“Why Chile?”

Happy Travel Tuesday!  This month’s prompt is all about the reasons why you travel, or the reasons why you chose to move somewhere.  So, I thought I’d tell you a bit about Chile, a country often featured on the blog.

When I tell people that I lived in Chile for a year, between 2010-2011, and that I’m moving back there again later this year.  People always ask:  “Why Chile?”  I have one answer for that… Carlos.

Carlos and I met when I was travelling in South America in early 2010.  I went on a five-month backpacking trip around the continent.  And in month three we met in Santiago. So then later that year I then moved back to Chile and stayed for a year.  We’ve lived in the UK together since 2011 and are moving back there in a few months time.  (And also getting married in December!)

However, that’s not to say there aren’t other features of Chile that wouldn’t make you want to move there…. there are lots.  A couple of months ago, Carlos and I wrote down a long, long list of things that were better in the UK and things that were better in Chile, just for fun.  When we counted up our list we realised we had the exact same number for each country… weird.  So, what is to love about Chile?

Climate

Not surprisingly, this was first on our list of things that are great about Chile.  I guess this may have also been prompted by the fact that we wrote the list during the middle of UK winter.  Sure, Chile has a ‘winter’ but it’s not like the winter we have here. It’s over and done with in two months, and that’s guaranteed.  Most of the year is sunny.  I’m talking about Santiago, obviously with Chile being so long there are different climates from north to south.

Hospitality

When people mention the friendliest countries in the world, Chile has to be one! It’s true what they say about latin culture being open armed and welcoming.  I experienced so many moments like that where people went out of their way to make me feel at home, and that’s so important when you are so many miles away from home!

Palta (avocado)

This maybe sounds like a weird one, but palta is a daily staple in Chile.  Every home has a bowl of palta in the kitchen and supermarkets have a huuuuge amount of them.  And they are cheap and just so delicious.  A palta a day keeps the doctor away.  Plus, Carlos’ sister and family have a few palta trees in the garden which means fresh produce, what can be better?!

Nature

Lots of friends have been asking me for Chile travel tips lately as they are planning trips for our wedding.  Where is there to start?  If you like beaches, mountains, deserts, glaciers, greenery… there is a place for you in Chile.  The benefit of Chile being SUCH a long country is that everything is packed into it.  My favourite has to be the beautiful mountains.

Pace of life

Life is much slower in Chile than in the UK.  Time is taken over meals; for a start people always have a proper lunch break rather than eating a sandwich at their desk.  Weekends are often taken over by long, slow family meals and barbecues which stretch well into the evening and are then repeated the next day.  Although, I do find the loose punctuality hard to cope with 😉 

Fresh produce

I love going market shopping and I also love the thought of everything being seasonal.  Carlos used to tell me that the season coming up would be great for artichokes or strawberries or peaches.  Shopping seasonally is lots of fun as you feel you should make the most of the fruits and vegetables while they taste the best.

The most important… my Chilean family.

I am extremely lucky to have a family in Chile too, Carlos’ family have made me feel welcome right from day one 🙂  So important when you live thousands of miles away from your family in London.

So, there you have it!  My answer for “Why Chile?”

Where is somewhere special to you?

Marcella xx

~

The post I am highlighting from last week was written by the lovely Christine over at A Keane Sense of Adventure.  Christine’s post was all about her experience browsing through antiques in Warrenton, Texas.  Accompanied by beautiful, sunny photos.  Go and check it out, if you haven’t already 🙂

Now it’s time for the Travel Tuesday link up with Bonnie from A Compass Rose.

Here’s how it works:

1. Share a post about travel!  From roadtrips to trips abroad and from past travels to dream vacations.  You can write about travel tips and tricks, favorite places to stay or anything in between! Just make it about traveling somewhere!

2.  Grab the lovely button and link back to your lovely hosts:Michelle, Amanda, Caity and I.

3. Linkup goes live! Every Tuesday at 8 am GMT.

4.  Hop around and meet new travel loving bloggers! Link up will be open for a few days, make sure to check back to visit some of the newer travel posts!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…