Travelgame

Just arrived at the Easter Island. To be continued…

Santiago de Chile didn’t impress me by its tourist attractions, but by beeing so close to the snowy summits of the Andes, and by the fresh smell of the flowering trees. Spring in a city, I would have liked to stay more time.

Thanks to Paola, which I met in Pucón, I got a special tour through a chilenan vineyard. Founded only 10 years ago by Odfjell, an norvegian industrial family, no costs were spared in order to set up a modern company that is producing highest quality red wines from grapes of its own vineyard. Arnauld, the french chief of this operation, can be proud about this place!

Valparaiso has a name to dream, and is a place to dream about. The portual town is the entrance to Chile, and while the bay is gray and busy, steep roads and small elevators link it to the airy streets full of colorful houses that were built on hills surrounding the center. Pablo Neruda, the chilenean Nobel price winner lived here and wrote: “the Pacific Ocean was to big to hide it away, that’s why they laid it down here, in front of my window, so I can contemplate it every day”

While walking around Valparaiso, a special idea caught my attention: an open air gallery, giving young local artists the opportunity to show their work in the streets of the town. Wouldn’t this be a good idea for the grey walls of other cities?

On my way to Valparaiso, I had 4 hours of stay in Villarrica. Fortunately, there was a traditional rodeo being held that day, so I had the chance of seeing Chilenean Gauchos mastering their horses, maneuvering cattle completely without using hands or ropes.