Autumn arrived and the end of summer is normally time for the traditional grape harvest. Since Chile is a major wine producer (excellent wines by the way), the event is celebrated with festival events in the different towns along the wine region, just south from Santiago. One of these towns is Santa Cruz, small and charming, about two hours south of Santiago. I rented a car for the weekend and together with my Portuguese house mates, we went for a small car trip to see the Santa Cruz wine festival and then go to the coast as well.
As soon as we arrived, we realized we had to stay overnight... The festival included wine tastings in the central plaza, together with music and dance events. We paid around 4 Euro and they gave us a big wine glass and 5 free tastings! When we went for the first one and realized that the tasting was half a glass, we knew we wouldn't be able to drive that day. In the end, between bought and some offers, we had 12 half glasses of wine (equivalent to 2 bottles!) each, during the whole afternoon. The experience was amazing, the food and wine, excellent, we met a lot of different people and even had the oddest experience in Chile: I was found by another Portuguese on the street. It never happened to me, not even in Santiago, and it had to happen in a small town in Chile!
The next day we went to the coast, to a small fishing village called Bucalemu, which is famous for being one of the favourite rest destinations of Pinochet, back in the dictatorship days. From there, north to Pichilemu, along the coast, which is a very famous surf town. In the way we stopped the car by the road and walked in the direction of the sea, until we reached this beach, extending forever and without any footsteps on it. The water was damn cold and it was very windy, but still it was nice to feel the sea again, the salty breeze and the warm volcanic sand beneath our feet.
Autumn arrived and the end of summer is normally time for the traditional grape harvest. Since Chile is a major wine producer (excellent wines by the way), the event is celebrated with festival events in the different towns along the wine region, just south from Santiago. One of these towns is Santa Cruz, small and charming, about two hours south of Santiago. I rented a car for the weekend and together with my Portuguese house mates, we went for a small car trip to see the Santa Cruz wine festival and then go to the coast as well.
As soon as we arrived, we realized we had to stay overnight... The festival included wine tastings in the central plaza, together with music and dance events. We paid around 4 Euro and they gave us a big wine glass and 5 free tastings! When we went for the first one and realized that the tasting was half a glass, we knew we wouldn't be able to drive that day. In the end, between bought and some offers, we had 12 half glasses of wine (equivalent to 2 bottles!) each, during the whole afternoon. The experience was amazing, the food and wine, excellent, we met a lot of different people and even had the oddest experience in Chile: I was found by another Portuguese on the street. It never happened to me, not even in Santiago, and it had to happen in a small town in Chile!
The next day we went to the coast, to a small fishing village called Bucalemu, which is famous for being one of the favourite rest destinations of Pinochet, back in the dictatorship days. From there, north to Pichilemu, along the coast, which is a very famous surf town. In the way we stopped the car by the road and walked in the direction of the sea, until we reached this beach, extending forever and without any footsteps on it. The water was damn cold and it was very windy, but still it was nice to feel the sea again, the salty breeze and the warm volcanic sand beneath our feet.
3 comments:
Em relação ao vinho... I'd pass.
Mas o passeio pela praia, e anteriormente a ida à casa do Neruda, thumbs up :)
Beijinhos colega.
Não sabes o que perdes! Passa passa que mais fica! :p
Vamos lá ver se lá foste só para beber ou também para conhecer. Diz aí um vinho chileno que bebeste e gostaste. Não vale inventar!
Abraço
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