Chile- Providencia

Sometimes, things just work out in a way where you can actively feel the presence of One who lays out a path on your behalf. Avenue de Providencia is the main drag in Santiago that our hotel sits off of by a block, but I find that Providence played a most crucial part in the success of our first day in this graceful capital city.

Jack and I sleep well on buses. And why wouldn't we, when our bus looks like this?

We rolled into town at 7am this morning on our overnight bus, after attaining the best night of sleep we've had during this entire trip. We slept pretty much the entire 10 hours, exhausted after our grueling volcano hike. The bus seats in this sleeping car were like real beds- super cushy, leg rests and backs that extended all the way, blankets and pillows provided... it was like flying first class, but on a bus. We even got drinks before bed, and breakfast with coffee in the morning!

We easily made our way to our cute little boutique hotel, (not a hostel but a real hotel- our splurge for this final leg of our trip). Since we weren't able to check in right away, the concierge stored our luggage for us and invited us to have breakfast in the quaint dining room. Awesome! Fresh rasberry juice!

We changed and washed up a little (still haven't had a shower since the volcano hike!) and walked down the street to the tourist office. We were interested in spending some time in the Chilean wine country, but for something that markets agressively to tourists, it is strangely inaccessible. It's not possible to walk into a winery just for a tasting- you have to call in advance, oftentimes 24 hours ahead of time. Hence, the many expensive bus tours heading out to the Maipo, Colchagua and Casablanca valleys, catering to gringos like us. It justed seemed too costly to be worth it.

As we sat in the tourist office discussing the possibilities with an agent, we noticed that another traveler had sat down at the agent desk next to ours and was also in the process of trying to get himself out to the vineyards. He gave us a friendly smile, and said, "Are you trying to go to wine country today?" We said that we were, and as both of our agents hustled to gather brochures and maps for us, we developed a plan amongst ourselves. As it turns out, Francois, a young South African guy traveling alone in Santiago for 3 days, was in town with just a single mission- to taste as many Chilean wines as possible. We instantly felt comfortable with this happy go lucky traveler who reminded us of a few of our close friends rolled into one cheerful package- (JR, RD)... and decided to rent a car together, and drive down to the Maipo valley for the day.

As a winemaker himself at an established South African winery, Francois had set up an appointment with Vina Chocalan, a winery that his boss had become aquainted with at an international vintner's trade show. Cool! We made a few other arrangements, including appointments at 2 other wineries in the Colchagua valley and 2 hours later, we were on our way.

It was all pretty amazing how well everything worked out. The car we rented was a stick, and though Jack and I don't drive manual, Francois does. The roads and directions we had for the winery were poor, and he definitely needed some help navigating his way out of the city and into the country. (Plus, South Africans drive on he other side of the road.) We got lost about 5 times. Somehow, though we don't speak Spanish, we managed finally to wind our way down the dirt path leading to Vina Chocolan's beautiful and remote facility.

We were met by Julie, the young, French marketing director for the winery, whom Francois had been communicating with over email. Turns out that on this day, they were in the process of their harvest, and even as we approached, we could smell the fermentation, see the workers picking grapes in the fields, and watch the fruit being sorted and de-stemmed in the large machines. Julie introduced us to Sebastian, the French winemaker who was in the barrel room taking measurements. He talked to us about the types of grapes he used in his wines, and spoke particularly passionately about the carmenere, a certain type of vine that was believed to have been killed off by fungus in France, but was then discovered to be living a healthy life here in Chile. Carmenere is now considered to be one of Chile's signature wines.

We were led into the tasting room, a beautiful glass box facing the rolling hills covered with vineyards, and proceeded to taste 5 different wines. It was really magical. Not the usual wine tasting experience where you're shepherded through different tastes with speed and agenda in order to make room for other visitors at the bar. Instead, we had the whole place to ourselves. Julie was so warm and personable as she poured us our generous tastes, it was a little bit like we had been invited to her home for the afternoon. We were also soon joined by Sebastian again, and Aida, the general manager. This is definitely not the kind of attention we normally get at a
tasting room!

Jack, Sebastian, Julie and Francois

Before we knew it, we had been there for over 3 hours, and it was time for us to say goodbye. Jack and Francois each bought a bottle to savor later, and in a flurry of cheek kisses and exchanging of business cards, we headed back to the city. So we only got to hit one winery. It's better this way. It was definitely a luxury to be able to spend as much time there as we did.

Upon arriving back in Santiago, we made plans with Francois to meet up for dinner after an hour or so to enjoy a meal at a wine restaurant that Julie had recommended. We checked into our hotel, and finally! A hot shower! I haven't felt this clean since... ?

Dinner was at Baco, a glittery restaurant off the beaten path, but fairly close to our hotel. On this night, food was secondary. It was all about the wines. Between the 3 of us, we tasted 8 different vintages! The thoughtful sommelier, Eugene, carefully suggested these delicious Chilean wines, and we received a few looks from the other diners around us as glass after glass was delivered to our table by our ecstatic waiter.

It was a fabulous evening of good conversation as well, as we learned more about this cool person that we happened to cross paths with in this brief moment in time. Francois exudes such a joie de vivre, forever laughing, taking things in stride, inquisitive, thoughtful and interesting. He seems like the kind of person that stars will go out of their way to align for, just because of the way he interacts with his world and the people around him. We felt blessed to share this time, and this wine, with him.