Ode to Odfjell

Having in arrived in Chile, it is immediately obvious that the country is very very different to Bolivia. Driving down the motorways flanked by detached houses in an air conditioned taxi (with seat belts!), you'd be forgiven for mistaking Santiago for somewhere in the USA.

The closest supermarket is basically a Walmart, Uber is very active here and the city has its own fully developed metro service. Stepping off the plane is almost stepping into another world. We were warned about culture shock prior to arriving in Bolivia, but we hadn't quite anticipated having it the other way around.

After a painless 40 minute taxi ride from the airport, we made our way to the vineyard and winery that will be our home for the next 4 weeks. The Odfjell Vineyard in the Maipo Valley is an 85 hectare farm, complete with state of the art underground gravity flow production facility and a host of beautiful Norwegian fjord horses (which they breed meaning adorable foals!).

The vineyard was founded and continues to be run by a family of Norwegian armadors (ship owners) - hence the fjord horses - and is a stunningly beautiful place to be. We are lucky enough to be staying directly on the estate in an apartment and have been encouraged to walk and explore the extensive grounds. Something tells us we're going to have a very lovely time in Chile...

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