Week 30 – We are spending our last week in Santiago where we have organised the sale of our car. That’s it, we are no longer overlanders but just backpackers… with a lot of luggage!
Now that we have completed all the procedures for the sale and handed over the keys to the lucky new owner (I’m a little jealous!), we will enjoy some of the museums we couldn’t visit in September. And because we are leaving Chile this Sunday it seems the right time to do a feedback on my experience of this beautiful country!
I will start with my “coups de cœurs”!
1. In the first place, without hesitation, the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine!
This park is the most beautiful thing I have seen during my 7-month-trip! I knew I would like it but it went far beyond my expectations: I really fell in love with it!
I have only one thing to say, if you happen to travel in Patagonia, please don’t miss it, it has to be on your must-do list!
2. Santiago and its history
We spent a lot of time in Santiago to buy and sell our car, which gave us the opportunity to really discover the city.
We visited very interesting museums such as the Museo Historico Nacional and the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos. Both of them are really well organised and give a lot of good information to understand Chile and its differences between with the other countries of South America.
We have also enjoyed a lot of cosy cafés and good restaurants. Each neighborhood has its own atmosphere and it was nice to wander into them.
3. La Carretera Australe
Ah! The famous road of Patagonia! It was built under the dictatorship of Pinochet who wanted to facilitate the access to all this part of Chile which was only accessible by boat at this time.
This road is incredible as it goes to the far south of the fjords region where you can find very remote villages and incredible parks with glaciers, forests and wildlife! All along the road the landscape and the climate evolve, offering wet and cold sceneries in the south, green and sunny plains in the middle and beautiful rainforests and snow-capped mountains in the north. This road is beautiful!
That’s it for my “coups de coeur” but I also really liked the Laguna Chaxa and the impressive volcano Licancabur in the north of Chile. This region was really demanding for me because of the aride climate of the Atacama desert and the altitude we had to reach when we came from Argentina, but the colorful landscapes were absolutely amazing and really unique!
I also really liked Valparaiso. The city is a true testimony of the history of Chile. Wealthy in the 19th century, it has suffered from the most common natural disaster in Chile (earthquakes) and from the decline of the industry due to the global economic changes (in this case the creation of the Panama Canal in 1914). Today, its great art scene (murals) is an outcome of Pinochet dictatorship, it has become a symbol of the freedom of expression recovered after 17 years of oppression and a way to denounce inequality and injustice of the actual society.
Chile is a very interesting country with a lot of beautiful nature and nice cities. We spent 2 months and a half here and really enjoyed the spirit and kindness of the chilenos!
Chile is a country where it would be good to live!
