Category: South America

After a harsh 4:30am wake up we catch a 7:00am flight from Santiago to Cusco, Peru – our jumping off point for a trip to Machu Picchu.  En route to the hotel, our guide brings us to the Awakancha Center [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294314-d2513725-Reviews-or10-Awana_Kancha-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html] – an alpaca farm and weaving center.  Alpacas are a big deal in Peru.  And so are traditional weavers. 

From what we saw, Peru remains a more traditional country than either Chile or Colombia. You see women and children in traditional clothing all the time – and it’s not always for show.  It’s really what they wear.  It was a cool stop – and I made some new friends too.

Zoology/textile lesson alert!  There are four types of “Camelids” in South America.  The llama and the alpaca are domesticated.  The guanaco and the vicuña are wild.  Wool from the vicuña – very hard to come by – is the most rare.  You’ll see scarves made out of vicuña that cost over $6,000 (yes that is US dollars!).  You know Mike Dreyfus will get one now that he knows about it.  Baby alpaca – which is wool from the first time an alpaca is sheared at 8 months  – is also extremely soft and warm and is a super premium fiber used for most of the really nice scarves, hats, shawls, etc.  They sell baby alpaca stuff everywhere, but my advice is to purchase these items at the “brand name” boutiques like Sol and Kuna.  Otherwise what’s labeled as “baby alpaca” could be more like “maybe alpaca”.  That’s my shopping tip for the day.

Our hotel for the next three nights was the fabulous Belmond Rio Sagrado (think that means “sacred river”) [https://www.belmond.com/hotels/south-america/peru/sacred-valley/belmond-hotel-rio-sagrado/?gclid=CjwKCAjww6XXBRByEiwAM-ZUILzAGA2vRIA-2bcDQIvJtni3YCMn4GuMhPOyLOSTdXhLOAuVmNad6hoC3EgQAvD_BwE].  This is a photo – which doesn’t really capture the true magic of the place, but I include it because its the first picture I took from the drone 🤗 I just bought in Santiago.  A “Mavic Air” made by “DJI” [https://www.dji.com/mavic-air].  Expect better pictures in the future if I learn to use it before I lose it.

Before getting here, I thought that the only thing to see was Machu Picchu.  Actually, there are many, many other Inca settlements that have been preserved and restored and are worth a trip.  Honestly though, don’t go see too many cuz after a while they all start to look like another pile of rocks.   That’s a joke – sort of.  It’s good to have a guide – and a driver.  Our guide was Nancy – who happened to be about 8 months pregnant – but she was a trouper climbing up the very steep Inca steps and was full of great info.  

First ruins we saw were in the town of Ollantaytambo – the site of one of the major Inca fortresses in the Urubamba Valley.  This town is one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in all of the Americas!  There are sixteen massive terraces that you can view from the top – if you climb around 260 big steps.  This is the first time that we notice the altitude – which is over 10,000 feet.  Very easy for 50-somethings to lose their breath climbing to the top.  There are also some massive, perfectly cut stones at the top of the hill which comprise the “Temple of the Sun”.  It is incomprehensible to understand how these giant blocks of granite were quarried, transported hundreds of feet straight up and cut to fit together perfectly with no power tools – in fact, no iron tools.  (Lack of iron was also a major reason that the Spaniards conquered them in the 1500’s with relative ease).

Next up, more ruins called Pisac.  A pretty amazing, mind-boggling site.  These terraces – like most – were used for farming and comprise a ton of plantable acreage.  It’s really noticeable when you see them from above.  Pretty incredible engineering by a civilization that did not have a written language.

Below the ruins, you’ll find the town of Pisac which is known for its handicraft market where the locals sell their merchandise.  I’m guessing you’ll find a lot of “maybe alpaca” here.  Seriously though, if you are visiting Cusco later on your trip, understand that pretty much everything will be available there as well and then some….  So, unless you really like cheap tourist stuff, there’s really no need to spend a lot of time here.  

We had a great lunch at Hacienda Huayoccari [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294317-d2400312-Reviews-Huayoccari_Hacienda_Restaurant-Sacred_Valley_Cusco_Region.html]. This is another one of those places that you’ll never find unless you’ve been there before.  And even then, just a 50/50 chance. This place is a private villa that is reserved for cool guided tours – like ours – arranged by high end travel pros like Tammy Cane [http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com/about/]  Its about a mile up a dirt road from the main highway.  A totally unexpected treat.  In addition to a great lunch you get to tour a beautiful Spanish home full of colonial art and Inca artifacts.

OK, so this is falls under the category of “a bit weird”.  At least to North Americans.  One of the great Peruvian delicacies – eaten mainly on special occasions – is roasted guinea pig.  We’re told that locals actually raise them in their house and then roast them.  This will not be on the menu at Hermosa Beach’s Bottle Inn. After a few glasses of Malbec, I did have one for dinner at the Belmond.  Tastes kind of like roasted, mushy duck.  Moving on. 

There are a number of ways to get to the actual Machu Picchu citadel.  Natalie and her friends took the famous Inca Trail.  That involves four days of hiking and sleeping in tents. Two of which are brutal, straight up climbing days. 

Shawn and I opted for the Vistadome train.  This is a really nice transport.  It has big, panoramic windows providing great views and photo ops along the Urubamba River. 

