Chile
Jane McGary (Sat, 26 Aug 2006 09:28:38 PDT)

Terry Hernstrom asked,

"I have an unusual and selfish request. Have any of you fine people been to
Santiago, Chile? My wife and I will be there on a business trip at the end
of October. Would love to visit Public Gardens, nurseries, growers, nature
preserves etc. Geophyte related a plus. Any advice or tips?"

I'm sure Osmani Baullosa will be the best source on this, but I can
recommend some favorites I enjoy as a fellow "outsider":
Not plant-related, but do not miss the superb Museo Chileno de Arte
Precolombino, in the city center.
Buy any and all Chilean-published plant books you see, because they are
impossible to get anywhere else! There are two good shops for them in a
little arcade in the Providencia district, in a pleasant shopping area
right on the Metro line. The little lane comes off Providencia just before
Ave. Antonio Bellet, and it has a "pub" with a red London phone booth where
it intersects with the main street.
For a good plant-related day trip, if there is not too much snow in the
mountains still, visit the Lagunillas ski area south of Santiago, where you
will see some snowmelt species in bloom in October. Don't bother to go to
the hot springs up the same road -- the area around them is completely
"goated."
If you can, get over to the coast north of Valparaiso and drive along the
Panamericana (main highway) to see Alstroemeria species and native bulbs in
flower, as well as MANY plants that should be grown in California but,
inexplicably, are not. A pleasant midday stop is the seaside village of
Pichidangui, where the public beach access spot features a spectacular
plant community.
The best place to get maps (and also a lot of good geographical books) is
the Instituto Geografica Militar, which is near the city center in a
neighborhood of government buildings. I think they have a website.
You will probably find that public plantings are of introduced species, not
native ones -- just like public plantings almost anywhere! Take the
opportunity to see the native species during the coastal spring, though
you'll be too early for the high alpines.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA