The Land of the Pisco Sour -- No offense Peruvians ;-)

Peruvian food is fairly common in Chile. The Lomo Saltado (loin strips, stir fried) was incredible.

I rode to the Pisco Valley (Pisco Elqui) where they grow the fruits and make various cocktails (Pisco sour). I tried the traditional Pisco Sour.

In addition, I tried Albahaca Sour (green) and Copao Sour (brownish). They were pretty incredible!

I also tried Cerdo (pork). Rice was served with most meals.

Chilean people eat a lot of bread. I hear an average person eats around 10 pieces of this bread in a day. It was served during breakfast and lunch quite widely.

In street food, I tried Empanadas and Sopaipillas (Pumpkin discs). They are widely available throughout the streets of Santiago. Were pretty delicious too!

I did have to open my traveler's pocket dictionary while looking at the menu. Other than a couple of occasions, where the restaurant had an English menu, I was struggling on ordering the right dish. It took me a while at a Deli to pay for coffee. The lady wanted me to write my license ID Number on the receipt and I had no clue what she was referring to for several minutes.

Other than the Pisco, I tried a lot of Chilean wine. and this Chilean Beer (Cristal)! Lastly, when I saw this shopping cart stall selling meat, I realized "Jugaad" was a Chilean concept as well and not just Indian ;-)

El Yeso - Andes!

Chile - The Dirt Ride!

Chile offers stunning views of the Pacific while riding. Reminded me of the Pacific Coast Highway in California.

I decided to take remote, dirt roads along the Andes Mountains. My GPS didn't work due to poor signals in those areas, and asking directions to the locals -- given my Spanish skills -- was a futile effort. I relied mostly on printed maps and the Andes Mountains that run North-South!

30% of my ride was dirt roads. Remote land, unknown language and beautiful nature. Couldn't have asked for a better adventure.

I visited the Space Observatory in Combarbala. Chile is one of the driest and darkest places on the planet; home to many space observatories.

Since it was a Monday night when I visited (that too during winter), I was the only one and hence ended up getting a private tour. I was happy that they didn't cancel the tour as it was just me. I was told by the guide that I was the first Indian visiting the Observatory. Feels nice, such things! I could see 2 arms of the Milky Way with naked eyes along with inter-galaxy nebula (Clouds of dust). The sheer number of stars, the darkness -- something I had never experienced before. Through the telescopes, I got to see Saturn and its rings quite distinctly. Not just that, Saturn's largest moon Titan was clearly visible as well!

When you ride motorcycles, sometimes bad things can happen. On a remote dirt patch of Ruta Antakari (Ruta means route), I locked my rear wheel and had a fall. I wasn't hurt at all -- thanks to my gear -- but the bike didn't start right away. Since it was a
downslope, I went a few kms with the engine shut off. Finally, I was able to start the bike somehow. As they say, atheist until the airplane starts falling :) I had no signal on my phone, the last vehicle I had seen was around 3 hrs ago and I was around 15-20 kms based on my rudimentary map estimate from the nearest town. In the middle of nowhere near the Andes Mountains -- alone!. Well, I survived

As it was winter in Chile, the mornings were cold and foggy. But I loved every bit of it. It was around 5 deg C and after an hour or so, the cold got to me :)

On the last leg of my ride, I took the Pan American Highway (The longest road in the world stretching from North America to South covering approx. 30000 kms). I rode around 500 kms on it from La Serena. The views of the Pacific on most sections are simply awesome! Jake Silverstein wrote in 2006 - "a system so vast, so incomplete, and so incomprehensible it is not so much a road as it is the idea of Pan-Americanism itself"!

Valparaiso - UNESCO World Heritage Site

A visit to Valpraiso isn't complete without seeing Pablo Neruda's House. The Nobel Prize winning Chilean Poet! The house tour is a wonderful experience. In the war, his house was looted; however they have managed to get back a few of his belongings and put together a beautiful museum with a tour. A must visit! His love or art is evident from the things he collected throughout his life. And to top it, the view of Valparaiso from his bedroom is a cherry on the cake!

The streets of Valparaiso are full of Graffiti art. I spent the rest of the day walking, taking pictures in the street. I did get an impression that the city isn't that safe as it started to get dark. But the beautiful paintings on the wall, the multi-colored homes of Valparaiso, is something that will always remain with the tourist.

This one was my favorite! ------>

Solo Motorcyce Ride in Chile

I rented a Kawasaki KLR 650 from Santiago and decided to ride to the coastal city of Vina del Mar.

Chile's infrastructure is pretty top notch. The tunnels, highways are marked with distance markers. In my entire trip of just under 1500 kms, I did not find a single pot hole :) The Toll booths have vendors selling stuff (similar to India) In addition, the country is extremely clean as Tourism is one of the top 5 industries in Chile!