After about 90 minutes we arrive in the town of Aguas Calientes where we board a bus to Machu Picchu.

I think you need two days to properly do Machu Picchu.  The first day it’s good to have a guide help provide context to what you’re seeing.  We learned it was built by the Inca’s in about the 15th and 16th centuries.  No one really knows why it was built or what it was used for.  Similarly, no one knows what the place was even called – Machu Picchu is actually the name of the mountain next to the site.  Additionally, the entire place was apparently abandoned in the mid-1500’s – during the period that the Spaniards were conquering the Incas – and again, no one really knows why they left.  Especially since the Spaniards never found Machu Picchu. So, after soaking up all this knowledge on the first day, it is a good idea to have another day just to walk around by yourself.  Even the site’s roaming llamas appreciate the tremendous view.

We were fortunate to stay at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge.  It’s the only hotel at the gate to the site so on our second day, we woke up at sunrise for that “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to truly experience the full spirituality of the Inca’s greatest achievement.  Unfortunately it was totally fogged in and we couldn’t SEE anything.  

Nonetheless, at a site that can get up to 7,000 visitors a days, it’s pretty magical to have the place pretty much all to yourself for a little while. Shawn took advantage and made some new llama friends.  

Being early also allow you to be one of the first of the day to hike up Wyanapicchu – the tallest point within the ruins.  If you want to do the Wyanapicchu hike – and I recommend it – you need to make a reservation.  Only about 400 persons per day are allowed up the trail which gets narrow, steep, difficult – and really high.  It takes about two and a half hours – 90 minutes up and about an hour down. It was foggy so we could only see the granite steps and terraces.  I have a feeling if it’s clear it gets pretty scary for those with any fear of high places.

The view from the top is said to be incredible.  We would not know since all we could saw was a deep grey bank of cloud.  But still very cool. Wyanapicchu is the tall peak in the background of this photo.  If you look really close, you can see the terraces and hikers near the peak.

Later that day we made a second hike to the Sun Gate.  Still foggy and now rainy.  But great.  It’s another two hour uphill hike, but if you’re there, is totally worth the effort. Also, you have to remember to bring a rain coat.  They don’t allow umbrellas.

After several days of full-on-Inca-immersion, the magic continues.  The Hiram Bingham train (named after the discoverer of Machu Picchu) is a must do [https://www.belmond.com/trains/south-america/peru/belmond-hiram-bingham/].  It’s an incredible, fully restored train that feels like it’s right out or a Hitchcock movie.  The train takes you back through the Sacred Valley on your return trip to Cusco.  Super elegant dinner service and a rocking bar car.  

 

On our trip there was an Asian rapper, complete with a full social media crew – two cameramen and a lighting guy – who freestyled with the Peruvian band.  Super fun. Click on the link for a taste of his rap.

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The Hiram Bingham train is not cheap – it’s $500 per person.  But it is definitely a one-of-a-kind, memorable experience that really puts a cap on your trip.

Next stop for us was Cusco, the historic center of the Incan world and a place with good restaurants.  For logistical reasons, we ended up staying four nights – at least one night and possibly two nights too long.  Nevertheless, there are some very cool things to see.

First is the Santo Domingo Temple.  This is a Dominican Church and convent built directly on top of the foundations of one of the main Inca temples to the sun.  I found it fascinating to actually see how the conquering Spaniards built right on top of their conquered Inca foe. 

Next cool site is the huge ruins of a major Incan fortress, Sacsayhuaman (pronounced “sexywoman”).  Very cool.  Very big and you probably need to take a short cab ride to get there.

It’s impossible to miss Cusco’s main square, the Plaza de Armas.  Here you’ll find a couple of massive cathedrals full of colonial paintings and sculpture from the Cusco School of Art.  Cool stuff, but you can probably do it all in two days.  Maybe even one.

Additionally, there is a ton of shopping.  Peru is known for its excellent silver and gold and you’ll find many, many stores selling wonderful products.  Also, lots of alpaca goods and local handicrafts.  There’s good food too.  Of note, the restaurant in the Belmond Montesario hotel [https://www.belmond.com/hotels/south-america/peru/cusco/belmond-hotel-monasterio/].  If you go, make sure it’s opera night.  Live music and great food in a hotel in a beautifully restored monastery.  If you look hard, you can find the Gurbach’s favorite empanada emporium, Copacabana

On the way out of Cusco, we had one night in the nation’s capital, Lima.  We stayed at the JW Marriott in the fashionable Miraflores section of town.  After a great sunset, we had dinner at Osaka, in the upscale San Isidro district which was an excellent recommendation from my friend, and Lima native, Carlo Brignardello.  It was superb. If you are in Lima, you must visit.  Japanese with a Peruvian flair. 

After having been in South America for two months, it’s time to move on.  We’ve very much enjoyed our stay on this continent, but very excited for our next stop – Florence, Italy.

April 2-16 – Santiago and Patagonia

Re-grouping in Santiago

With Chilean wine country firmly in our rear view mirror, we came back to Santiago to re-group. Two months of devouring extra-fine meals and delicious Chilean wines had taken its toll and we needed some down time to jump-start our fitness and work on strategy for the quickly approaching European leg of this journey. Time for salads, exercise, laundry and, of course, visits with Natalie.

