Off to Santiago, Chile!!! First time with the family!!! After all those flights every week, what better way to relax than get on a 9 hour flight 🙂

Went for a walk in Santiago in one of the most beautiful rose gardens. After that, to prove which country they come from, the three girls made a beeline for the big mall. To remove any remaining doubts, they bought three humongous ice creams! The Spanish exchange with the lady at the front was hilarious. I don’t think that was the size of ice cream they meant to order 🙂 — with Sharmila Roy at Hotel Santiago Marriott.

View from the room – mountains, highrises and a helipad, to boot!

Sharmila shopping for utensils made by local people from copper from local mountains by the highway to the Andes!!

6000 ft. Ice cold lake surrounded by steep mountains. The hot tub to the rescue!!!

One snake of a road!!! Taken from curve #17. We went upto #29!!

Dinner in the patio in the mountains at a close friend’s house. Sharmila, thoroughly impressed, gave her verdict – “We need a new dining table for outside” 🙂

Finally Nikita found a place in Chile where she liked the food – McDonalds!!! (highway to Valparaiso)

The girls in Llama land. For my Bengali friends – “Niki aar Tasha ei llama takey eto dolai-malai korlo je otar naam diyechhi – ‘Dolai Llama'” 🙂

First glimpse of Vina del Mar. I already like two parts – Vina and Mar 🙂

Ceviche, empanada and pisco!!! Of course a lot of sunlight! In the distance is Valparaiso.

Roadside shops at the port in Valparaiso. Nothing spectacular till you notice the cat basking in the sun (almost at the top)

Incandescent effect of the sun dropping behind the building…

As the subject line says, “PENGUINS”!!!

A wonderful bird it is, a pelican
Its beak can hold more than its belican
It takes in its beak
Its food for the week
I’ll be darned if I know how the helican 🙂 (Ogden Nash)

Awesome lunch. Sharmila was so impressed with the spicy sauce that she not only got a bottle of the sauce from the waiter, she also got him to write down the recipe! — withSharmila Roy at El Chiringuito.

Seeing a family of five (grandparents, parents and a baby) taking turns to take picture, I ask in my broken Spanish if I could take a picture of all of them with their camera. Helpingly, they asked if I was more comfortable with English! Turns out they are from Dallas! Right next to where we lived!!! One more round of pisco all around then! 🙂

4 mile run in Vina Del Mar. Earned my trip to the wineries tomorrow!! — at Sheraton Miramar Hotel & Convention Center.

This one comes as a protest photo from Niki and me. At the dinner table, all Tasha and Sharmila are doing is checking Facebook. We agree, there is an irony about protesting in FB 🙂

Shopping in the pottery capital of Chile!

Eating lunch – Indian “dhaba”-style in Pomaire, Chile!!!

… and just like in Indian dhaba, there is the street dog and the owner with the stick trying to shoo it away…

10K run. Vina del Mar to Renaca beach and back… For whatever reason, here everybody runs in the evening. I saw only a couple of runners thus morning. I had to dodge ten times as many street dogs. The street dogs looked well fed and therefore unlike the Indian variety, completely ignored me!!

There is something weird about listening to NFL in Espanol. At least they are showing the Cowboys game live here in Vina.

Sharmila sipping Pinot off her glass. Me taking a shot of that off another glass (bar window) — with Sharmila Roy atTierra de Fuego.

Back to the valley of Casablanca. Wine, chocolate, mountains, valley for us. Alpaca, peacocks and playing in the lawn for the kids… — with Sharmila Roy at Viña Emiliana.

Back in a plane! Goodbye Chile. For now, I guess. Sharmila loves the country so much, she wants to move here. She has even fixed the small town where she wants to move.
I will wait for her to master her Spanish till she can order right size ice cream 🙂 — with Sharmila Roy.

Family vacation in chile.
The kids, Sharmila and I went to Chile and spent over a week there. We had a great time in Santiago, the valley of Casablanca, Vina del Mar, Valparaiso, Portillo, Zapaillar, Pomaire and such other beautiful places. Juan Catalan was the guide and chauffer and he was the big difference why we enjoyed it so much this time!!!