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One Stuck Traveler is Living Like Tom Hanks in 'The Terminal'

We feel like this isn’t the first—and probably isn’t the last—time something like this will go down at the airport, but once again we’re looking at a real life story straight out of the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal. It doesn’t sound like there was a cute flight attendant in this example, as apparently Catherine Zeta-Jones was too busy to reprise her role in the real life sorry. Anyway, the latest airport sleepover all took place over the last few months at Santiago Airport in Chile.

It’s been a couple of months since Rodrigo Ben-Azul first arrived at the airport, and it’s all because he can’t get back to Spain. There’s no political conflict back home like in the movie, but his problem is way simpler. He’s run out of money and he’s flat broke. Apparently he’s waiting for family back in Spain to wire some euros his way, but until then he’s been collecting the luggage trolleys hoping to earn a few cents here and there.

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Food Travel / Santiago Travel / Chile Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Hallulla Bread of Chile

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Warning: Celiacs, Atkins Dieters and carb haters look away now!

Hallulla. It's so close to "hallelujah" and coincidentally that's exactly how we feel upon finding the round, flat breads of this name in Chilean grocery stores. Chileans love bread, and there's typically no shortage of fresh baked varieties for the taking. Still our heart goes out to Hallulla (actually pronounced "ah ew yeh") for its satisfying taste and reliability.

Got a couple coins in your pocket and a rumbling stomach? Hallulla is there for you. Got a few paper bills in your wallet? Pick up some ham and cheese slices to complete what is nearly a staple in the Chilean diet.

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Jaunted Awards 2012 / Travel Awards 2012 / The Jauntys / Chile Travel / Santiago Travel / → All Tags

The 2012 Destination of the Year is...

It's that time of the year again, the time when the year just plain ends. Alas, we can't just let 2012 go that easily, especially since travelers spent it both up in the air and up in arms over a crazy range of topics. Needless to say, we're ready for 2013, but first we're taking a brief look back at the best of 2012 with the Jaunted Travel Awards,—or as we fondly refer to them—The Jauntys.

Every year at this time we're forced to look back on our travels to choose one place, just one place, we loved so much that it gets our highest recommendation. Last year, that honor fell to Bangkok, Thailand. For 2012, we're hopping to another continent across the world to declare Santiago, Chile as 2012's Destination of the Year.

Why? Well, there's the usual stats we could list, like how it's been ranked the safest city in South America and how it's a hotspot for creative and tech companies expanding their international offices, but it's really as simple as this: the city is freaking awesome and we enjoyed every little bit so much that we went twice in 2012 on our own, spending some weeks there to get a good feel for the place.

And any country that offers helicopter bungee jumping above a volcano...we want to go to there.

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Volunteer Travel / Chile Travel / Patagonia Travel / → All Tags

If Chilean Patagonia is on Your Bucket List, Help Reforest It

Chilean Patagonia, one of the country's Chile's most coveted bucket list destinations, has been greatly impacted by fires and human activity over the past 100 years and more than 7 million acres have already been destroyed.

One of the worst fires in 2011, which damaged 17,000 acres of Torres del Paine National Park, inspired the non-profit Reforestemos Patagonia to begin their reforestation campaign with the goal of planting 1 million trees in Torres del Paine National Park, Laguna San Rafael, and Cerro Castillo National Reserve.

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Sports Travel / Helicopters / Chile Travel / Lists / South America Travel / Wine Travel / Ski Travel / Snowboard Travel / Awesome Stuff / Santiago Travel / → All Tags

Hell Yes, Helicopters! Three Extreme Excursions in Chile

What countries do you think of when it comes to extreme sports? Costa Rica, sure. Switzerland, all right. Australia and New Zealand, definitely. But Chile? CHILE.

Though Chile may be known as the safest country in Latin America, it's not above gassing up a helicopter for some unique adrenaline-addled adventure. Here's the three that figure highest on our bucket list:

· Heli skiing & snowboarding at Valle Nevado
We'll start out easy as almost everyone's heard of heli-skiing, right? If you're experienced, taking a helicopter up to go off-piste means more than just bragging rights; it means stunning Andes views and natural snow conditions. Valle Nevado, being perched on a mountaintop as it is, offers heliski trips that lift off from less than five minutes' walk from the hotels, at a very low cost compared to what you'd pay in Aspen or the Alps.

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Travel Gear / Travel Photography / Kickstarter / Easter Island Travel / Hiking / Chile Travel / → All Tags

Gear Review: The Capture Camera Clip for Hands-Free Travel Photography

If you haven't yet gathered from our plethora of photo galleries here at Jaunted, we are always in the company of at least one camera. While it's worth it to let a DSLR bulk up our luggage for the the slick pictures it produces, we're always looking for something easier than a backpack and more comfortable than a camera strap for toting it along for hikes and more active outdoor activities.