We moved ourselves to the Solace Hotel Santiago (http://www.solacehotel.cl/santiago/?lang=en), a very nice hotel in the Providencia section of Santiago. Not too big or too small and a wonderful rooftop pool and bar. It shares a very nice tree lined neighborhood with a few embassies (French, Turkish, Indonesian, etc.) and is next to a big park with a cool sculpture garden. Providencia also houses many great restaurants and is within walking distance to the tallest building in South America, the Costanera Center.

There’s also a huge mall at the Costanera center so I went there and bought some running shoes. My first jog lasted about twenty minutes and rewarded me a lot of pain. A rude awakening. At the end of the week I was up to about twenty-two minutes – not good – but on the positive side, 10% improvement in one week was not that bad 😛. Shawn hit the hotel gym and we both tried to eat a bit more healthy.

Fitness inspiration soon arrived as my brother, Dave, came to town to run the Santiago marathon on April 8. He has a goal of running a marathon on every continent. After this week, he only has Africa to go – and yes, he has run a marathon on Antarctica! We all went to dinner at an acclaimed restaurant – Aqui Esta Coco (http://www.aquiestacoco.cl/?lang=en) and delighted in having this very, very random family gathering in Chile.

The decor at this restaurant is fantastic. Its’ a swanky, impressive place.  However, the food was just good, not great. And for the price – this is a pretty expensive restaurant in Santiago – I expected better. If you are in Santiago, and looking for a great meal, I recommend Bocanariz (http://bocanariz.cl/?lang=en) in the Lastarria section of town. The decor is not nearly as flashy, and in fact quite plain, but the food is excellent and the Wine Spectator award winning wine list is as good as you’ll find anywhere in Chile!

OK – I said we were going to “try” and eat a bit more healthy.  Not always succesful – but oh so good!

Patagonia

Then it was off to Patagonia. Our trip was arranged by travel agent extraordinaire, Tammy Cane (tammycanetravel@gmail.com) through a luxury travel provider called Quasar Expeditions (https://www.quasarex.com/patagonia). It was a complex trip and superbly orchestrated with three exquisite hotels, a great Jeep, GPS guidance, satellite phone and an iPad loaded with info on the particulars of our expedition. It was a pricey trip – very much a budget-buster – but I give Quasar extremely high marks for both organization, selection of the hotels and excursions. If you want to experience Patagonia in style, Quasar is the way to go.

We took a three and a half hour flight from Santiago to Puerto Arenas, a city in the extreme south of Chile, and were picked up at the airport for a two and a half hour drive down the “Ruta del Fin del Mundo” (literally, the road to the end of the world”) to Puerto Natales. The reward at the finish of this six hour journey was the Singular Hotel Patagonia (https://thesingular.com/en/hotel/patagonia).

This is an amazing hotel. Built around restored remains of a historic meat processing, storage and shipping facility, the place is a marvel of design and luxury. All of the rooms face the water. The restaurant and bar are magnificently decorated and the food is fantastic. (My pics do this hotel absolutely no justice). The Quasar package includes all meals and open bar (except for “premium” wines and liquor – but the “non-premium” is very good). This is definitely one of my favorite hotels anywhere in the world and a great gateway to the Torres del Paine national park. Even though we had our excursions pre-arranged via Quasar, the hotel can also provide excursions.

Estancia La Peninsula is a working Patagonia ranch (http://estanciaspatagonia.com). On our first morning, we boarded a cool boat from a dock directly behind the Singular for a thirty minute cruise to the 7,000 acre ranch. It’s a beautiful, serene place on the shores of the Fjord of Last Hope with views of the mighty Mt. Balmaceda. We learned that morning that we’d be exploring the ranch on horseback.  Having not ridden horses in decades, we were a bit freaked out.  But the place was super professional, the staff really cool and the horses were so gentle – and beautiful.  Within minutes we felt like gauchos.

After the ride we had an amazing lunch of lamb cooked over an open fire by a guy who looks like he’s done this before. Perhaps the best lamb ever with some really nice Chilean wines.

Then we got to watch the gauchos bring in a herd of sheep with assistance from their working Magellan sheep dogs. So fun to watch these dogs work!

Then there was a sheep shearing demo – which was pretty cool – if you’re a city boy and never seen a sheep get sheared before.

A great, fun day at the ranch.

The next morning we fire up the GPS in our sweet Jeep Rubicon and make our first voyage into Torres del Paine National Park.  Shawn insisted on driving – over my gentle protest – but she did very well.  I was the navigator and DJ.  Which was an important job cuz there were quite a few road closures that the GPS did not know about.  So we did have to go to the actual paper map.  Old- people skills sometimes come in handy.

Torres del Paine is likely the most amazing, jaw-dropping place I’ve ever been. Mountains, glaciers, brilliant turquoise lakes,

wild animals, and never ending open space. Our first stop was a hike along the banks of Lago Grey.

It was pretty cold and windy that day.  Shawn – who lost her rain coat in St. Thomas (we think) – bought a rain poncho that morning which was ripped to shreds by the wind.

Afterwards, we made it back to the Jeep for a run to Mirador Santo Grande – a meaty waterfall surrounded by mountains.

It was so windy there that it nearly blew us off our feet.

Afterwards we headed to our next home, the Tierra Patagonia (http://tierrahotels.com/patagonia/).

This is a luxury lodge – again with all meals and beverages included. While not as elegant and luxurious as the Singular, it’s architecture is incredible and the view from the rooms and restaurant/bar is unbeatable. There is a wonderful spa with steam rooms, sauna, massages, jacuzzi, and an indoor pool.

