Wendy Perrin of Condé Nast Traveler has a good rundown on how the massive earthquake in Chile has affected various areas of the country. Figuring out the geography of a foreign land is always difficult, but with Chile being as long and skinny as it is, most of us have no clue which parts are a no-go zone and which aren’t. Here’s where it’s safe and not safe to travel there.

In a nutshell, these spots are off limits and will be in recovery mode for quite a while:

- Juan Fernández Islands
- Wine Region (Santa Cruz and surroundings)
- Concepción – the worst-hit area

The problem with many other areas not affected much at all, like the Patagonia Lake District to the south and the Atacama Desert up north, is that the Santiago airport is currently closed. So unless you’re coming and going overland from another country, you’ll have a tough time getting there or away. If you had a trip planned to Chile in the next couple weeks, do what you can to reschedule or adjust the itinerary and time frame to allow for diversions.

Just two months after instituting a reciprocal visa fee for tourists to Argentina (meaning an extra $131 per person for Americans), the government of Argentina seems to be determined to rankle as many people as possible.

The latest is “the biggest inflation surge to start the year in two decades,” according to the Wall Street Journal, as Argentina Confronts Soaring Inflation. The worst part of this, for locals and tourists alike, is a 25% rise in beef prices. Chronic overspending is to blame, which has led to a big soap opera of the former head of the central bank being fired for not handing the government the bank’s foreign reserves to spend, his refusing to step down, then his being forced to step down when he was barred from his office. Kirchner’s yes-woman replacement is not sitting well with economists or the business leaders.

Bad government policies are mostly blamed for the beef inflation since price controls and export bans have led to a reduction in cattle, from 61 million in 2007 to 50 million today.

Good news for us is, the peso has dropped against the dollar to a nearly 4-to-1 ratio from around 3-to-1 in years past. So prices are rising, but so is the value of the dollar or euro for those coming in from elsewhere.

Your cruise stop in the Falkland Islands may cost extra though. Argentina is trying to force ships to get permission from Buenos Aires to pass through Argentine waters to get there. This move has gotten the support of Hugo Chavez, which tells you how well it’s going to play out with more sane leaders…

Keep an eye on international news if you’re planning a trip to Argentina. Hopefully an international recovery—or new elections—will right the ship before things get ugly.

[photo from Living in Patagonia blog]

As reported by Mercopress, Chile’s Concha y Toro exported 26.6 million cases of wine in 2009, making the winemaker the eighth largest producer in the world.

The company exports to over 130 countries worldwide and hold 7,000 hectares of vines across Chile and Argentina.

The United Kingdom is the brand’s biggest market, consuming nearly 30% of global exports. The brand is also the most popular Chilean brand in Britain, with its products representing 31% of all the Chilean wine sold in that country. The United States is the second largest consumer of the company’s products, holding 18% of the market.

For me, this brand is a consistent everyday bargain, especially when it comes to Cabernet. Their lowest-priced offerings are often the best around in the sub-$10 range, with the only real quality competition in reds coming from neighboring Argentina. I’ve had the pleasure of trying some of their top-end wines too though–and most of those are a bargain too for what you get, especially if you buy them within Chile. The usual reaction is, “Wow, this wine tastes a lot more expensive than it really is.”

Salut!

When we can, we try to tap into travel writers who are living abroad and can give us the inside scoop. Often these writers, such as guidebook author and Buenos Aires resident Bridget Gleeson, have the connections and the eavesdropping ability to figure out which hotels aren’t on the international radar—but should be.

Take the Tigre Delta weekend escape La Becasina. You probably won’t read about this in any “hot list” or “top 10 hotels in…” article in a magazine for another year or two, but our eyes on the ground tell us this is a place worth checking into when you want to get out of Buenos Aires, but not too far out.

“La Becasina is the very picture of sophistication—attracting mostly couples to its 15 private cabins—with an expert barman and waitstaff that serve multiple courses to guests seated at intimate tables for two. It’s all about leisure and luxury here, so you don’t have to worry about checking out of your room after breakfast: most guests spend the whole weekend at the lodge, checking in on Saturday morning and staying through early evening on Sunday.”

This is a place where you check your worries at the door, a nature escape not far from the big city. See our full review of Becasina Delta Lodge.

Other top hotels in Argentina

If you put cash into the U.S. market or in European funds early in 2009, you had a very good year for that money.

But if you put cash to work in Latin America, you had an especially good reason to pop the bubbly on New Year’s Eve. According to this Wall Street Journal article, Latin America was the standout region of the world in 2009 for investors. “Mexico’s IPC index approached all-time highs in December and Argentina’s benchmark index more than doubled.”

As in the rest of the world, this didn’t come without a roller coaster ride though. The MSCI Latin America Index rose 98% on the year, which looks huge until you realize that it went down 53% the year before. So if you were in that market at the beginning of 2008, you are pretty much back to even unless you were actively moving the investments around.

Here’s how a few markets did in 2009:

Argentina +115%
Brazil +82.7%
Colombia +53.5%
Chile 50.7%
Mexico +43.5%
Canada +30.7%
USA (Dow) +18.8%