Mar 17 - Santiago to the Atacama Desert

Santiago to Atacama 17 March 2017

We left Matetic in this morning in the cloud that usually prevails in this valley for our flight from Santiago to Calama airport which is the gateway to the Atacama Desert. 

Goodbye to Matetic and a little haven of peace

As usual, miles and miles have to be covered to get anywhere

2 Hour flight all the way up the Andes

This flight takes us over the Andes at a very low level and we can see all the volcano peaks clearly from the window. Mandy was checking the pilot's height to make sure we had enough clearance !! 

Calamar itself is not our ultimate destination but the reason that we noted a lot of flights to Calamar from Santiago – was Copper.  

Calamar is a town that is created for  copper workers of the largest open cast copper mine in the world and as usual, not without regular environmental accidents.

We transferred over to our hotel which is in San Pedro de Atacama. The route takes us through Dinosaur valley and the end of Moon valley on a road that was used by Jaguar Cars for a TV advert.

Dinosaur Valley - a small taste of what was to come

The altitude now starts to kick in from here on, San Pedro de Atacama is at 2600m so we started feeling the effects slightly (heady) but once checked in we headed off for sunset view from Moon Valley on the edge of the salt flats. 

The hotel drivers provided drinks and canapes in front of a lake with a larger than life sunset and our first views of the many volcanoes (active and inactive) that were to dominate our stay here.

Back to the hotel for dinner, minimal alcohol on this leg as it accentuates the effects of altitude sickness and we have to stay really hydrated all the time here. 

The UV is off the scale and dehydration is a major cause of problems for visitors and we will have another week or so at altitudes gradually moving towards 5000m plus, so everyone is being careful.

Fireside setting outside in the hotel - nice and restful

16th March - Matetic Vinyard (outside Valparaiso)

Matetic Vinyard– 16 March 2017

We left Valparaiso this morning but only for a short transfer to half way between Valparaiso and Santiago. We drove through the Casablanca Valley which is where the majority of the Chilean white wine production is from due to the damp and cool environment, near the sea and surrounded by mountains giving it plenty of mist & rain which is apparent good for great wines.

Our destination was the Matetic Vineyard on the border between the Casablanca Valley and the San Antonio valley both major wine areas. The area produces whites and Pinot Noirs which are less sweet due to the climate and the coastal influence and we were heading for a vineyard which has Casonas for a one night stay.

Our weather luck was holding as we arrived in brilliant sunshine, with a gentle breeze, just perfect. This weather was unusual for this wine area which should have been damp and misty.

The estate was in a pretty valley and the entrance was lush with palm trees, roses and lavender. The building is an old wine estate and had 9 very pretty rooms round a courtyard filled with plants & flowers. 

Mandy, Paul & Janette headed off for a short trip to the winery for a tour round & a tasting. Again it is main production season here so the winery was very busy and there was lots to see.
Steve having had more than enough of our wine tasting shenanigans headed off to the pool area to enjoy the sunshine and the peace and quiet !! 

This is a completely organic and bio dynamic winery and the tour was really interesting. They explained how they manage pest control and soil supplements without any chemicals & tied to the seasons and wildlife. They use Alpacas to keep weeds down and for fertiliser and the plentiful hawks control the rabbit population & prevent vine damage.

Loads of Syrah

They were in full production, the grapes are all collected by hand in baskets and then sorted to remove any stem and then passed into stainless steel vats for a first pressing & fermentation. From there they are either bottled or aged in oak depending on the wine.
Surprisingly for this area, they had an award winning Syrah. This usually comes from very warm areas and is a wine full of tannin, oak and very sweet & strong.

The Master Wine Maker

The winemaker explained that here they grow the Syrah grapes on the side of the hill to minimise the cool breezes but they then produce a much less sweet and less tannin Syrah.
When we got to tasting, for non Syrah lovers, the Syrah was just fantastic, very different. So good in fact that we had a bottle that evening for dinner !

We had a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc out on the little terrace by the room in the evening sun and then went over to the little glass dining room for a lovely dinner with our special Syrah, just lovely and a very nice way to end our wine odyssey in Chile.

Dinner in the vinyard - just 6 rooms in the hotel

Happiness is.......

Tomorrow our travels continue north to Atacama, the hottest, highest and driest region on earth....fear and trepidation follows....

Sorry for long delays in the blog.  This is due to poor internet in Bolivia but we are trying to catch up...honest!!