***This vacation was taken before I started blogging and before I started photos of my meals. It still contains relevant info on sightseeing and dining.***
Santiago, Chile..This city is known for fish and seafood, like most coastal regions. My tour group actually stopped at the popular, huge, indoor fish market called “Mercado Central” which contained many cafes and restaurants serving seafood. It first appeared that it would be impossible to find vegan fare here. I walked through cafe upon cafe, row upon row in the central market and no veggie-friendly fare in sight! FINALLY, I found a small restaurant there which served a few vegetable dishes.

I’m glad that I stumbled upon it, as there were local strolling musicians playing instruments and singing during my lunch there.

The meal they served me consisted of several veggie-friendly side dishes which were indeed tasty and filling. YAY!

In the evening, I ate dinner at one of the city’s vegetarian restaurants “El Huerto”. The meal was wonderful and vegan! The staff does speak some English.

Popular sights to see include a visit to Plaza De Armas,the cathedral, and several beautiful, historic buildings.

We also drove to the top of San Cristobal Hill for a view overlooking the city.

The next leg of the tour was the visit to the southern Patagonia region of the country. Our hotel overnight was in a small town called Puerto Varas.

You could purchase many local crafts and gifts here. Lucky for me, the town had a Govinda’s restaurant, http://www.govinda.cl/spanish/inicio.html. This is the popular Latin America restaurant that serves mainly Indian food. I filled up on vegan soup and veggies. I love this place in every country I’ve eaten there. The town also has two other vegan-friendly/vegetarian restaurants: Epif and Bambu.

In the afternoon, we drove for a short while then arrived at Osorno Volcano(http://www.patagonia-calling.com/patagonia-places/volcano/chile-volcano.htm), near Puerto Montt . We took a chair lift to the top of the volcano. I walked in the volcanic ash right below the snowcapped peak; pretty cool!

Our final destination in Chile was Vicente Perez Rosales National Park http://www.gochile.cl/eng/Guide/ChileNationalParks/VicentePerezRosales/Vicente-Perez-Rosales-1.asp, in the lakes region near Puerto Varas.  Here one will find deep wooded forests, unusual flowers, and beautiful waterfalls.

Next came the infamous “Lake Crossing”. I can’t tell you the countless number of buses, trains, and boats we took to get over to the Argentinian side of Patagonia. However, it was absolutely well worth it! The lake crossing between Chile and Argentina provided us with such stunning views! Words can not describe just how breath-taking the fjords and waterways are to behold!

Next stop: Bariloche, Argentina!

Chile surpassed my every expectation with its wonderful vegan dining options, gorgeous landscapes, and incredible sea views in the Patagonia region!