We booked a fly fishing expedition which started great – nice ninety minute drive, excellent hour hike to a private lagoon full of trout – but unfortunately, it was just too cold to fish.

Fly fishing requires the use of ungloved hands – who knew? Temperature at the lagoon was probably in the 20s – it did start to snow – so after about an hour, and no fish, we abandoned, hiked back to the car and returned to the Tierra Patagonia for a sauna and a steam.

The next day, however was epic. Our Quasar guide told us that we were scheduled for the eight hour hike – “the long one”. We accepted without a lot of thought or research and just followed the GPS to the Mirador Las Torres trail head. Las Torres means “towers” in Spanish and the hike is named after the three iconic granite towers which are the reward for this pretty difficult climb.  My take is that if you are going to travel to Patagonia, this is an absolute “must do” excursion  – although Shawn let loose more than a few colorful phrases on the way up.

The trail starts out gently, but after about an hour the grade starts to ratchet up.  The scenery is amazing as well.

After about three hours of uphill trekking we were pretty worn out.  But that was just the appetizer.  The final 45 minute ascent gets pretty brutal. It involves very steep – feels like almost straight up at times – boulder scrambling up a rocky moraine. Notwithstanding the sweat and pain, the view is clearly worth the climb.

OK – it was difficult for us. My knees and quads were groaning pretty loud. Perhaps not so bad for someone in their 20s or 30s. (Natalie and her friends did this hike a couple of months ago in the dark to get there for the sunrise).

Also, at one particularly grueling uphill section there was a guy (total stud) coming down on crutches and one leg. Yes, one leg. Incredibly inspiring and humbling. Where does this rate on my all-time favorite hikes? Without question, numero uno.

BTW, it takes another four hours to get down – which hurt almost as much as the up – but then happily back to the Tierra Patagonia for a jacuzzi with some Chinese guys I met – SK and Daniel – (hmm, that sounds worse that it really was) and another fantastic meal.

Torres del Paine also teems with wildlife. The most populous is the the guanaco, a cousin of the llama, alpaca and camel, but wild and with deer like agility. The park is full of these. They have great faces, with long eyelashes and are really fun to watch as they leap fences made to corral sheep and cattle (sorry to admit but they are also a food source and taste pretty good too!)

Another cool animal is the rhea – a small cousin of the ostrich. These guys are running all over the place. We also saw condors, eagles and strangely, pink flamingos. I thought those were tropical birds, but apparently they like the lagoons of Patagonia.

The following morning we bade goodbye to the Tierra Patagonia and headed across the border to Argentina. It takes about 5 hours to make the trip – depending on how long it takes to navigate the rustic Chilean and Argentine border controls.  We made it pretty quickly – probably because Quasar had provided a folder with all the right documents, with all the right stamps and signatures.  Honestly, I had no idea what was in that folder.

Again, the trip is worth the destination – the Hotel Eolo (https://eolopatagonia.com).  Eolo is like your really rich friend’s Hacienda. It’s located between the city of El Calafate and Los Glaciares National Park on a 10,000 acre cattle ranch. 17 well-appointed rooms and an incredible dining room. It’s doesn’t have the avant-garde design of the Singular or the edgy architecture of the Tierra Patagonia but it has a subtle elegance coupled with fantastic service that is the hallmark of a superb hotel.

The food at Eolo is unbelievably good and we had trouble again not over-indulging. And the wines – now all Argentinian are incredible. Of note, the DV Catena Chardonnay from Mendoza is particularly nice. And, the Angelica Zapata – the Catena winery’s next version up – highly recommended by the hotel’s sommelier, is even better. Shawn says she would stack it up against Flowers – or even Kistler – and it’s only about $27 a bottle!

Los Glaciares National Park is one of the major reasons for coming to the Argentine side of Patagonia. We took the 45 minute Jeep drive from the hotel to the park for a boat ride to the Perito Moreno glacier.  Upon arrival, the guides get set us up with crampons for a trek on the massive ice field – the third largest in the world behind Antarctica and Greenland.

Next is a trip under the glacier into an ice cave – super cool. Like the Blue Grotto in Capri, but all ice.

After the glacier trek we made our way to the Perito Moreno boardwalks. An engineering marvel, these massive walkways provide truly spectacular views of the glacier.

And if your patient and really lucky you’ll see “calving” – huge chunks of ice that fall off the glacier. We were so fired up when we got this video!…….Click on the link below and zoom in on what looks like a huge cave and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

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Finally – and if you’re still reading, thankfully – our last day in Patagonia.  Shawn started the day with a hike.  Made some new friends.

Then a horse ride on the ranch.  We were pros by now.

And then to cap it off, a bit of zip-lining.  Being relatively afraid of heights, I was a bit scared.  But it was pretty awesome!

And then, it was back to Santiago, via Buenos Aires.  Fun fact – did you know that Buenos Aires airport was right on the water.  We did not.  Had a four hour layover there.  After about two hours we realized we were in the wrong terminal.  Walking outside, we discover an ocean!

Wow – that was a lot.  Now it’s back to Santiago for a few days.  This time we really will have some salads, exercise and plan.  Then, off to Peru and Machu Picchu!

