CAPITAL SANTTAGO - POPULATION 17.2 MILLION - AREA 756,950 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE SPANISH
Long and thin like its fiery namesake; Chile's flaming not reputation doesn't stop at its shape. It is a country that reminds the traveler of the tremendous and various power of Mother Nature. On New Year's Day 2008, Volcan Llaima in the Conguillo National Park in the south of the country erupted, resulting in plenty of smoke and hundreds of home evacuations. And if boiling, bubbling geysers are your thing, there are plenty to be found-along with more volcanoes-at the incredible El Tatio geyser park. For something decidedly chillier, Chile sports glaciers galore and ski fields, increasingly popular with international visitors, at El Colorado. Alternatively, prepare for a cool total solar eclipse on 11 July 2010, which will be viewable in the south of the country and on Easter Island.
SANTIAGO, CHILE
A seismic shift is happening
Wedged between Andean peaks and Pacific rollers, Chile's insular and isolated geography once kept it lagging behind international fashions and cultural movements. As a capital city, Santiago was staid and starched, thanks partly to the intellectual and artistic exodus during the Pinochet years. Once the dictator was brought to account, however, business confidence returned, creating a granite stability that remains the envy of South America. Travelers, alas, crave excitement and stimulation - no one wants to date stability and fewer want to send a postcard from there. But then calamity came calling to Chile, first through an 8.8-magnitude earthquake and later when 33 miners were trapped in the country's north. With the world watching, Chile displayed its defiant optimism in the face of adversity. These experiences have seemed to ignite a seismic shift in the capital. Culture and sports have come to the fore - suddenly everyone owns spandex and spends Saturdays pedaling the hairpin turns in the hills. New museums, including the Centro Cultural Gabriella Mistral and the Museo de la Moda, have opened to acclaim. Dining is now top-notch, nightlife exhilarating and International luxury hotel chains are coming to call (Santiago now boasts the first W Hotel in South America), while this year also marks the inauguration of the tallest building on the continent, the 70-storey Torre Gran Costanera, with a complex of offices, shops and restaurants. Visit Santiago in 2012 and you'll feel the buzz. |
