Sent on Apr. 16, 2003 from Santiago, Chile.

Time in Chile: 1 hour ahead of EST in USA.
US$ = 690 to 751 Chilean Pesos. 

Bariloche, 19-hr bus north to Mendoza, Argentina,
6 hrs west to Chile. Hello from Santiago

OVERVIEW.

1. BUS RIDE NORTH.  The 1st 100 miles or so of the route
north from Bariloche to Mendoza passes is the 7 Lakes
Scenic Route and is indeed very pretty.  This also
completes Patagonia.  Then come long miles of Hidalgo Salt
Flats, as "scenic" as our own south of Salt Lake City in
Utah.  The 19-bus cost 75 Pesos, $26, and included 2
sandwiches, drinks, coffee, very comfortable reclining
seats, and several English--Spanish sub-titles--movies. 
Other than that, I was the only non-local tourist on the
bus--no one spoke English.

2. BUS RIDE WEST. The 8-hour bus west to Santiago gets
spectacular say an hour after Mendoza, as the road climbs
the Andes, thru valleys and peaks and hair-pin turns that
drop or climb several 100s of meters right next to
you--seen from the window.  The cost for this was 25 Pesos.
 3 hours after departure we crossed first the Argentinean
border station--where the driver did NOT stop so I could
get an Exit stamp in my passport'--then a 4km tunnel in the
middle of which we crossed to Chile and adjusted our
watches 1 hour back, so 1 hour ahead of EST in USA now. 
Before the tunnel, you also get a glimpse'--far in the
distance--of Mt. Aconcagua which at 6,894 meters is the
highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.

3. BORDER FORMALITIES, SUGGESTED TRICKS. Took more than an
hour. The Chileans do not allow any meat or plant and
everything passes thru x-ray, persons inspected.  I got an
entry stamp to Chile. When I complained to the driver about
my missing Exit stamp from Argentina, he took the passport
somewhere and had a generic stamp put on, probably more for
my benefit.  In any event, this will likely happen several
times as I cross to other countries, because the bus
drivers do not want to delay the trip, and apparently I was
the only one who needed these stamps.  The missing exit
stamp is less important if you do not intend to return to
that country.  So I will cross each of these countries only
once.  For Argentina, since I will return from there to
Miami, the next time I enter the country, I will act as if
it is the first time.  With my passport full of stamps the
border agent is not likely to search for other stamps or
see the previous one.  We'll see.  I might have to do some
fast-talking.  I found it curious that NO ONE at the border
could speak English.

4. SANTIAGO.  I found Santiago much less elegant than
Buenos Aires.  It seems run-down, though there are some
interesting buildings from the Spanish era and a few
interesting landscape features, like the 70-meter conical
Cerro--hill--Santa Lucia with a nice view of the city
veiled behind a thick cover of smog, and the 300-meter San
Christobal hill and Parque Metropolitano.  But these do not
have the presence of the Corcovado in Rio.  The center of
activity is at the Plaza de Armas--same name as the plaza
in Cuzco, Peru.  Curiously, I did not find anyone in
Santiago, not even at the huge bus station--4 of them in
the city--who could speak or understand English. Taxis are
cheap both in Argentina and Chile, BUT I noticed in Chile
that you get a small city tour in addition, of course,
paying in addition.


Santiago Upgrade (April 18, from Arica).

By landscape Santiago resembles more Athens, not Rio, with
its Acropolis and the chapel hill.  It has 3 prominent
hills, the rest is more or less flat. The 70-meter Cerro
Santa Lucia is a beauty.  It is like the Hanging Gardens of
Semiramis must have looked like.  A circular walkway climbs
up, which can be used also by cars and taxis.  All around
it is a botanical garden, with stone sculptures,
decorations, corner pieces, quaint stairs, hidden corners,
park benches.  The art becomes more prominent when you
reach a level say about 20 meters from the top. A series of
miniature ramparts, castle towers, huge rock decorations,
many more stone staircases, cafes, lovers' corners, what
have you, and of course all sorts of lovers in all corners.
The view of the city is magnificent.  Near the top, on top
of a huge rock, there is the sculpture of a Mapuche Indian,
one of the very few Indian tribes who made a heroic and
successful stand against the Spaniards.  From what I
understood, they were never conquered and still have a
sizeable number in Chile.

