I visited Chile in May 2013, so this post is LONG overdue.  In my defense though, two cute babies arrived and those little things take up all of my time :)  So after months of inactivity, here are a few photos from the trip.

I landed in Santiago and had a day to explore the city with my colleague Jamie.  We decided to go for a walk without having a destination in mind. and as we left the hotel the sun was reflecting off the large tower.  Sadly, I think the effect is visible due to air pollution.

 

We walked along the canal, and came across several interesting sights.

We saw a large statue at the top of a hill and decided that was a good destination.  It turned out to be the Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepción, and it was a much farther walk than we had expected.

Half way up the hill, you can see the tower in the distance where we started our walk.

Finally at the top, tired and needing a rest.

Enjoying the view.

 

A few more shots from the top of the mountain (click to see bigger).

We found a rail car that could take us back down, which was great as we didn’t want to walk all the way back down.  Using Trip Advisor, I found that the cemetery is worth visiting.  Despite being tired, we decided to make our way down there since it wasn’t far.  Along the way, we came across some interesting graffiti.

And a dog that didn’t like me taking his photo.

We finally made it to the Cementerio General, and I’m glad we made the effort.  It is an amazing spot, with a lot of old crypts and gravestones.  The sun was starting to set and we just walked around looking at the interesting sights.  This is the entrance gate.

Inside one of the buildings, there are many like this. Each plaque a person’s final resting place.

 

Some are obviously very expensive, with marble and stained glass windows. They are beautiful.

 

 

 

Others are older and less well maintained, but equally interesting and with a lot of character.

A few more shots. This is a spot I will have to come back to, it’s a fantastic place to walk around.

That was it for Santiago, not a city you can see in one day but we did our best.  Must have walked 20Km in total.  The next day, we took a tour to the Casablanca Valley, well known for it’s white wines.  The tour would visit several wineries, with a sampling at each one of course.  First up was Indomita, with a great view and a beautiful estate.

A few shots during a tour of the winery.

 

The name of the second winery escapes me.  It was smaller and used more traditional techniques.  If you recognize it, leave a comment and I’ll update the post.  Thanks!

 

 

Here they are making balsamic vinegar.  As the vinegar ages it reduces in volume so they pour it into ever smaller barrels.

The final winery was Casas del Bosqe.  Another beautiful spot where we sampled wines and had an excellent lunch.

 

 

The next day, I caught an early flight to Calama, which is located in the Atacama Desert.  The Atacama is the driest place on earth, receiving almost no rainfall.  Some weather stations have NEVER received rain!  These are a couple of iphone photos from the plane as we were leaving Santiago.  There are still clouds here, in the Atacama there are only clear skies.

 

 

This shot is on the approach to Calama.  A bizarre landscape featuring no plants.  In the bottom of this photos, there is a small river that supports a small group of shrubs.  Beyond that, it’s  bleak but strangely beautiful as well.

 

I was in the Atacama to visit a copper mine in the region.  This is where the big trucks live.

 

It’s hard to visualize how big these trucks really are.  The tires are 4.3m (14′) tall, here is a shot of me standing next to one (I’m 1.8m or 6′ tall).

And a few small trucks too.

From the mine, I went to Antofagasta which is a port city in the north of Chile.  Despite it’s proximity to the coast, it is still extremely dry.  While working in the office, I had a little friend visit me.

While in Antofagasta, I made a quick stop at the Ruinas de Huanchaca.  These are the ruins of an old silver smelter, now a National Historic Landmark.

 

Inside the museum is NASA’s moon buggy.  They tested this buggy in the Atacama Desert because of the similarity to the moon and mars. 

The ruins are opposite the Enjoy casino and hotel, where I stayed for a few nights.

Towards the end of my visit, a few of us decided to head to the coast to visit Mejillones.  Another port city, and not a bad place for a walk.

We saw a huge sea lion, and it was keeping a close eye on two kids on the beach.

 

On the way to the Antofagasta airport, I did stop at La Portada.  This is a natural arch on the coast, and a very popular spot for photos.  It is one of fifteen natural monuments included among the protected areas of Chile.

 

On the way home, I had one more opportunity to visit Santiago, though only for the evening.   I watched a few street performers, had dinner, and called it day.