Hi there

I am going to Santiago with my husband who is going for work in July. I know its winter over there but would like to go anyway. We are both skiers so a few days skiing would be good. Any suggetions and thoughts about weather? My husband is also going near the Patagonia region but I think I will spend most of my time in Santiago.

PS - we are experienced travelers and dont' have to spend our time 'seeing sights' and enjoy absorbing the atmosphere. One option is for me to take a 2 day intensive Spanish course.

I lived in Santiago for a couple of years. Winters are cold and rainy, so gore-tex jacket with some insulating layers and gore-tex boots. Chileans use a lot of slang in their speach. Ex: Como esta becomes Como estai vo. Como andes becomes Como andai. They also say "po" after many things. Ex: Si po. No po. It doesn't change the meaning of the phrase, its just a filler word.

The skiing season will probably open next weekend as there has been a fair amount of snow recently. You can hire equipment at the slopes in Valle Nevado.
In order to get that snow we have had to have a fair amount of rain. Usually we get sunny days in between but this past week has been very grey with temperatures around 13-16C during the day.
www.123teachme.com has a good list, by country, of language schools and student evaluation and descriptions. You could see if any suit you.
Where will your husband be down south? There might be things for you where he is going if you could pinpoint it.

Thanks for the two email postings with suggestions. Being from Vancouver originally, I won't have a problem with packing goretax. My husband goes to puenta arenas for about 4 days. I think I will skip it this time as he will be visiting Chile for work 4 times a year. I am excited about Spanish lessons, two day ski trip, a day or two in the winery region. We are staying at the Ritz Carlton. I have been reading some of the other postings and it seems there some interesting districts around the Ritz which i will explore. Open to any other suggestions such as specific wine tours or wineries and whether hte skiing is worth it (I usually ski at Whistler north of Vancouver).

Yes, the skiing is worth it. Some of the best there is as long as there is lots of snow although many place have snow makers. There are lots of things to do in Santiago and around without doing "the sites". Make sure you get to Valparaiso - a unique city. The weather will be cool, not cold, even by Vancouver standards and certainly not as wet. Today it was around 23.

Dear Toid

Thanks for your latest posting - just the encouragement we needed to spend a day skiing. Do you know if you can rent all you need there or should we bring some equipment and the right clothes. We also plan to spend 2 days in the winery region with a specialist wine guide south of santiago so the trip is shaping up a bit.

I have a similar trip planned, but I am visiting in late July and only have one day/night to ski. Is it possible to have a "day trip" to go skiing? Leaving Santiago in the morning and returning in the late afternoon?

Yes, you can go up for the day to ski. Every morning on the way to work I pass a place called Ski Total on Av. Apoquindo. There must be twenty minivans parked out front with people going up for the day.