Added: 09/13/2005 |
Vacation in Chile - falling in love at fist sightHave you ever wondered where the name of Chile comes from? If you had a chance to see a panorama of the country, you would not need a translation. The first thing that would leap to the eye is the snow-covered peaks of the mountains and that is why the name is given to the country. The high Andes mountain range forms the natural border between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.
However, it would be a mistake to draw a hasty conclusion and think that there are few places on the narrow stripe of the land for anything else but mountains and snow. From the salty-desert top to the glacier-crowded bottom, Chile is an impressive reminder of the nature's beauty and power. This narrow trickle of a country is jammed with enough geysers, mountains, beaches, forests and volcanoes to keep adventure nuts slavering for a lifetime.
The capital of Chile is Santiago; it is situated on the Mapocho River in the central part of the country. The Spanish conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia, established Santiago in 1541, in an area, inhabited by the Picunche Indians. Looking at the map of the country, you might get an impression that there is a lot of ocean in Chile. It is true and false at the same time. How can that be? On the one hand, you may find a lot of beaches along the lengthy coastline in Chile. However, on the other hand, the country is not as thin as most think. For instance, there are absolutely no beaches in Santiago, though, the capital city has much offer to a visitor: the snow-capped Andes Mountains visible to the east; the 16th century cathedral, the Presidential Palace, still looking much as it did in the late colonial times, the National Historical Museum, which houses collections from the pre-Columbian and colonial periods, the Art of the American Peoples Museum with a collection of Chilean folk art......
On the continental part of the country there are several South Pacific islands belonging to Chile, including the Easter Island. It lies about 3,700 km west of the Chilean coast and owes its name to the fact that the Dutch explorer, Jakob Roggeveen, landed here on the Easter Day in 1722. What distinguishes the island among the others in Chile is its carved statues of the uncertain origin. They are considered to have some religious meaning; what is more, there is also evidence that the islanders possessed an early form of writing by carving pictures on wooden tablets. This is not the only mystery in Chile...
Chile is a country famous for its wine, which will satisfy the taste even of the choosiest wine-lover. The Chilean wine-growing dates from the 16th century, though Chile acquired its status of a wine exporter with its relatively inexpensive wines offering a fresh, fruity, richly flavored taste only in the last decade.
Chile, a country with a spectacular Pacific coastline and Andean highlands, is a place that draws travelers from all over the world, and not accidentally, since it is hard to resist its natural charm and to refuse to try its opportunities for adventures and sport.
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