San José de Maipo

By the 9th of January we were finally ready to start our roadtrip. Our first aim was to spend a few days exploring outside Santiago. We initially set off in the direction of Termas Valle de Colina, a campsite with hot springs. Unfortunately we were stopped by the Chilean police at San Gabriel who had closed the road due to a landslide.

Feeling deflated, we turned around and pulled into a nearby tiny empty village to look up our map. A friendly local Fran pulled up beside us on her quad with her little daughter and asked if we were lost. After we explained the situation, she kindly invited us to explore her family fundo which turned out to be a massive walnut farm. After a picturesque lunch by the river in the fundo, we visited closeby town San Jose de Maipo and Casa chocolate in San Antonio, an artisan chocolate shop set in a Hansel and Gretel like house. That evening we stayed at our first campsite Los Nogales de Roan Jase which had a astronomy observatory. Unfortunately, we learnt that the moon would be too bright to have a good starry night view. The campsite owners had two friendly mischievous dogs who loved to steal food out of our neighbours Dave and Gail's tent.

The next day we headed to the coast, west of Santiago via Pompaire, a touristy pottery village. We passed through a number of seaside towns before finding a wild camping spot near El Quisco which provided us with an amazing sunset over the ocean.

On our third day we continued up the coast towards Valparaiso, stopping off at Quintay a coastal village with beautiful beach.

That night we decided it safer to stay at nearby Laguna Verde as we had heard reports of car theft and crime in Valparaiso. In the morning we got the local bus in to Valparaiso which was an adventure in itself and completed a walking tour of the street art with our guide Sebastian before heading back to Santiago for the night.

Recommendations:
Hot springs at Termas Valle de Colina- although we didn't get there this time
Quintay Beach
Enjoy the street art in UNESCO town Valparaiso but be aware of safety

09/01- 12/01Read more