Chile in depth with Chilean Special Journeys

Chile Scott Jones of Chilean Special Journeys (28 Morrill Rd., Montville, ME 04941; phone 888/345-6077 or visit www.chileanspecialjourneys.com) outdid himself in making our 21-day, April ’05 “Chile in Depth” trip memorable. Scott, originally from Maine, has lived in Chile for several years. He accompanied our group as tour guide, and local guides were used also.

Chile is an interesting country of contrasts with dramatic landscape features. Our tour started in Santiago, in the central part of the country. After exploring the area for two days, the group flew north to the seaport of Arica, close to the Peruvian border.

One day we drove to Lake Chungara, high in the Andes Mountains. The vistas were magnificent. The next five days were spent in Iquique and San Pedro Atacama. These cities are in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. We saw Incan ruins, salt flats, salt mountains, geoglyphs and abandoned mining towns as well as new ones. Each place had its own charm.

We flew back to Santiago, then were bused to Valparaiso, Viña del Mar and La Serena. These coastal towns have more moisture and, consequently, more vegetation. In the Elqui Valley, we were amazed at the beautiful farms and vineyards. There was no end to the green hillside terraces.

In the southern Lake District we explored Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Pucon and Frutillar. This region has a large German population which migrated to Chile in the 1860s. They had been invited by the Chilean government and were given large land tracts to farm. In the vicinity of Pucon, the Indian population is evident. We visited a farm owned by a Mapuche Indian family.

From Puerto Montt we took a ferry to Chiloé Island. There the climate is temperate and the vegetation, luxuriant. We saw smaller, well-cultivated farms on land and seafood farms in the water.

All in all, it was a great trip. Since our trip was in Chile’s fall season, the temperature was moderate. The scenery was spectacular because of the ever-present mountains and volcanoes. I recommend this trip enthusiastically! (2006 price is $4,795 excluding international air.)

— FLORA S. BOARDMAN, Huntsville, AL