Now I switch to first-person to say that, with an upcoming trip to the nature paradise of Easter Island and lots of volcano climbing ahead, I looked to the Capture Clip from Peak Design, a device that actually found its footing among projects on Kickstarter.

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Wine Travel / Photo Gallery / Chile Travel / Santiago Travel / Drinking Travel / South America Travel / Winery Reviews / → All Tags

Wine Tasting Without Leaving the City, at Santiago's Viña Aquitania

In honor of #winewednesday, and partly because we're really feelin' the Chile lately, today we visit a winery within Santiago's city limits (believe it or not).

Viña Aquitania sits in the Maipo Valley, but is still very much a part of the city even if the presence of the towering Andes in the background suggests you're way out in some nearly untouched swatch of nature. It's not a humongous winery, nor is it teensy-weensy. It's just right for an hour-long visit with a tour and tasting, and even accessible via public transportation (subway to a bus).

We headed out here with Santiago Adventures for a super-brief taste of what they typically offer in full-day form; that is, entire excursions to visit multiple wineries plus activities, for the wine-serious. It is spring in Chile just now, so the vines weren't anything near their greenest, but the tours continue.

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Photo Gallery / Street Art Travel / Art Travel / Santiago Travel / Chile Travel / → All Tags

The Three Best Neighborhoods in Santiago for Scoping Out Street Art

We've said it before and now we've just got to say it again: Santiago, Chile is a revelation for fans of street art. The city is just...spectacular. You've got to see it.

Santiago is divided up into quarters and, within them, neighborhoods (barrios). Here we're focusing on these barrios because, if you go to Santiago and ask a local to point you to one of the quarters, then you're going to be met with a quizzical look for such a broad question; it's a bit like asking how to get to lower Manhattan, when you should specify Tribeca.

· Barrio Bellavista: Where you'll find us! Bellavista is within the Providencia quarter, but sat right at the bottom of the Cerro San Cristobal mountain. From the Mapocho River, walk straight up the street Pio Nono to pass a slew of outdoor restaurants and an excellent churros truck, plus the outdoor Patio Bellavista mall-like complex.

It's a bohemian quarter thanks to the presence of the large Universidad San Sebastian and the University of Chile Law School. Pio Nono ends at the hill, with the city's Zoo and a funicular railway and hiking path, but turning off onto any street (Dardignac is especially good) will yield tons of street art.

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Videos / Easter Island Travel / Chile Travel / Island Travel / LAN / Easter Island Field Trip / Rapa Nui / Polynesia Travel / In the Middle of the Pacific Ocean / → All Tags

And Now, Your Moment of Zen (From Easter Island)

Want to know what it's like to be "away from it all?" Welcome to Easter Island, or "Isla de Pascua" in Spanish and "Rapa Nui" in, well, Rapa Nui. Easter Island is considered the most remote inhabited island in the world, with Pitcairn Island (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) being its nearest neighbor, some 1,293 miles away (and only reachable by boat). If you prefer to fly, it's LAN Airlines only, to three destinations: 6 hours to Santiago, Chile, 5.5 hours to Lima, Peru, or 5.5 hours the other way to Papeete, Tahiti.

In other words, Easter Island is in the middle of nowhere, Pacific Ocean.

What it lacks in chummy neighbor islands, Rapa Nui makes up for with its excellent stargazing, birdwatching, scuba diving, volcano-hiking, and [insert a wide variety of other adventure activities here]. Also, it's got seriously awesome sunsets.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Chile Travel / Santiago Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Mote con Huesillos of Chile

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

While the northern hemisphere is unpacking the down vests and preparing to layer for the winter, the southern hemisphere is stripping for the quickly warming temps of spring. Down in Chile, this means the arrival of the Mote con Huesillos vendors, streetcarts which shovel cooked wheat (mote) into a cup, add dried peaches (huesillos) and pour a cold peach-sugar-cinnamon liquid to fill it to the brim.

It's good. It's real good, and it's cheaper (not to mention healthier) than buying a Coca-Cola.

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Travel Cat / Animals / Santiago Travel / Chile Travel / → All Tags

The Adventures of Travel Cat: Palacio La Alhambra in Santiago, Chile

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: the Palacio La Alhambra in Santiago, Chile.

This week's Travel Cat is from me, your intrepid editor here at Jaunted. I just happen to be in Santiago, Chile right now—part of a trip using award miles that'll take me on to Easter Island today. Nonetheless, I always find the time to see a city and, hopefully, spot a few local cats chillin in the sun.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Chile Travel / Santiago Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Alfajors of South America

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Spend any time longer than a layover in Argentina or Chile or Peru (or name most any South American country) and you're bound to nibble on an Alfajor or two.

Alfajors are small, sweet sandwiches of a sort, made of two crackers with dulce de leche between, and white or milk chocolate covering it all. Trust Wikipedia to come through with the facts: "Argentina is today the world's largest consumer of Alfajors" and they've been "popular since the mid 19th century." Hey—what works for South America also works for us.

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