Five years ago when we called at San Antonio we took the tour to Santiago, Chile’s Capital. The tour was not exactly what we needed, and I didn’t want to repeat it. (You can read my old blog post about it here.) We had a choice. We could take a cab to Santiago (public transport would not have gotten us back to the ship at it’s scheduled departure) or we could take a wine and ranch tour to the Casablanca Valley. As it turned out we would have had plenty of time for Santiago because our departure was delayed 5 hours, but the choice we made was the right choice for us.

The Casablanca valley is known for growing grapes and solar farms. Most electricity generated in Chile is hydro, given the Andes mountains, but solar is a good mix with hydro. When the sun isn’t shining hydro kicks in, when the sun is shining you can fill up those dams.

After the winery (see link here) we went to a ranch and everyone was immediately taken by one of the riders, a little girl named Eli (short, I suppose, for Elizabeth) who was riding with the cowboys. She was the Sweetheart of the Rodeo!

We got to watch a dance between a man and a woman. When that was done the woman did the same dance with a horse, ridden by a man. The horse really knew his steps well.

We had a demonstration of riding tricks, quick turns and synchronized riding. Instead of the barbeque and corn on the cob we got empanadas with Pisco sours while watching from the stands.

After that they gave us lunch! It was tender and delicious brisket, (barbeque after all) salad, fruit and the same wine we tasted earlier. Right choice.