  A fine road winding through the hills and wine estates of Casablanca leads to the coast and Valparaiso. We start by the main quay, Muelle Prat, and watch little boats ferrying local tourists while a frieghter comes in to dock and naval ships and a tall ship are moored nearby.
Passing the rather sad Reine Victoria hotel we head for the Ancensor Conception, the oldest of the 15 lifts that take people up the many steep hills.
Cerro Conception is full of brightly painted houses with corrugated iron walls and rooves. Great graffiti makes it even more colourful.
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  After a walk we stop for a pisco sour on the terrace of the hotel Brighton, suspended over the town. A band playing folk tunes in the plaza below provides accompaniment.
Then off to the Cafe Turri for a great lunch. Diane and I enjoy the Chupe de Mariscos - a shellfish stew with bread and parmisan while Vicky loves her calamari a sua tinta. All washed down with some great wine that Diego chooses for us.
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  The drive from Valparaiso to Vina del Mar is reminiscent of the coast from Lisbon to Estoril. Industrial buildings give way to smart sea view apartments and a casino. Clearly a popular resort but no soul. Students tumble for pocket money.
The road through smaller resorts up the coast is more attractive. We then loop back onto route 5, the Transamericana highway, passing rolling pampas and avocado and citrus groves back to Santiago.
Dinner is a big family affair at Raul Correa, Santiago's most popular restaurant.
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  Tuesday 30 December and we are heading south for the vineyards. Our destination is the Colchagua valley around Santa Cruz, 180 km from Santiago.
First stop is the Viu Manent estate where we tour the vineyard in a horse drawn trap and learn about wine production although the guide is hard to understand - "jungle wine" turns out to mean younger wines.
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  After a good lunch in the hotel Santa Cruz we are off to the Montes estate - all Zen and Feng Shui. The barrel store is amazing with piped heavenly music - a shrine to wine.
Click the store below to continue.
or here for Chile menu
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