Chile is a really long country. In fact, it’s the longest country in the world – over 2,500 miles north to south. We flew from Cartagena – through Bogota – to Santiago. It took about 6 hours to fly from Bogota to Santiago which is located in central Chile.

First impressions of Santiago are that it’s a really nice big city. Over 7,000,000 people live here. That’s about 40% of the total Chilean population. Lots of parks, nice buildings and tons of young people. So many that at times it feels kind of like a huge college campus.

Our main reason for coming here was to visit Natalie. Honestly, Santiago would not have made our destination list if she (and three friends) were not going to be teaching English here. But now that we’ve arrived, I’m really glad we made the trip and, of course, it was so good to see Natalie. When you are gone from home for a long time, it feels really great to see family.

There was a bit of a mix-up when we arrived at Hotel Cumbres Lastarria at around 11:30pm.  They were overbooked so they sent us to another hotel around the corner. These types of mix-ups can work out really badly, but in this case we ended up at The Singular Hotel (https://thesingular.com/en/hotel/santiago) which was awesome. Very Four Seasons like and a great place to spend the first few days in Chile. The Lastarria neighborhood is one of the coolest corners of Santiago. Lots of restaurants and bars as well as street musicians and vendors selling cool “genuine” (maybe made in China) Chilean handicrafts. A fun place to walk around.

The next day, Natalie and Friends (Grupo Natalie) met us for drinks at the Singular rooftop bar and then we made our way to the Movistar Arena to see the Gorillaz. I knew very little about them, but they put on an incredible show and the Santiago fans were as passionate as any I’d ever seen. We started with some really bad seats (that I’d bought on the internet in Manhattan Beach) but got super lucky and snuck into a section right by the side of the stage. The Gorillaz are like an EDM band mixed with rap, reggae, R&B and even a twinge of country. All accompanied by awesome animation on the big screen behind them. One of the very best – and fun – shows I have ever seen.

After a couple of nights in Santiago, we headed to Valparaiso – a seaside city and probably the most important port in Chile. It’s historic quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s known for a really cool artistic/bohemian village built on steep hillsides covered with windy cobblestone streets. It’s a bit like a San Francisco that never grew up. There are great bars and restaurants with magnificent views and colorful murals painted all over the city walls.

We rented a car and drove here. Stayed at a place called Casa Galos Hotel & Lofts (http://www.casagalos.cl) which is a fantastic place to stay if you ever find yourself in Valparaiso. Big rooms – and if you get Room 5 – a great view of the hills and ocean. And less than $200 per night. It’s also got a great rooftop deck with couches and table. Most people go up there for the awesome view. However, for me it was the only place where I could get good enough Wi-Fi to watch NCAA basketball tournament games. Grupo Natalie met us here and we had a great time walking the cobblestone streets and having dinner at Cafe Turri (http://www.turri.cl/new/default.asp).

Another great place to rest weary feet and get cocktails with an excellent view of the hills and harbor is the Hotel Fauna Restaurant (https://faunahotel.cl/language/en/the-restaurant/).

I got a bit over served there one night and lost my sunglasses. It’s that kind of town.

We stayed 4 nights in Valparaiso – probably one too long. The neighboring town – Viña Del Mar – is a really nice beach city with some cool restaurants. A bit more upscale, but even so, three nights would be plenty.

Next stop for us was the Colchagua Valley – where some of Chile’s best red wines are made.  The drive on very nice roads took about three hours. The landscape looks a lot like Southern California. Dry hills dotted with chaparral. We stayed at the Posada Colchagua (http://www.posadacolchagua.com), a very clean 8 room B&B (priced at $125 per night) which was a great base for exploring the various wineries and the nearby city of Santa Cruz.

Our first stop in the valley was Rayuela, the restaurant at Viu Manent (http://viumanent.cl).  The lunch of lamb chops, shrimp and garlic mashed potatoes was superb. The winery tour – which involves a trip in a horse drawn wagon through the vines – is pretty great too.

Next up was Casa Lapostolle (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303682-d2037915-Reviews-Clos_Apalta_Lapostolle-Santa_Cruz_O_Higgins_Region.html). The ancestors of the current Lapostolle owners invented Gran Marnier and currently also own Chateau Sancerre in the Loire Valley – so they seem to know their way around the alcohol biz. The architecture – and the vineyard which covers the neighboring hillsides and valley – are stunning. If you ever make it to Colchagua, a tour of Casa Lapostolle is a must. Also notable, their 2005 Clos Apalta was judged by Wine Spectator as the number one wine in the world in 2008 (http://www.winespectator.com/wssaccess/show/id/40806).

Afterwards, we headed over to Vina Montes (https://www.monteswines.com/tour.php#titulo3) for lunch at their Fuegos de Apalta restaurant. Food is grilled over open flame in Chef Francis Mallman’s kitchen (we understand that he is pretty famous). Regardless, the lunch was amazing. I had the Purple Angel carmenere wine with my rib eye and pizza.  So, so good. I would come back to Chile just to eat there again.

While at Viña Montes, we got a tip from the owner of Colchagua Valley Wine Tours that a place called Viña Vik had just re-opened its restaurant and was doing tours (http://www.vik.cl/en/) – BTW, you should really check out the video at this website. So the next day we took the one hour drive and were truly amazed. This relatively new winery is the brainchild of Norwegian internet entrepreneur, Alexander Vik. In 2004 he sent a research team to find the best place on the continent of South America to grow red grapes. After taking thousands of soil samples he selected the Millahue Valley in Chile for his winery, restaurant and hotel.

