Monthly Archives: March 2015

Jonathan assembled a list of vineyards in our part of the Maipo Valley (Altos de Jahuel) that have web pages, participate in the network of wine tourism of the region, and for which he could divine their location. We set off in the late morning. Our first stop, Portal del Alto. It had a niceContinue reading “Wine touring–generally without wine–in the Maipo Valley, Mar. 3, 2015”

We set out for Embalse El Yeso (Gypsum Dam), east of Santiago heading into the Andes. Since the last 22 km of the route are unpaved, I wasn’t sure how far we would get. Along the way is the Cascada de las Animas, an area that sounded like it would be good for bird watching,Continue reading “Condor watching in the Maipo Alto, Chile, March 2, 2015”

We made the rounds of street markets today. The La Vega market was by far the largest and operates every day. This is Jonathan’s favorite kind of market, food…. The passageways were very narrow and almost everyone pulls a half-filled shopping trolley behind them, or pushes a stroller, or a bicycle. My favorite was theContinue reading “Sunday markets in Santiago, Mar. 1, 2015”

Setting out cross country to get to Melipilla by the “back route” we discovered that Google Earth has some alignment issues and occasionally requires careful interpretation. We only backtracked a bit, and saw a great roadside shrine in a huge eucalyptus tree. That was before we got hopelessly lost. Finally regained our route and madeContinue reading “Great Circle Route around the Maipo Valley, Feb. 28, 2015”

Less than an hour west of Santiago is the Casablanca Valley wine region, best known for the white wines Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and red Pinot Noir. We headed out that way because the representative of the Ruta de Vinos Casablanca responded to Jonathan’s email with a list of wineries that have tastings and doContinue reading “Cruising vineyards in the Casablanca Valley, Chile Feb. 27, 2015”