In Chile…

Coming to Chile
The Government of Chile requires foreigners to pay a reciprocal entrance fee on entering Chile. This fee reflects your home country’s entrance fee for Chileans. For those coming from the USA, this is $100, from the UK $132. This fee is paid only once for the length of your passport.

January is midsummer in Chile. In Central Chile, where the meetings will be held, it will be sunny, dry and hot. Chile offers visitors a richer array of landscapes than Baja California, California, Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia put together! Chile contains an impressive environmental gradient including the stunning Atacama Desert in the north all the way to archipelagos, volcanoes fjords and glaciers towards the south. And then, you can also take a four hours jet to Easter Island. Actually, Chile has daily plane flights to all of them!

Chile is the safest and most European-style countries in Latin America and it has a sense of pride about these qualities. However, Chile is not as inexpensive as other countries in South America.

Viña del Mar
Viña (pronounced veen-ya), as it is abbreviated by the locals, in January is High Season and the beaches are full of beautiful Latin Americans enjoying their vacations to the fullest.  This city is the “Côte d’Azur” of Latin America and restaurants, pubs and entertainment are waiting day and night tourists at this time of year. 

Viña abuts the port of Valparaíso, founded in about 1537 during Spanish colonization. This is where C. Darwin began his exploration that took him all the way to Mendoza in Argentina, on the other side of the mighty Andes. Pablo Neruda built one of his homes in Valparaíso which as become a national museum. For ICNARA guests day trips to his house (La Sebastiana) will be available.

The Chilean beaches are clean and exceptionally beautiful. The Humboldt Current follows the coastline (much like to California current does) and brings cold waters and rich fisheries to its coasts.

Language
Spanish is the native language spoken throughout Chile. People, especially in Viña and Valparaíso frequently understand basic English phrases, but you should not expect to be understood outside of the conference area.

Currency, exchange and credit cards
Chilean pesos are accepted currency, but be careful as Chileans use the $ symbol is used to denote Chilean pesos. This can be confusing to travelers. We suggest that you exchange some of your home currency into Chilean pesos before you arrive, or do so at the SCL Airport. (Rate is better at exchange houses or at hotels!)

Note that the neither the US dollars, English Pounds nor Euros are universally accepted in Chile. We plan to post a list of places near the conference center that will give you fair exchange rates in Viña.

When paying by credit card, you may be required to present your passport when making the purchase. You should also call your credit card company regarding their policies, as these purchases may be determined to be internal transfers of funds and subject to additional fees.

Getting Around
The Sheraton and Hotel Del Mar are connected by a short beachfront walk (15 minutes) on an elegant walkway that passes by the President of Chile’s summer home. It is not recommended that you rely on taxi cabs to get around Viña during this time as you will often find yourself in completely gridlocked traffic.

What to Wear in Viña
Sunscreen +30 is essential. Be prepared for sunny summer weather, however, Chileans have a sense of propriety than you might not expect in Latin America.

Food and Wine (Gastronomía)
Chile enjoys a Mediterranean climate, however, you should not expect a food as you may have enjoyed in Italy or Greece. English and German influences have left their marks and the native dishes tend to be hearty and simply prepared.

Tipping (Propina)
Chile modest tips are an expectation, but are offered as a genuine appreciation for good or exceptional service. (For instance, taxi drivers in Santiago do not expect to be tipped.) In restaurants, ten to fifteen percent is considered to be the standard. Note also that your hotel room charge at the Sheraton includes porter gratuity when it was negotiated.

Wine Tours Available
No one is prepared the unique viniculture experiences available of the valley just inland from Viña in Central Chile, which is best described as “California – as it was 40 years ago.” Chile’s acclaimed vineyards are among the world’s top producers of excellent wine. If you are interested in learning about the traditions and innovations that characterize the Chilean wine industry, we can organize a journey through the wine country of Casablanca, Cachapoal, Maipo, Colchagua, and San Antonio valleys. This is about a 2 day tour (one night + 2 days). Contact info@icnara.org if you are interested as we need a minimum participants to make this happen.

Planning Travel Within Chile
http://www.adsmundo.com/tours/web_cmc_esp/home_programas.htm

Recommended Books
- Lonely Planet Guide to Chile and Easter Island
- The Cloud Forest
- A Chronicle to the South American Wilderness by Peter Matthiessen
- The Ole Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux
- Travels in a Thin Country by Sarah Wheeler