The hotel – which is uber-expensive for those guests that can find it – is covered in sheets of titanium and looks like a space ship. The wine making facility is also ultra-modern and is dedicated to making their icon wine, Vik – which is really good! We had another incredible lunch and then proceeded to a tour and tasting at this over-the-top winery.

Overall, the Colchagua Valley is a great place to visit. Not nearly as polished as Napa, but the main attractions are very nice, the landscape is beautiful, and the wine is far better than most California wine snobs would expect. We had a case of the 2013 Viña Vik shipped back to Manhattan Beach so we will test that out under more scientific conditions at a later date.

After four days of eating great food and drinking great wine, we headed back to Santiago to re-group, continue planning the upcoming European phase of our adventure – and start a sorely needed fitness program.

Cartagena is a city steeped in history. Coveted by many European powers for its strategic location and excellent port, it’s well known for its city walls and impressive fortifications.

We did visit some impressive fortresses and churches, but Cartagena’s main attraction is its Old Town – likely the top tourist destination in Colombia. After feeling a bit scared to walk freely in some parts of Medellin, it felt great to be able to explore Old Town’s cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, impressive cathedrals, museums, great stores and, of course fantastic restaurants.

Hotel Capellan de Getsemani (https://hotelcapellandegetsemani.com) was our home base for 5 nights here. The hotel is new, beautifully decorated and a very short walk – five minutes – from the gate to Old Town. If you stay here, it’s definitely worth the few extra dollars to upgrade to a junior suite – which is still under $200 per night. They also have these cool electric scooters which we rode around town.

Whatever you do, make sure your hotel has great air conditioning – better yet a pool – because Cartagena is very hot and humid and you will need a cool sanctuary in the afternoon.

Side note – there is a ton of great value in Colombia. We stayed in some very nice places and only once paid more than $200 per night. That was at Hacienda Buenavista in “coffee country” – but that price included three superb meals per day. Similarly, we had several fantastic meals and never paid more than $100 – including wine and cocktails.

The Cartagena food scene is great.  We had numerous amazing meals but two really stand out.  First was a restaurant called Maria (https://www.mariacartagena.com). Again, great value at this place. We had cocktails (the pisco sour is amazing), a bottle of wine, two delicious appetizers, one fabulous entree, and a chocolate dessert that we still talk about for less than $100.

Next was a restaurant called Cuzco.  As you might guess, its a Peruvian inspired restaurant that is as good or better than anything in Los Angeles. Superb cocktails, inventive menu and the freshest ingredients. A must visit if you are here and a great live band playing in the bar area.  Click below to see the band.

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There is also some other great live entertainment.  Click below to see a trio of great street rappers and some very fine dancing.

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We took an excursion to one of the Rosario Islands and ended up at a place called the Majagua Hotel.  The beach was really great – super peaceful – and a big contrast from the mediocre beaches in Cartagena which you should probably avoid.

Downside of the hour boat ride to the islands is the journey back.  The ocean gets a bit rough and if you ride in the back half of the boat, you’ll get drenched.

Getsemani is a neighborhood just outside the Old City.  It’s said to be up and coming so we took a walk around one night.  We did go into one of the bars – which had some music and dancing – but we felt like old people at a frat party.  Just a very young crowd.  There is some cool graffiti and a nice square where both locals and tourists hang out, but in my opinion, not a huge attraction.

After 18 days, we are starting to feel a bit of Colombia fatigue. If someone asked us how to do a trip to Colombia, we’d probably suggest three days at Hacienda Buenavista in coffee country and the four days in Cartagena.  The rest is interesting if you have more time, but those are the highlights.

Its now time for us to say goodbye to Colombia and head to Santiago, Chile to visit our daughter, Natalie, who is teaching English there for the rest of the 2018.  Super excited about that!

Medellin is another very big city in the mountains. Landing at the airport in Rio Negro, its a 45 minute drive over and down a huge hill providing great views of the city.

We stayed at the Hotel Park 10 (http://www.hotelpark10.com.co/en/) which provides very good value in the fashionable Poblado neighborhood. Great service, but the rooms at the hotel – which is listed as a five star property – are showing a bit of age. I did have a massage here, which was actually really good, except the treatment rooms are just inside a fifth floor balcony, separated by a curtain to the busy street below. So along with the soothing massage, the client gets serenaded by sirens, motorcycles and the other not so “tranquilo” sounds of Medellin.

Like many cities, Medellin has upscale sections, but displays some pretty intense hardship as well. Our guide Christian took us on the very modern and clean metro system to the cable car which takes you above the poverty-stricken hill-side Communas, including the notorious Communa 13 which, when controlled by groups loyal to Pablo Escobar (80s-90s), was one of the most dangerous communities in the world.

There are still many local people, however, that continue to revere the deceased drug lord. In fact, as we travelled up the cable car, a woman in her 60s saw that Christian was showing us photos of Escobar and his lieutenants and she affectionately referred to him as “Pablito” (my little Pablo).

