If you Feed a Fox a Sandwich--Santiago, Chile.
We said goodbye to the hustle and bustle of the city of Santiago and made our way to the quiet Cajon Del Maipo region. Although it is only 2 hours south of Santiago, it has a completely different feeling. We followed the natural flow of the mountains on an unpaved, narrow path that at times felt like we might die... or as the kid in Indiana Jones said, “we go for wild ride”. Luckily we didn’t tip off the side of the mountain or run into another fellow car. We continued along the winding road up to an altitude of 9,842 feet [Cue ear pop] and ended up at Embalse El Yeso. The greenish, turquoise tint of the water is breathtaking... or it could have been the climbing over rocks that took my breath away. But seriously, it was gorgeous. The Andes Mountains as a backdrop isn’t too shabby either.
We spent time exploring the area and scratching our heads as to why there is still snow on the mountain peaks when it is 90 degrees. Then we had a little picnic with sandwiches, Carmenere wine, and cookies. Food with a view? What more could a girl ask for. When we were eating we learned a little bit more about Chile, like about their government, the climate, and the fact that if you have a refrigerator and TV you are considered middle class.
After we downed 3 glasses of wine, we headed back in the direction of Santiago. As we were making our way down the mountain, we saw a FOX! Ahh! I don’t think I have ever seen a fox in real life, so it was exciting. Then Vanessa chucked a sandwich out the window to the fox. He gobbled that thing down like he had never eaten before. So now we know.. If you feed a fox a sandwich, he will want another one. So she threw another one.
Next, since we’re fatties, we stopped at a local “hole in the wall” type restaurant that served empanadas. Which brings me to another point. We had 6 other people on the tour with us, and none of them knew what an empanada was... Sigh. How can you not know what an empanada is? Anyways, those empanadas were scrumptious. They had steak that was cubed up with caramelized onions, a hard-boiled egg, and an olive. Sounds weird, but the combination of it together was really good.
Now that our bellies were full, we continued onward. We stopped at a craft market because one lady on the tour insisted, even though our guides were done with the tour. So the nice people they are took us to the craft market and waited for us. There always has to be that one person on an excursion that annoys everyone—she was the one! On the plus side though, it was a very nice craft market and there were fluffy chickens and peacocks right in the middle of it all to provide some entertainment.
xoxo,
Em