WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

On the cold spring morning of October 4th TotalAdventure arrived in Santiago, Chile on the way to three separate adventures in the 6000 kilometer long nation. After spending the weekend with a boarding school friend, I was joined a pre-Adventure of the Adveneture Travel World Summit in Cajon de Maipo , a beautiful mountain region just west of Santiago. The theme was adventure in the countryside, followed by two days of exploring Chile’s capitol.

Our Adventure Crew. Names and links to companies will soon be listed here.

Our first activity was rafting down the Rio Maipo. The rapids were fast, about Class 3 ,withspring snowmelt from the glacial mountains. The runoff is dark with sediment and doesn’t slow down until summer in December. Company : NatExplora. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR EXCELLENT RAFTING FOOTAGE !

That night we drove up to 2500 meters to observe the Southern Hemispher stars – three times as many as are visible in the Northern Hemisphere. While I was not able to capture photos through the telescope lens – I did see the rings of Saturn for the first time !

The next morning was canyoneering – rappelling down the side of waterfalls .

We drove high into the valleys ,where strong October spring sunshine melted the snow above. Just a few days before the snow levels had reached down to our level.

A panorama shot of the valley.

Though were are at 9000 feet, 2700m the terrain was once part of a seabed.

Evening festivities at the local community center of Maipo.

Like the USA, German heritage is common in Chile.

In a small valley village.

East towards the glaciers.

Our group enjoyed many local festivities and the excellent wine of the region. Soft adventure here.

A view from the room at Cascada de Las Ánimas. Much like a treehouse looking at the surrounding forest and mountains, with decent WiFi.

The very cold pool which apparently warms in summer.

We descended from the mountains to the vineyards.One of the world’s largest producers – Santa Rita.

They have a historic museum with ancient Inca artifacts – Here – a cuy.

Nearly 40 years old !

The hotel features a billiards room.

A chapel.

A gourmand dining room.

A lunch worthy of a Michelin Star.

A palette to Japan.

After lunch , a tasting of the whites. We had Tinto ( Red) with lunch.

We arrived back in the capitol on time for sunset from the top of Latin America’s tallest tower – Sky Costañera – 300 meters – 980feet 82 stories tall. Impressive for a major earthquake zone ! VIIEW THE VIDEO AT THE TOP !

From the 82nd Floor of Sky Costañera.

La Moneda – The Presidential Palace.

Many Cathedrals dominate this Catholic City.

On Sunday, October 12, predawn transport to the airport, thistime the domestic side, for our 4000 km 4 hour flight to Puerto Natales for the Adventure Travel World Summit.