IMHO, the biggest highlights of the Medellin city tour are the works of Colombian artist Fernando Botero. The most poignant are two bird sculptures in Parque San Antonio. In 1995, a bomb was detonated under the original bird sculpture during a concert killing 23 and wounding over 200. After the bombing, Botero created an identical sculpture and placed it along side the original bombed sculpture as a memorial to the lost lives and a reminder of Medellin’s violent past.

Other Botero highlights include the collection of twenty-three bronze sculptures in Botero Plaza which is located in Medellin’s “Old Quarter”.  Christian told us that this area gets pretty seedy at night.  We felt that you need to be careful even in the daytime here.

Even better is the incredible collection of Botero paintings in the Museum of Antioquia located adjacent to Botero Plaza. I normally don’t like museums but this collection is really magnificent – and contains much more that just paintings of Escobar.

The next day we visited Guatape, a resort town about an hour east of Medellin. The village itself is clean, colorful and lovely with little restaurants shops full of local handicrafts.

The main attraction, however, is the 750 step climb up El Penol.

The view is worth the climb (if you are in decent shape, and we just barely are)

and it was nice to hear the voices of a bunch of exuberant 20-ish American kids who were at the top having more than a few cold micheladas (that’s a beer with some fruit in it – very Colombian).  We also took a boat ride around the reservoir below

and saw the abandoned home of one of Escobar’s daughters.  If you look carefully, you can see the entrance/exit of a tunnel that could be used in case of a raid.

We ate at one particularly good restaurant here in Medellin called Carmen (http://www.carmenmedellin.com/en/). The decor is fantastic and the food amazing. As good as anything in Los Angeles. It’s located in the Poblado neighborhood – one of the very few that felt pretty safe to walk around.

We liked Medellin, but are ready to move on to Cartagena.  One of our biggest issues has been a feeling of isolation.  In coffee country it was virtually impossible to walk alone anywhere and in Medellin, it didn’t really feel safe. Perhaps it was safer than we thought, but looking forward to a place that is a bit more developed for touring.

 

 

 

 

 

Landing in Armenia, Colombia all you see is green. Far from Bogota, there is no concrete, just an endless vista of green mountains, hills, fields and trees. This is coffee country.

Thankfully, we are immediately picked up at the airport by our english speaking guide Christian and our driver Gloria who take us on a one hour ride through the Colombian countryside to Hacienda Buenavista, our home for the next few days. If you ever come to this region you should have a driver because the roads can get pretty awful and directions are very complicated. I am certain that without Christian and Gloria we’d have had a 100% chance of getting severely lost.

The Hacienda Buenavista (http://haciendabuenavista.com.co) is a very small, five room boutique hotel run by two Europeans, Lynn and Floris. It’s like staying in your rich friend’s villa. An indescribably good view, clean modern rooms (with a great bed) and superb food. I could write a bunch more about this place – because we really liked it and it’s incredibly accommodating proprietors, but another blogger already did, so I’ll save the extra words and just provide the link (https://www.shermanstravel.com/advice/checking-in-a-hacienda-classing-up-colombias-coffee-country/). One thing to understand is that it’s pretty isolated. As explained by Christian, it’s the kind of place that “if you’ve never been to it, you’ll never find it”.

The next morning Christian and Gloria take us to Hacienda San Alberto (http://www.cafesanalberto.com/en/), on of the premier coffee farms in Colombia. Christian is 22 years old, has a college degree in botany and learned English by watching movies. He loves classic American music and plays it in the car as Gloria makes the one hour drive on unmarked roads. Shuffling through his catalog of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, Bruce Springsteen and others like George Thorogood and Run DMC, he asks some great questions. What does this song Billie Jean mean?  What is “Bad to the Bone”? “Tutti Frutti”, what is that?  Is Lionel Ritchie still alive?  Do you understand any of the words to Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky”? What is “All Shook Up”? Christian is a great kid with a fabulous sense of humor. He lives with and supports his mother, sister, wife and five month old son and has a great attitude. If you ever desire to visit this part of Colombia, you need to contact him!  (christiancamilolasso1@gmail.com; +57 314 615 88 50)

Hacienda San Alberto is a beautiful coffee farm located 6,000 feet above sea level and provides a great coffee education. After touring the farm and facility and learning about Colombia’s various coffee producing regions, growth stages of coffee plants, and coffee bean processing, we go through an extensive smell and tasing exercise which I fail miserably. Guess I will continue getting my coffee at Starbucks (which we learned uses inferior, over-roasted robusto beans rather than the lightly roasted, high quality arabica beans grown in Colombia – who knew?). Shawn, on the other hand, proved to be an expert at aroma and taste!

Over the next several days Christian takes us to see:

– the Valle de Cocora which contains the Wax Palms. These are the national trees of Colombia and happen to be the tallest palms in the world. (Actually, per Christian the botanist, the Wax Palm is not really a tree but a palm. I’m still not at all sure what the difference is, but now you know too.)

– The Center of Flora and Fauna National Park in Otun, Quimbaya. Here we went for a four hour hike in the Colombian jungle looking for Red Howler Monkeys. I guess they saw us first because we never saw them. Upon entering the trail head our local national park guide (who was also a bit of a “close talker” – see Seinfeld) chuckled and said “Weelcome to the Juungle. Ha you know – Guns and Roses”? 😂 I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the first time he’s made that joke.

Lots of great flora and fauna in there, but even more bugs. One large, mean bug attached itself to Shawn’s lululemons and proceeded to bite her repeatedly through the pants. When she finally knocked it off, it landed on my back – so she smacked me. It was that kind of a tour. We left with a much greater appreciation of the jungle, and a lot of welts.

