We headed west out of Santiago toward Valparaiso, took a left and landed in the coastal San Antonio Valley the first night. A wine lodge in a colonial-era farm house with three-foot thick walls and a private chef was the first of several unique lodging and dining experiences this trip.

The next week was spent visiting wineries, large and small, conventional, organic and bio-dynamic, in a number of Chile's wine producing valleys. So much to taste - so little time!

Read about our trip to Chile at our new affiliate site, LatinWineries.com.

After a spectacular scenic drive through the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza I approached a dirt track. Veering off the highway I drove past expansive vineyards and followed a small creek lined by willow trees. A scene reminiscent of a backdrop from the childhood classic, The Wind in the Willows. Several minutes later I arrived at the majestic entrance to a property, just over 3 years old, named Cavas Wine Lodge.
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Is Latin America Safe?

LatinTravel.com's editor and publisher, Jim Woodman, examines the changing attitudes of today's travelers and concludes that Mark Twain best summed it up a century ago -- "Twenty years from now you'll be disappointed by the things you didn't do rather than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, fly away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover!"
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