On Saturday we arrived in Coquimbo, Chile. We had a great tour to the Elqui Valley (pretty much due west from the coast).  Chile is a very long, skinny country, and in about 90 minutes our drive brought us to the foothills of the Andes, very close to the border with Argentina.  

Grapes for pisco alcohol are grown in this area, and we toured a very pretty pisco vineyard and distillery (by the way, both Chile and Peru claim ownership of the famous Pisco Sour drink, which is a delicious, tart treat).   

Along the way to the Elqui Valley we passed some pretty beach towns, and many parks and places named Mistral, for the beloved Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, a school teacher who received the first Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to a Latin-American writer (not the first female winner, but the first winner of either gender).  

Gabriela Mistral was an influence on Pablo Neruda, perhaps Chile’s greatest poet and one of MA’s favorites.  (Having read a lot of Mistral’s and Neruda’s works while studying Spanish, MA was happy about this, and Joe’s ears almost fell off listening to her talk about Neruda’s odes and works, including Poema XX, one of the saddest poems ever written.) 

We visited the Casablanca Valley in Chile on Sunday – this is a beautiful valley between the eastern and western ranges of the Andes.   Although Chile has been producing great wines for many years,  wine-making in this region is only about 25 years old.   It was thought by many that the soil and growing conditions in this area were not suitable for wine production.  

Then along came William Cole, an American who reasoned that the Casablanca Valley and Temeculah Valley in California are approximately equidistant from the equator and share many characteristics.  He started a vineyard in the Casablanca Valley, invested several years of work growing the grapes, and now there are about 25 vineyards in the area, many of which rely on Cole for bottling and other capital-intensive aspects of wine production.  

The drive from Valparaiso port to Casablanca Valley was not long (about 50 km) and brought us from the big, colorful, hilly city through lush green hills, with small towns along the way.   

For a skinny country, a drive from the coast inland brings many changes in terrain and scenery.  We are excited to continue southward for more experiences in Chile (and maybe another Pisco sour).  

Also of note: The Chilean Navy is doing some training exercises in the Valparaiso harbor–right near our ship!

JB and MA