– Horseback riding near the city of Periera. This was pretty cool. We got to feel like caballeros in the beautiful Colombian countryside.

– Shawn also made friends at our next hotel in Periera.

After our visit to rural Colombia, we were on our way to Medellin (they pronounce it “med-e-jeen”). For whatever reason, we had not booked any tours or secured a guide for our trip to the city. Christian, who had been a fabulous and fun guide, explained that he was also an expert in Medellin. So we asked if we could retain his services for our trip. He said sure, but would have to take an 11 hour bus ride that would get him in at 4am. We offered to fly him there. He was ecstatic – because he had never been on a plane. In fact, almost no one he knew had ever been on a plane.

After booking his flight, he was almost in tears and said, “how does it feel to make someone’s dreams come true. I have to call my grandmother, then my mother, then all my friends.” It was pretty fun to accompany him on his first flight. Shawn told the flight attendant that it was his first flight and asked if he could meet the pilots.  I’m pretty sure this will be his new profile pic.

He was a bit scared as the plane took off. Gripping the arm rests, we thought he might pass out. But as soon as we landed, he was instagramming everyone he knew. Was probably as big a treat for us as it was for him!  Also great to meet someone that helps put our extremely fortunate lives in perspective.

We’re not in the Caribbean anymore. 😫

Bogota is a real city. A really big city. I didn’t know it, but Bogota is a city of over 8 million people and has an average elevation over 8,000 feet. Traffic is gnarly and not many people speak English. It’s nickname is aptly the “Athens of South America”.

After waking up at 4:30am in Barbados, flying to Miami and then catching a connection to Bogota, we got to spend about an hour in the Colombian customs line. OK that part sucked. But then, we found a driver holding a sign with Shawn’s name on it and proceeded to the fabulous Four Seasons Hotel – Casa Medina (www.fourseasons.com/bogotacm/). BTW, our travel pro Tammy Cane (www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com), secured a great rate, 20% off on spa activities and a room upgrade to a killer suite. Thanks Tammy!

Zona G (for “gastronomica”) is where the hotel is located. Apparently this is the location for some of Bogotá’s best restaurants. The monikers of the Four Seasons’ closest neighbors provide a good sense of Colombia’s most popular food group – “El Butcher”, “La Biferia”, “Mister Ribs” and “Sagal 100% Carne”. They like their beef in Bogota.

Juan Diego, the front desk manager, asked if we had plans for our three night stay. We, of course, had absolutely no idea what we were doing. Thankfully he gave us some great ideas and the following afternoon arranged for a driver to take us to Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá (the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira) and then to a restaurant called Andres Carne de Res.

Bogota traffic was some of the worst I’d ever seen. After a 90 minute drive – and four or five near misses with insane motorcycle drivers and cyclists – we arrived. The Salt Cathedral (www.catedraldesal.gov.co) is an underground, modern Roman Catholic Church carved into a salt mine that dates back to the 5th century. Main attractions include individual chapels representing each Station of the Cross and a cavernous main sanctuary two hundred meters underground anchored by the largest underground cross on the planet. It’s extremely unique and memorable.

Next stop was dinner at Andres Carne des Res – a place which is extremely hard to describe (www.andrescarnederes.com). It is dinner (yes largely beef!) and then a wild dance club with way over-the-top decor. Did I mention that it can host 2,000 people and has a 60 page menu? A super-fun place and a “must visit” if your going to be in Bogota.

More recommendations from Juan Diego led us to the top of Mount Monserrate. There is a funicular that goes to the 10,000 foot peak for a spectacular view of the city.

After visiting the top we took the funicular back down. While waiting for our driver a geriatric Colombian man implored me to take a picture of him kissing his llama. I declined!

We next cruised to La Candelaria, Bogotá’s historic district for a typical Colombian meal of rice, beans, some kind of sausage and beef. We walked to the main square, Plaza Bolivar, which houses a huge cathedral and the most important government buildings. This particular evening it was hosting a big rally for a political candidate. Cool Latin energy.

As the rally ended, and night fell, we went for a walk around the crowded streets which were full of street performers and food vendors. It’s a pretty vibrant place, but after dark the area got a bit surly and felt kind of unsafe. Kind of like a bad version of the streets around Hollywood and Highland.

Sunday was our last day in Bogota. Every Sunday thousands of “Rolos” (that’s what you call someone from Bogota) participate in something called Ciclovia. A series of major streets going all the way around the city are closed to anything with a motor. Thousand of bicycles hit the closed streets. Unfortunately for us, we had just shipped our bikes back to Manhattan Beach cause they were getting thrashed by air travel (and were getting pretty unwieldy) so we were unable to participate. But it looked awesome.

One last note on Bogota. The staff at the Four Seasons were incredible. The aforementioned Juan Diego gave us great suggestions on sights to see and Julian, one of the bell men was unbelievably helpful. He went to the cell phone store to get us a Colombian SIM card and then went with us to a shipping store and translated the over-complicated process of sending our bikes back to the U.S. Probably the best service we’ve ever had at a hotel. We can’t recommend this Four Seasons highly enough.

With Bogota in our rear view mirror, we are now headed to the airport for a short flight to Armenia and the the Colombian coffee triangle!