a) Cerro San Christobal, at 300 meters, it is even more
spectacular.  First, this is not a hill but, for a city
location--a large conical mountain.  On the very top there
is a huge white statue of the Virgin Mary, about the size
of Christ on Corcovado, and several chapels.  You climb the
hill say to about 250 meters by a funicular.  The entire
sides of the mountain is the zoo and zoological garden with
every imaginable species of trees and vegetation,
surrounding animal habitats.  The entry to the zoo is
half-way up the funicular.  The fun starts when you reach
the top of the funicular. About 100 meters further, there
is a 6km--4 miles--long canopy ride in small capsules,
sometimes barely 2 meters from the top of the tallest
trees.  The view of both mountain side and the city is
spectacular.  Suffice it to say that Santiago should be on
your South America destination, for I have not seen such
an elaborate and beautiful set-up in any city.

b) The pedestrian streets around the Plaza de Armas are as
crowded after work as the Washington, DC Mall on 4th of
July, some people walking as if they are going some place,
other strolling leisurely, still others occupying the many
park benches.  The side of Plaza de Armas with the
pedestrian streets is as elegant as I have seen.  And Chile
must have most phenomenal public transportation.  Busses
buzz thru at all hours; in fact parts of the city sound
like a huge cement mixer, as the busses are loud and there
are MANY of them going all directions.

c) A curious tidbit: I could not find an English paper.  I
stopped at least 2 dozen newsstands.  Rumor has it that
Chile may be asked to join the NAFTA with USA, Mexico, and
Canada.  One would think that Chileans would make more of
an effort to learn English.

d) The city has 4 bus terminals, the central one, Terminal
Borje (j pronounced k here, and ll is pronounced ja, not
ya), as elaborate as a not-so-small airport.  Police are
everywhere but unobtrusively.


5. NEXT.  I already got my bus ticket for tomorrow morn
9.45 to all the way north to Arica, a trip of 33 hours thru
and over all of the Andes, Arica being the gateway to Peru,
Bolivia, and Argentina.  With respect to the latter, there
is a train called 'Journey to the Clouds' from Salta
Argentina to some obscure destinations in Chile, passing
thru several mining towns in the boondocks.  While the
booking for this train may be OK in Salta, as I had
originally thought of doing, I did not want to take a
chance of booking such a trip at a tiny station in the
middle of nowhere in Chile, possibly getting a ticket going
to the wrong direction, getting off some place with
once-a-week bus service, etc., in view of my non-existent
Spanish, and the fact that I do not want to be in Argentina
yet due to the missing Exit stamp.

6. Conclusion. I should add that, having spent so many
years in the cozy heat of Miami, I will be glad to be out
of this alpine climate.  It is Sep. here and a bit cool at
sea-level, downright cold in the mountains.  But I have
another week or so to go . . .


Update (Apr. 18, 2003 from Arica, Chile)

The 29-hour bus ride to Arica cost 19,600 Pesos or about
$30 on Tur-Bus, reclining seats but no sleeper.  There are
more expensive busses, like Pullman which may be better.
They serve meals, but the bus stops are dingy, not enough
bathrooms.  However they are clean and you have to pay to
use them everywhere, like 100 to 150 Pesos (25 cents).

The trip north & the Atacama Desert.

I have seen almost all major deserts; I have not seen
anything like this.  The Atacama desert is like a
Moonscape; there is not a single--not one--plant in it. And
I am talking about a distance of 500 plus miles south-north
and say 5 km wide.  The Andes are naked in this huge area. 
The ground is clay-like where it is hard, rocky in parts,
sand covered on the sides.  The huge mountain side covered
by sand gives the impression that this is a colossal sand
dune.  Indeed, this is surface erosion and only the top portions
are covered by sand--I don't know how deep.  Otherwise these
would qualify as the tallest sand dunes.  (This entire area
is mineral rich and so is heavily mined.)

As for the Pacific coast going up, the coast is as scenic
as our own coastal routes in California, Oregon and
Washington, with the significant difference that while our
coastal areas are temperate forests, there is no plant
growing here.  Near the cities and villages, there are a
few artificially planted areas, but otherwise this is the
most naked land I have seen.

Arica is a frontier town, miles of straight city
streets.  I like more the circular design, like in Cuzco,
Peru, many Mexican towns, French villages in which all
roads lead to a square and to the center of activity.