December 6, 2022, Tuesday
The Oosterdam cruised into San Antonio, Chile, the main port of Chile but not the most historically significant port. Prior to the opening of the Panama Canal in 1915, Valparaíso was the main port as ships sailing from the north and the far east would meet with ships sailing from Europe and the south. Valparaíso was the port where the ships would load and unload, turning around and heading back to their home ports. After the Panama Canal opened, Valparaíso became a back water of sorts, as San Antonio became much more lucrative due to its proximity to Santiago, Chile’s capital.
We joined a shore excursion that would take us from the coast into the wine region of Casablanca and to Valparaíso, learning about Chile’s historical past, the religious influence of the Catholic Church and the prosperous wine region.
Oliver, our guide, is of German heritage, his family moving back and forth from northern Germany to Valparaíso over 3 generations. He grew up in Germany but moved to Santiago, Chile to learn Spanish and ended up staying after meeting his wife. He is in his early 50s and teaches in a tech school.
As the bus drove 1 1/2 hours to Valparaíso, he gave us facts and figures on climate (a Mediterranean climate with only 29 days of rain on average), population (Santiago, the capital, has 6 million inhabitants, Valparaíso has 300,000 and Chile has 18 million total), Chile’s exports (80% of wine produced, grapes, salmon, copper and lithium) and the earthquake activity (“tremors” every 2 months but most Chileans believe that anything under 5.0 on the scale are “tremors”!
Our bus drove through the Casablanca Valley, named after a small white church where a miracle reportedly occurred. In fact, the government will close down the 4 lane highway beginning December 7 as thousands of pilgrims will be walking the road to the church to celebrate the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception on December 8. Catholicism is very strong in Chile. We had already observed several people walking on the highway towards Casablanca.
The modern day popularity of Casablanca is the vineyards and the dry, aromatic wine produced here. Oliver explained that most Chileans drink beer but if they have a BBQ or other spicy food, they may drink red wine but this is not typical. Most of the wine produced is exported with 95% of that being white wine. The sunny, dry but cool conditions here create wine that is drier and higher in alcohol than the typical wine regions of the world. Wine production is relatively new here as no one considered the climate as able to produce wine. The “endemic” red wine is Carmenere, a grape variety that had disappeared from France when the phylloxera wiped out many of the vineyards. It was rediscovered and has become the wine of Chile.
We finally reached Valparaíso and stopped on a steep hill to walk down to the Maritime Museum after admiring the view of the bay from an overlook.
The museum was mainly dedicated to Captain Arturo Chacon, a young war hero, who urged his soldiers to fight on for independence no matter what happened to him. Unfortunately, Captain Chacon died 30 minutes after the battle began but his men carried out his wishes and won the battle on May 21, 1879.
Included in the museum’s courtyard was the cage used to rescue trapped miners from a collapsed tunnel where they had spent 69 days underground. This amazing event occurred in October of 2010 and captivated the world. The San Jose gold and copper mine sustained a collapse on August 5, 2010, burying miners 2300 feet underground. All 33 miners were rescued using this contraption. What an amazing feat! In the same courtyard stood a large wooden masthead of a condor, the symbol of Chile.
Back on the bus and down to Sotomayer Square where we learned about the various government buildings and the public sport of tax evasion. There seemed to be street vendors everywhere we went, especially concentrated in public squares. Oliver explained the vendors were able to make a living and not pay any taxes. Street vendors are responsible for 30% of the economy!
Our final stop was for lunch at Restaurant Cerro Alegra. The bus parked on an incline and this time we walked up the street that seemed to be at a 45-degree incline! San Francisco looks like rolling farm land compared to this city!
We reached a funicular that took us, 8 at a time, up to the next street. It reminded us of our stay in Lisbon, Portugal with its steep streets and outdoor elevators.
We climbed a few more stairs and into the restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of seared tuna, twice baked potatoes with a fresh goat cheese, olive and lettuce salad. All accompanied by a glass of wine. Mary Margaret had the Misiones de Rengo Camenere and Tom had the aromatic Sauvignon Blanc, both from the Casablanca Valley.
It was a perfect end to the day. We learned so much about the history of this area, from the Vapuchies, a pre-Colombian tribe, to the growth of Valparaíso from the pre-Panama Canal era to today’s struggle with politics and the economy. We rode back to the Port of San Antonio and boarded the Oosterdam, looking forward to a sea day before reaching our next adventure.