Charming Chile
Santiago
In July, I traveled to Chile for my first trip to South America. I was heading there for work with a German brand (About You), to shoot a story for Oktoberfest. I was even more excited to learn that I’d have at least a day or two to explore on my own.
The flight from Los Angeles to Chile is about 12 hours and the drive from Santiago airport into the city is only about 20 minutes. I flew on LATAM Airlines, one of the largest South American carriers and was impressed with their food options (apparently they recently introduced a new, gourmet menu for economy). The best part about flying to Santiago is there is no time change from Los Angeles AKA no jet lag!
The capital city is less than an hour from the coast one way and the ski resorts of the Andes another way, making it a great place to begin a Chilean vacation. It’s modern, vibrant and cosmopolitan (and most people speak English). Santiago is filled with a strong European influence and amazing architecture.
Where I Stayed
The crew for the shoot stayed at the Sheraton Santiago. My room was clean, modern and comfortable and offered beautiful views of the snowy Andes Mountain range. The breakfast buffet was certainly the highlight - a mix of traditional South American morning cuisine and the classic American fare. The hotel is situated at the base of San Cristóbal Hill, home to a park and cable cars that travel up and down the hillside. I didn’t get a chance to experience a ride to the top but heard that the views are incredible.
But first, coffee. I ordered a cappuccino with almond milk at the hotel’s lobby bar after checking in. Even with no time change, traveling is tiring!
Chile’s climate is mild all year, but winter (May–September) is rainy, and snowy in the Andes.
The hotel’s view were stunning, with snow-capped Andes towering above the city.
WHAT I DID
One of the stops for the hop-on hop-off tourist bus, which I’d highly recommend riding around on for a day, happened to be at the base of my hotel. I just purchased tickets from the hotel concierge, hopped on, plugged in the headphones they gave me and enjoyed the ride with the voice of an English guide. It was the easiest and most convenient way to see the entire city and stopped in ten different neighborhoods.
My favorite stop was Cerro Santa Lucia. I made the last minute decision to jump off here, not knowing what to expect, and found an urban paradise. This site is a perfectly manicured hill-park where Santiago was first founded, and located in the heart of the city. I proudly ordered a Starbucks in Spanish (even without a time change, I was somehow still ‘jetlagged’ this entire trip) and cruised up the steep cobblestone paths and shallow stone steps. The terraces boasted 360 degree views with fountains, a castle and gardens on every levels.
Another neighborhood I enjoyed was Bellavista, known for its youthful, Bohemian vibe. The main street is Pio Nono but if you wander down the side streets, you’ll find colorful street art, old mansions and Spanish colonial houses.
The National History Museum, located in the Plaza de Armas - a historic square in central Santiago. It was developed in the 1500s as a gathering place for locals.
The Corinthian order columns and neoclassical design of the former National Congress Building (ex Congreso Nacional) are only part of the reason it is a national monument. Today, it is used as the offices for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Catch a ‘changing of the guard’ ceremony in the Plaza de la Constitución. On the right is the Palacio de la Moneda (the Chilean presidential offices) which is said to be one of the finest neoclassical buildings in South America.
Near the foot of this Cerro Santa Lucía, where Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago on February 12th, 1541.
A wishing fountain with Neptune, Roman god of the seas. The tradition is to face away from the fountain and throw a coin in with your eyes closed - while you make a wish.
This little Chapel was an 1872 addition.
Don’t let the blue skies fool you, this day was Chile-y!
During colonial times, the Spanish established Fort Hidalgo on one side of the hill, which you can still visit today.
Panoramic views of Santiago and the Andes Mountain Range from the top of the hill. This winter-blooming Candelabra Aloe provided a vibrant pop of color!
The artsy Bellavista neighborhood is so brightly colored, it’s like entering a dreamland.
San Jose de Maipo
For the photoshoot, we woke up before the light of dawn and were driven out to San Jose de Maipo, an area about an hour outside Santiago (closer to the Argentinian border). The team was shooting in the Cordillera Province at a little German-style lodge called La Casona del Agua. We arrived here to find a classic Chilean breakfast being cooked for us - toasted breakfast sandwiches filled with soft scrambled eggs, mashed avocado, tomatoes and cheese (I loved the soft, white cheese they had). I sat by the log fire, keeping warm while I devoured my breakfast sandwich. The temperatures were in the mid-20s (Fahrenheit) and low enough for there to be a thin layer of snow on the ground. Coming from a sweltering summer in LA, I definitely didn’t come prepared with enough warm clothes or layers.
The landscape in San Jose de Maipo is naturally beautiful, a little desolate and wild, the opposite of Santiago’s vast cityscape. From where we were, steep, snowy mountains rose in the distance and in the foreground, a river ebbed and flowed over rocks and around cactuses.
There were four models for the job, two men and two women, and we spent the day hanging out and waiting in a motor home down by the banks of the river. The other female model and I posed for photos and a commercials in traditional German dirndls (dresses) all day.
I wore very minimal makeup, no eye makeup and just a hint of blush, concealer and lip color. My hair was styled with a slight, natural wave and each dirndl was colorful and feminine. I was pretty cold the entire day, so between shots someone would run over to wrap me up in an ankle-length puffer jacket and extra blankets.
Towards the end of the day, the local workers began heating up the wood-fired hot tubs. It took a couple of hours to get them hot but they were ready by the time we wrapped the shoot. After freezing for about 13 hours, the team warmed up and celebrated a great job by jumping in. Afterwards, we dried off, bundled up again and hopped in the vans to head back to downtown Santiago for a well-deserved, celebratory sushi dinner.
Breakfast is served!
Snow, frost and freezing temperatures at basecamp.
The bed and breakfast, La Casona del Agua.
Natural hair and makeup and traditional German garb.
Most of the snow melted away by midday.
The location could have passed for somewhere in the German alps.
Sunset resembled a watercolor painting.
The crew warmed up in the wood-fired jacuzzi after we wrapped for the day.
The view from where the last shot of the day was.
Overall, this was an amazing first trip to South America. Chile’s geography is diverse and unique and the people are welcoming. On our way back to Sanitago from San Jose de Maipo, our local driver told us an old Chilean legend:
“In the beginning of time, God created the wonders of the world. When he was finished, he saw that he had many leftover pieces. He had parts of rivers and valleys, of oceans and lakes, of glaciers and deserts, of mountains and forests, and of meadows and hills. Rather than let such beauty go to waste, God put them all together and cast them to the most remote corner of the Earth. This is how Chile was born.”
A large part of the country is farther south than even Australia or South Africa and many Chileans do refer to Chile as the “end of the world”.
There are so many places I still want to explore in this country, from the massive Moai statues on Easter Island to the granite towers and icebergs of Torres del Paine in Patagonia, to the colorful port city Valparaíso and the Atacama Desert…so I guess I’ll just have to come back!
