www.everythingchile.com

Welcome to Chile - A dramatic landscape, a complex culture, a long and interesting history. Enjoy it, Explore it.

Chile will provide you a wealth of memories and experiences. It has an intoxicating way about it. Chilean families are very close and tight knit, invited to share a bbq or dinner with them will be a warm and memorable time. You will find most Chileans you meet will show a brief and intense interest in where your from and why your in Chile and then go on about their day.

Don't expect great customer service in Chile as you travel around. It is a skill managers and business owners are yet to learn and pass on to their staff. The problem seems to be that the owners don't want their staff too skilled in case they either want more money or they simply move on to a better job. This in turn leaves staff with no motivation to attend to customers. Government and legal offices are even worse. But what the Country lacks in basic good customer service it makes up for in other ways, you quickly learn to turn a blind eye and enjoy Chile for the good.

Local food is generally tasty but basic. You can enjoy some very rustic style meals including, wild rabbit, goat and your typical meats. Various legume dishes and of course the traditional Humitas (corn wrapped in husks) best served with their juicy local tomatoes. Pastel de Choclo (another corn dish that includes chicken and beef and often sultanas) has a sweat and savory flavour and definitely worth a try.

The Bus services on long trips are generally excellent with comfortable seats, from upright to beds depending on your budget, movies and surprisingly friendly customer service. The more local buses used around town and on shorter trips are crowded, small seats and jam packed with people. Cheap and efficient not comfortable.

Taxis for short trips are also quick and inexpensive. The drivers tend to be somewhat aggressive so buckle up and hang on. Collectivos look almost identical to the taxis but have a sign on top indicating their designated stops. These rides are a fixed fair and a shared ride, another great way to get around once you get the hang of it.

The costs of food vary dramatically. You can get a good home cooked style meal called Colacion from around 1500 pesos right through to restaurant meals which will set you back around 6000 pesos per course. The more upmarket restaurants do tend to train their staff...look for white linen table cloths and you should get reasonable service...Until it comes time to pay!..then you generally have to go hunting for your waiter and ask them to bring the bill. The cheaper Colacion houses if owner run will also be friendly and hospitable.

The Chilean meat pie (empanadas) are a great stop gap if your in a hurry and sell from around 399 to 550 pesos. Don't expect Chilean food to be hot and spicy..its not, they are more a meat and mash kind of country. They do however put a small dish filled with a hot chili dip that you can add to your food or spread on the bread rolls they supply if you need some heat.