Santiago is a great city and Chile a surprising country!

People are friendly and VERY polite, people on the streets are well dressed, city is prosperous, cars and motorbikes all look new (it is a developed country not a less developed one), there are parks perfectly manicured (but I admit I was in an upscale neighbourhood), there is public art, the city is not crowded even though it has 6 million people, it has good sophisticated food (interesting salads, lots of fish and meat, and vegetables are great but not considered as important as the protein), sidewalk cafes, it has fabulous wines, a vast subway and bus system, streets are in great shape and view of mountains like Vancouver.

It is probably the most economically successful country in South America. They sometimes import engineering talent from Philippines. Let’s hope minerals prices stay up, for the sake of the economy of both Chile and Canada.

Chile is the longest country in the world. Measured from North to South, it goes from the equivalent of Cancun to Hudson Bay. Santiago is at the equivalent of South Carolina. Right now it is spring, beautifully warm and dry. Despite the dry weather, all plants are gorgeously green.

Given my interest in food, I have lots of photos of restaurant tables – beef, fish, paella, sandwiches, and even the occasional bottle of wine.

If our Spanish was (a lot!) better, I would insist that Sue and I move here!

Santiago, Chile