Learn Spanish in Chile

In a forgotten Indian dialect, the word Chile means “there where the earth ends”. A good summary for a part of the world with a deep-rooted charm. You cannot imagine any other way to travel in this corridor-country than from north to south. From the most arid desert on the planet, to the rocky rooftops where the Condor, a bird with a mythical aura, sits. You can get there by bus… on steep mountain roads. You can cross the cities, like Valparaiso, the biggest port of the region. Santiago de Chile, the capital that, strangely, moves away from the shore, is inevitably a choice stop. With an architecture where the colonial churches compete, literally side-by-side, with the glass-eyed skyscrapers. The wine bars too, that you can visit to taste the local produce, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Syrah. Winemaking in Chile has made so much progress in the last 15 years or so that the appealing reds rival their European competitors. Crossing through this territory at the end of the earth, where mining machines hunting for rich veins of copper meet with astronomical observatories, you get the impression that you are in a splendid no man’s land. A feeling that is quickly contradicted by the Chilean people, amongst the most welcoming in this region of the world, who receive the traveller as they once received the news-bearer: with care and generosity. But the geological resources and the warm hospitality are not the only riches of the country. With one of the largest fishing industries in the world, Chile overflows with lobsters, anchovies, hake and seafood. Gold from the aquatic depths that further encourages the Chilean odyssey. Return to introduction...