth, then as one goes south, the temps are more moderate and agriculture and cattle ranching abound. In the south is Patagonia with its cool wet climate and spectacular peaks. Climate is changing just like the rest of the world. Santiago relies on the glaciers for water since it gets no rain during the summer. Of the country's 2000 glaciers, 1998 are shrinking at an alarming rate. Right now, Santiago is much like San Diego, both in temperature and rain, however, since it is surrounded by mountains, it is prone to fog and smog, which we witnessed today. They are trying to push away from fossil fuel since they have none of their own and have banned nuclear power since Chile has so many earthquakes. Chile uses mainly hydroelectric power and is trying to develop alternative forms.

One-Third of World's Copper Comes from Chile

Chile's #1 export is copper, then timber,  fruits vegetables and wine, farmed salmon, and finally tourism. All these are exported in large amounts. Trade agreements have been made with most countries, but Chile does not have to worry about the trade wars, because there are no other industries to protect. All other products are imported. This makes Chile a very stable country economically and now also politically.

Presidential Palace...Workplace of President

The terrible days of Pinochet's dictatorship are not talked about. The US through Operation Condor was a dominant player in him coming and maintaining power from 1973-1989. President Allende had been in power and was well loved by the people, redistributing lands and nationalizing the industries. This had concerned the US because of its socialistic reforms.  The loss of 3,000 "socialists" who never returned from the prisons is an unhappy part of Chilean history.  

Justice Court Palace, the Supreme Court of Chile

People now grumble about politics just as anywhere else, but on the whole, things are going well. So well that they do not care to accept the US dollar for goods, unlike Argentina, who tries to get US dollars whenever possible because their own currency is so inflationary.

Santiago is strongly Catholic. Divorce has only been possible for 16 years, and abortion only one. As in other places the church has become less powerful due to abuse in the Catholic church yet Catholic churches dominate the landscape.

Catholic Cathedral in Plaza De Armas

Pedestrian Street

This Statue of Mary Stands
 on the Site of the Jesuit Church that Burned with 2000 people inside.

Another Pedestrian only Street with Painted Road Downtown

Just one of Many Beautiful Parks

When Napoleon imprisoned the Spanish King in 1810, Chile saw its chance for independence. Bernardo O Higgins, son of an Irish Immigrant led the rebellion. An Englishman, Thomas Cochrane, offered his services and developed and headed the Chilean Navy, independence coming in 1818.  Both of them can be seen in numerous statues throughout the country.

Museum of Fine Arts 

One group of indigenous people in Chile are the Mapuche...people of the land. Like the American Indians, they believed the land could not be owned. The Mapuche fought the colonists hard with intermittent skirmishes for 450 years, never surrendering.  1.2 million Mapuche live in Chile, mainly in the central part on reservations, working the land as they have for centuries, rebuilding pride in their heritage and trying to regain land.









A local dance group performed that evening before we hoisted anchor and began our journey across the Pacific.

Dancers demonstrating the Chilean National Scarf  Dance, the Cueca 

 Mapuche Dancers