SANTIAGO

Santiago has more or less the same feel as Buenos Aires as we entered from Valparaiso, the port city where we disembarked, a 2-hour drive from the Capital. 6 million out of the 17 million or 35% of Chile's population live in Santiago. The Grand Hyatt is an older hotel located at a prestigious neighborhood, surrounded by the usual suspects, the often boring brand names and fast food chains that one sees everywhere, thanks to globalization. Spanish influence is extremely strong here. 80% Catholics but not unlike other predominantly Catholic countries most of them are not church goers.

18 well known valleys such as Veramonte & Casablanca near the city are devoted to vineyards that boost harvests around March to yield a robust Chilean wine industry. Further out there are olive farms aplenty that cater to the export markets, primarily to Spain.

It may be the end of Summer as people seem relaxed and happy. More smiles across the board than Buenos Aires where faces are more somber. We were blessed by perfect weather and with the majestic foothills of the Andes as backdrop what is there not to like in Santiago except, perhaps, the eating department. This subject matter can well be characteristic of South American cuisine. I should not make scathing remarks as this obviously deserves a separate blog, which I shall attempt to do.