But before I go into that, lets briefly recap Chile... it doesn't take much time.
Santiago is a nice city...clean, people ar friendly, but not too much to do there. We only stayed 1 day then decided to head to the coast, Valparaiso, to check that out. Valparaiso, is a fairly large beach city, with mansions and shacks side by side, each climbing higher and higher up the steep cliffs. So steep in fact, the city built lifts to bring people up and down.
Our friend Rob, who we met in Santiago, mentioned we should check out Mendoza, and that's how it all started...
We hopped on the bus from Valparaiso the next morning. Had a little trouble there... apparently that entry/ exit slip we got when we entered Chile is really important when trying to leave the country... We crossed the Andes through a steep pass that must've switchbcked at least 30 times, before getting over. And we got a quick glimpse of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere.
...8 hours with 2 extra hours at customs later we arrived! After checking into the "ritz" we did some exploring with some bikes. The city has a uniquely European feel with the liveliness common of South American cities. People are always out and about, shopping, eating.... except for siesta! Pretty much everything closes from 1pm to 5pm... kind of annoying, but just takes some getting used to.
Yesterday, we decided to tour the vineyards!... with bicycles! Yep, someone thought that biking from winery to winery after several glasses of wine would be a good idea.... it was! We got to try some very good wines, learned about the winemaking process... Argentinians don't pick their own grapes... they get the Peruvian immigrants to do it, and got to see part of the countryside. All in all it was a great day.
And now its a little sad having to leave. Tomorrow, we take a bus back to Santiago, stay there for a night, then fly to Peru!
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