Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for chile
The Southernmost Park
By Linda Tancs
Discovered by a Dutch navigator in 1616, Cape Horn (named for the Dutch city Hoorn where the expedition originated) is a rocky headland on Hornos Island off the southern tip of South America where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet. Cape Horn National Park was created in 1945 by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture and is the world’s southernmost national park. Famously one of the most dangerous passages in the world, the park’s Albatross Monument pays tribute to the many sailors who failed to cross the cape. You can access this and other highlights using the walkways that crisscross the island. Many visitors come to the park via trips that take tourists from Punta Arenas to Cape Horn. It’s best to visit between November and March when the waves are less choppy.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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Chile’s Biosphere
By Linda Tancs
A wonderland of volcanoes and lakes, Chile’s Lauca National Park in the northeast forms part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve thanks to its diverse collection of flora and fauna. Indeed, over 130 different bird species live in the park, in addition to the distinctive vicuñas, vizcachas and condors. A major attraction in the park is Lake Chungará, one of the highest lakes in the world, located at the foot of the Payachata twin volcanoes in all their snow-capped glory.
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Chile’s Oldest Park
By Linda Tancs
Chile’s Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park is the oldest park in the country. Created in 1926, it’s located in Chile’s pristine Lake District, featuring Lago Todos los Santos (All Saints Lake). Its fabulous emerald-green color makes it one of the most popular attractions in the park. Boasting over 600,000 acres, the park also features the turquoise waters of the Petrohué Waterfalls as well as Osorno Volcano. Travel up the volcano to a ski resort for striking views of the Petrohué River Valley.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Garden City of Chile
By Linda Tancs
Chile’s enchanting Viña del Mar is called The Garden City. Its gardens are indeed beautiful, as are its castles, old mansions and beach resorts. Think of it as a cross between Miami and Beverly Hills. And throw in a little Monte Carlo thanks to its glamorous Municipal Casino. You can admire all its charms with a horse and carriage ride along the breathtaking promenade. It’s easy to lose track of time, but you’ll find that, too, at the giant botanical clock (Reloj de Flores) on a sloping lawn at the foot of Cerro Castillo. An icon of the city, this fully functional musical flower clock was built for the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Thanks to the Mediterranean climate, it flowers year round.
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Valparaiso’s Museum House
By Linda Tancs
Pablo Neruda was a Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, diplomat and politician. Of his three homes, his writer’s nook in Valparaiso became his favorite hideaway—although hardly hidden, since it towers above the other rooftops overlooking the south side of a broad, open bay of the Pacific Ocean. The multilayered, multicolored abode is named La Sebastiana after its original owner, Sebastian Collao, who assigned the whole third floor of the building as a bird cage. Neruda’s taste was no less whimsical. Some of the windows resemble a ship’s skylights, and the interior is littered with old maps, paintings, a merry-go-round horse and a large portrait of Walt Whitman, his “father in poetry.” The audio guide is available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.
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A Rise to the Top in Santiago
By Linda Tancs
In Santiago, Chile, you’ll find the highest man-made observation tower in South America and the second tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere (nearly 1,000 feet) at Gran Torre Santiago. The skyscraper’s observation deck, Sky Costanera, opened last summer on the 61st and 62nd floors to amazing views of La Moneda Palace, the National Stadium and the Mapocho River, which divides the capital city in two. The lookouts are open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Chile’s Storied Island
By Linda Tancs
Out of the three islands comprising the Juan Fernández Archipelago (so named for Spanish navigator Juan Fernández), Robinson Crusoe Island has a storied past—in the literary sense. Aside from the navigator and his sojourn in the 1500s, the only other visitor to the island over the centuries was Scottish seaman Alexander Selkirk, who was abandoned there for several years in the early 1700s. His adventures are commonly believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe’s novel, Robinson Crusoe. Sparsely populated today, it is administratively part of Chile and a mecca for scuba diving with visibility extending more than 65 feet. A World Biosphere Reserve, it also reportedly has 61 times more native plant species and 13 times more birds than the Galápagos Islands.
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Absolute Desert
By Linda Tancs
The Atacama Desert is a 600-mile strip of land from Peru’s southern border into northern Chile, the driest non-polar desert in the world. So dry, in fact, that some stretches have not seen a drop of rain in over 400 years. But for all its aridity, don’t be fooled into thinking this is just some barren dust bowl; the oasis is teeming with native cultures, soothing hot springs and pluming geysers. That’s particularly true at San Pedro de Atacama, where just a short distance away you’ll also find the largest salt flat in Chile and volcanoes beckoning in the distance. Late June is a perfect time to visit because of the numerous festivals leading up to Saint Peter and Saint Paul Feast Day on 29 June. San Pedro lies at around 7,500 feet above sea level; take precautions against altitude sickness.
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Running the Rapids in Chile
By Linda Tancs
Where is the best whitewater in the Western Hemisphere? Some would say it’s the Futaleufú River in Chile. The stunning, turquoise-colored river is 65 miles in length, of which 44 miles are in Chile. With rapids boasting monikers like Throne Room and Terminator, you’re likely in for a white-knuckle ride.
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Riding the Circuit in Patagonia
By Linda Tancs
Torres del Paine National Park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve in Chilean Patagonia. Rich with mountains (particularly the iconic Paine massif), glaciers, lakes and rivers, small wonder the area offers a plethora of activities like fishing, climbing, ice trekking, whitewater kayaking, environmental education and wildlife observation. The park offers a number of trails, or circuits, for day or overnight trekking. Those include the Pingo Zapata, Dickson and Grey Glacier circuits (leading to glaciers), the Paine Circuit (no pun intended–an arduous trail requiring seven to 10 days of walking), and Las Torres circuit (leading to the base of Torres del Paine). Get there via Santiago to Punta Arenas by air or via Puerto Natales overground.
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