A day trip with CIEE

I want to share with you the day trip we had with our Liberal Arts students to learn a bit more about Chilean history, culture and costumes in other regions of the country. We got the opportunity of getting to know a small part of the Aconcagua Valley, home of the shrine of our own Chilean Saint, learn about its historic importance and the touristic attractions of this beautiful and fertile valley. 

We started our day in the Shrine of Saint Teresa of the Andes. Here we learned a little bit about the life of this Chilean blessed young woman, who had the strongest faith, was so kind and devoted that when she decided to join the Convent of the Carmelites Nuns, the other inhabitants of the cloister immediately noticed something special about the new young member of their community. After a short visit to the Saint’s tomb and a moment of contemplation, we moved to the next stop of our trip. 

We entered the small town of Putaendo around 11 a.m. We were welcomed by the colonial architecture that characterize it, and met with a local guide that taught us about the historical importance of this town and the region, which was the entry point for the Liberation Army led by José de San Martín during the Independence War, and Putaendo was the first free town of Chile, and you can find historical landmarks, like the tree where the general tied up his horse upon arrival and other monuments scattered all around the region commemorating different battles that took place in the area. We took a relaxed stroll around and stopped by the Carts Cemetery and the Sculpture Park. From here we headed out to “Donde mi Compadre” a typical Chilean food restaurant. They were waiting for us and treated us to a lot of delicious local food.  

After our delightful lunch, we ran to the next activity in our schedule—a fantastic tour through the Sanchez de Loria Winery. We got the opportunity to visit the vineyards, the machines room, the colonial hall and the wine cellar. We had a tasting of the reserve wines of the vineyard and visited the small shop on our way out. We hopped onto the bus and returned to Santiago city.