Santiago and the disappointing visit to a winery

As soon as we arrived I felt the vibe of that city and liked it immediately. It somehow reminded me of Berlin, because of the wide roads I think, but I really felt how much I missed London. It's just as busy and full of things to do and explore.

After we checked into the hotel, the Irish woman, Yvonne, and I went for a walk around the city centre. We started in a park which entrance was an old colonial staircase. All the way on top we had a good view over Santiago. Then we went to the main plaza where there were loads of street artists and carried on passed the stock exchange and business district. But as it was the weekend, there wasn't much happening. Apparently there are coffee shops that are called "legs café's" because on working days they serve coffee and drinks in bikinis for the businessmen. I didn't manage to see this but a friend of mine, Turtle from the Gap group, liked it so much that he went twice!

That first evening we went for food, followed by drinks and clubbing in a hip area called Bellavista. There were many restaurants and bars, and I opted for having Paila Marina - a shell food soup/stew, which is a speciality here. It was fantastic! We also had wine, as it is the first time the wine was cheap and the choice great. Chile does some great wines and most of them are actually produced around Santiago. If you know me well, you know I love wine and must visit a wine factory, which I planned on doing the next day.

A tour agency offered a tour for $50 to visit two wine producers, which includes the tasting, entrance, guides and transport. It was convenient and probably not much cheaper doing by myself, so I went for it. The first wine producer we visited was Coche y Torro, the company that produces the wine 'Castel del Diablo'. This brand is sold all over the world and probably everyone has had that one before. Anyway, first we listened to a video in which they praised themself and their wines to a point you felt sick and then they gave us exactly that brand to taste - but a generous helping I have to comment. After a couple more glasses of red (again same brand, but they actually produce other less known brands too) and a pathetic story about a devil living in the storage chambers, the tour was finished. Pretty annoyed and a bit tipsy, I asked our obnoxious guide about their wine making process and all he said that it wasn't made at this place. I would have to go somewhere else!

Well, if this wasn't enough already, the driver told me that the other winery is closed and therefore we wont go to see it, but I only need to pay $40 instead. Ha ha...they definitely know how to rip people off and waste time. Thank god they didn't charge me upfront, so I didn't pay what they wanted! Actually I shouldn't have paid at all!

Well, to make something out of this half wasted day I went up a gondola above Santiago to visit a massive stature of Maria and have an even more amazing view over the city and the mountains in the back. This was really nice actually.

The next day I went on a day trip to Valpariso and Vina del Mar, which are two towns on the seaside, about 2 hours from Santiago. It used to be the most important harbour front for Chile and other countries in South America, before the Panama Canal was build. I bought myself a ring there, which has a deep blue stone that is called Lapis Lazuli and is only found in Chile or Afghanistan!

This was my last day with the Gap group and I left that same night with a night bus to go down to the Lake district, probably the most beautiful part of Chile!