| Chile |
| With its entire western coast made up of the Pacific Ocean and its eastern borders made up of the impassable Andes mountains, Chile has a maximum width of only 265 miles. Running north to south, Chile begins at Tierra Del Fuego and stretches about 2,880 miles in length all the way to Peru and Bolivia, making it the longest country in the world. I've been to Chile two times so far, the first trip I visited the southern Patagonia area mainly to see to the national park Torres Del Paine. Currently I am in the beginning of my second trip, so far having visited only Santiago. If things work out I'd like to visit the Atacama area in the far north, also known as the driest part of the world. |
| Something else I did while traveling in Patagonia is take a boat trip up and down the Fjords. The next two pictures are of the many waterfalls that can be seen along the way. The mountains, waterfalls and turquoise water all combine to give spectacular views. |
| This area of Chile is heavily populated with wildlife. Above are some baby birds that I found living in a rotted part of a large tree. On the right, a fox can be seen standing in front of a snow capped mountain. This fox was with a pack of 3 other foxes who were passing by and seemed used to humans. |
| Above are some guanacos in the national park Torres Del Paine. This was one of my favorite national parks in the world and enjoyed it by simply sitting for hours watching the guanacos. In the first picture, the guanaco on the right appeared to be the leader of the pack. He was definitely the biggest and would chase the other ones around, sometimes biting their hind legs. The right picture shows a lone guanaco walking with a huge snow covered mountain in the background. |
| On the upper right is a picture of the Torres Del Paine mountains being reflected in a lake. The other two pictures show another popular glacier to visit in Patagonia. The top picture was taken from the distance, and you can notice that on the right there is a small waterfall from the melting ice. The large picture on the right is zoomed in on the glacier itself. |
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| Chile Links |
| Above is a Panoramic view of Santiago Chile, one of South America's safest and most beautiful capitals. Santiago is located right in the center of the country, and is famous for its tall buildings such as the high rise apartments seen to the right. |
| Santiago is also one of the most modern cities in South America along with Sao Paulo Brazil and Buenos Aires Argentina. Currently under construction in Chile is the Costanera Center which will include commercial space and several towers, one of which will reach 980 feet making it the tallest structure in South America. Above are two photos of Santiago's subway system that is used to transport the areas nearly 6.5 million people. The subway here is very cheap and efficient, but surprisingly it was the cleanest one I've ever used. |
| Chile's capital was founded by the Spanish Conqueror Pedro De Valdivia, who arrived to the area in 1541. Soon after his arrival, fighting began between Valdivia and the Native Americans living in the area. The battle was a victory for Valdivia, who finished it by conquering the small hill known today was St. Lucia, and later used this same location to officially found the city of Santiago. Today St. Lucia is a very popular place to visit in Santiago, and has dozens of memorials, parks, and vantage points throughout the hill. On the left is a photo of a large fountain which is near the main entrance to St. Lucia, on the right is another photo of a viewpoint further up the hill. |
| These two photos taken above are also from St. Lucia. The hill of St. Lucia is very rocky and steep that is covered with unique plants and many memorials. On the left is a strange flower I saw growing off of a tree branch, on the right is an unmarked statue of a soldier that surely must be dedicated to those who helped defend Santiago. |
| The church seen on the left is known as the church of San Francisco, and is considered to be Chile's oldest building. Though severally damaged numerous times in earthquakes throughout its history, the church has always been rebuilt from its early days in the 16th century to the major earthquake of 1960. Inside is a museum providing lots of history and artifacts from the church. In 1998, San Francisco church was also labeled a world heritage site. |
| Above are photos from Plazas de Armas in Santiago. Plazas de Armas are found in many South American cities and are their downtown square, usually surrounded by government and religious buildings. On the left are two policemen on horseback with the main cathedral in the background, on the right are shoppers and tourists going about their day. |
| The rest of these pictures are all from the southern part of Chile which is permanently covered in snow and ice; you can tell immediately it is quite different from the northern part. I visited this area known as Patagonia in their summertime. On the left is a photo of the Sorreno glacier, one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. You can see how it looks like their was a rush of water coming down that mountain when it suddenly froze. |
| The purpose of my second trip to Chile was to climb South America's highest mountain of Aconcagua located a few hours away in Argentina. After the climb I returned to Santiago to do some shopping with a friend I made and went to Santiago's nicest district. On the left you can see its almost like entering an amusement park, with signs pointing to the different districts and attractions. On the right is the main area of the shopping district known as Acrauco. |
| Two other things I had planned after climbing Aconcagua where pretty simple, one was go drinking, and two was to visit the beach. On the left is me celebrating by drinking a margarita, on the right is me entering the water in Vina Del Mar, from almost 7,000 meters to 0 meters in only a few days! |
| Above on the left is the main river and downtown Vina Del Mar just before it leaves the city. On the right is the main street called Valparaiso, where all kinds of restaurants and exotic shops are found. |
| Vina Del Mar definitely reminded me of a beach town in California, but unfortunately my day in the sun was lost because of overcast skies that also kept the weather pretty cool in the low 60s or 20c. Above you can see hotels and other large buildings directly on the beach, where you can also find some small casinos. On the upper right is a photo of some of the steep hills that are held up with huge concrete walls and have houses going all the way up. |
| And finally from Vina Del Mar, some flora and fauna found living among people in the city. On the left is a type of bird that I found living in the trees along the city's main river. The seaweed of course was found on the beach. |
| Something that took me by surprise was the architecture of Vina Del Mar. Almost every building in the city seems to be unique. There are castles, buildings designed to be like ships and boats, and futuristic looking buildings as well all across the city. On the upper left is a photo of a church that I thought looked like a sand castle. The real castle on the upper right is located high up on a hill, and was one of several others. The restaurant on the right had an Africa theme, and was just one of many unique shops and restaurants in the city. |
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