If we think about it, the country has 756 square kilometers of area – or put otherwise – as much as Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovenia combined, it’s hard to believe the title of this week – especially if I tell you it was done by car. But the shape of Chile allows for just that. From south to north Chile stretches for 4.270 kilometers (more than from the south most to the north most point of Europe), but from east to west it’s a completely different story. It’s only 356 kilometers (and in the narrowest part only 64 kilometers) wide. The shape is dictated by the border with Argentina – the crossing of the Andes. So there’s a lengthy stretch of 5.300 kilometers of border between the two (with only some 1.000 kilometers of border to Bolivia and Peru combined). Despite its size, Chile is not densely populated, with only some 15 million people living here.
Descending to the valley in Chile was much more rapid than the ascend on the Argentinean side, but the serpentines connecting the bottom with the top were spectacular.
The first larger town was Los Andes, which is a nice little town and the beginning of the highway towards Santiago.
You can see Los Andes and the road from the border in the gallery »Los Andes and the road from Argentina«.
Santiago is the capital of Chile with some 6 million people, and on every step it shows off the development of South America. The cars on the road already tell us it’s a rich country. The centre of Santiago is decorated by megalithic buildings in the old and modern buildings in the new part of the city. The city is full of banks and shops. It allows us to admire the history and the modern buildings at the same time.
The feel of Santiago in the gallery »Santiago«.
Despite the capital’s size, I’ve spend more time in Valparasiso, which is the cultural capital of Chile.
Valparaiso was an important harbor before the opening of the Panama canal, but it’s meaning deteriorated until now. To majority of ships are cruise ships that stop here so you can see Valparaiso and Santiago.
Valparaiso is a city dispersed over the hills and it’s a coastal centre, connected to hill tops with cable carts. Many of them were destroyed in the recent earthquakes, but there’s still enough, to get to know the city.
If the lower part of the city is the commercial and financial center, the hills, especially in the middle, are the heaven for artists, which find inspiration just about everywhere.
If the houses on the hills used to be cheaper and worth less, they gained respect and price after being placed on the UNESCO list of world heritage.
In Valparaiso itself there are many excellent restaurants with delicious food and despise the development of Chile the prices are not too high. Complete lunches are between 5 and 10 Euros.
Valparaiso can be seen in the »Valparaiso« gallery.
After a two day visit to Chile it would be a sin to return the same way I came, so I take the road through the national park »El Parque Nacional La Campana« and through the town of Til Til until I reach Santiago.
The area is very rural with many farms that offer accommodation (farm tourism). Due to the heat, most of them also have swimming pools.
Apart from the agricultural products we know, there are some less known in Europe. Among them are the cacti fruits called »tunas«; bony fruit of sweet taste.
Forgetting the luxurious resorts, that are at the beginning of the road towards Santiago, Til Til is the only town on the way. If you wanted to put up a stage for a Wild West movie, no town could be more perfect than Til Til – a place where time stood still. And once it’s not standing, it’s moving in reverse. I’d keep talking about Til Til, known from the national hero Manuelu Rodriguezu, who fought for independence and was killed here, but I’d rather show it to you in pictures named »Til Til«.
You can see rest of the road between Valparaiso and Santiago in this galery »Road between Santiagom and Valparisom«.
After two nights at the Santiago hostel and getting to know Chile I returned to Argentina – unfortunately on the very same road. The next alternative border crossing is over 500 kilometers away.
If the border seemed normal, while I was entering Chile, it was a completely different story now.
First you leave Chile without any control and you think that’s it. But then a man with a strange paper, stamped and with handwritten number of passengers on it, stops you. Next you have to stop at a special border crossing station, with custom and police officers from both sides of the border. There each of them places their own stamp on that piece of paper and it becomes your most important document.
If we saw the station for Argentinean police on our way here, we now see why it’s important. You can’t pass it, unless you have that paper with oyu, with all those stamps on it. Very complicated, right :).
Anyways, Chile is a country you have to see in all it’s length and maybe even visit the Easter islands of Rapa Nui – so from the border with Bolivia and Peru, right down to the Cape Horn in Patagonia. But for that you’ll need much more than two days, maybe two weeks or more. But that’s a different story, this one concludes next week with Uruguay.
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