“Minimize possessions, pack light and travel!”
We hiked the Embalse el Yeso (Reservoir El Yeso) where there is a dam that creates a man-made lake supplying electricity and fresh water to Santiago. 2 bus loads of people went with our group of about 80 people.
More images and short videos below the map.
The mountainous Yerba Loca park is Located about an hour from Downtown Santiago and provides expansive hiking trails to enjoy.
Information about location and hours can be found at:
The brilliantly crafted “Casa Botha” is located in Casablanca, Chile and is a recycled hodgepodge swooning with an artistic rendition of life’s weathered chapters. Each individually repurposed piece is aged like fine wine and with the character of imperfection. However, all of the pieces were organized immaculately together in a warm inviting home. The recycled house boasts a rustic and brilliantly crafted disorder, that resembles an antique scavenger hunt, combined with a dry land version of an engineers pirate ship.
“Casa Botha” in Casablanca, Chile is an amazing jigsaw puzzle of recycled woodwork, doors, tile and windows beautifully crafted together. We found the house and construction absolutely amazing! We were originally drawn to the character of the house and its location residing in a secluded area. We stumbled across this diamond in the rough, while researching places so we could escape the wrath of the big city.
We were extremely happy with our AirBnB choice and made some great new friends with the owner Dave and the host Jarod. Dave is an amazing cook and has a wealth of worldly knowledge and experiences to share. Jarod who travels all over as well was kind and gave us a ride from the bus stop. The house is walking distance to a few wineries, so we cheerfully took advantage of the close proximity.
I highly suggest a tranquil night or two in “Casa Botha” and I personally look forward to my next visit.
On January 28th, we had an amazing time at the Corona Sunsets Festival in Punta Piedra, Concon, Chile. The festival was on the beach a few hours from Santiago just north of of the beautiful city of Vina del Mar. In attendance was somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people. The structures around the festival were made from recycled wooden pallets and was accented with decorations that gave it a tropical design. The structures included a tower that overlooked the festival and stadium style seating lounge with giant pillows. Two other long lounge spaces complete with bars spread out on both sides of the stage. The sound was amazing featuring Tropical House Music and the light show and fireworks at the end made the entire experience spectacular.
Check out the video of the final set with fireworks. I had to cut the video a little short cause my feet felt like dancing. I also included 3 panoramic pictures of the festival but you will have to scroll to the bottom.
The Corona Sunsets Festival had staff that was inviting and friendly, several staff members were dedicated to greeting and explaining the different event areas. Some staff were placing metallic tattoos on the attendees. While other staff kept the grounds amazingly clean including the real bathrooms on semi trucks. I have never scene such a well organized and professional event.
The ticket price was only 34,000 pesos which is about $50 USD. The entrance included 2 Free beers a Cocktail and a Meal!! Great bargain!
Round trip Bus tickets from Central Santiago to Vina del Mar was only $24
One night in a room with a 5 min walk to the beach on AirBNB $45. Our host Danilo was kind enough to pick us up at the bus station in Vina del Mar and even gave us a ride to and from the event. He even took us out for drinks and dancing after the festival. Danilo’s AirBnB rental can be found here.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11188208
The Corona Sunsets Festival travels all over the world so check out the link below to see if it will be performing in a place that you would like to travel.
Piscina Antilen is a pool located in one of the central park systems (Parquemet) of downtown Santiago, Chile. Piscina Antilen is located on top of a mountain that has a 360 degree panoramic view of Santiago. The cost to get in is 7,000 pesos or about $10 U.S. with todays exchange rate. The pool is warm and clean and there are plenty of areas to sit and relax in the shade or layout in the sun and have a picnic. In the center of Piscina Antilen is a rock formation with a staircase that takes you up to the summit where the Chilean flag flies high. At the top you will enjoy spectacular views of the entire pool and the City of Santiago. The hot months here begin in December and run through March.
