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.

Our hearts go out to those Chileans affected by the horrible 8.8 Richter Scale quake that hit the country over the weekend. For those in the center of the action, all the preparation in the world could only do so much.

Thankfully there was plenty of preparation, however, so the news has been quick to compare the relatively small death toll in Chile compared to what happened in Haiti. Most people have reacted by saying it was worse in Haiti because they are so poor. But Time magazine says those people have it backwards: some countries are just more committed to a government that has its act together, which is exactly why they aren’t poor.

“Chile is more developed because it’s doing things right. The same goes for Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica and a handful of other Latin American and Caribbean nations that have decided in the 21st century to stop running their societies like medieval fiefdoms. They’ve conceded that niceties like rule of law, accountability, education, entrepreneurial opportunity and administrative efficiency actually have merit. And they’ve stopped making worn-out excuses, like the threats of communism or U.S. imperialism, for not modernizing their political and economic systems.”

Many investors are missing this point, thinking these countries are just doing well because they have a lot of commodities to sell. In fact they are doing well because their citizens are getting wealthier each year and have more money to spend. That can only happen with a stable, transparent government in place. With that happening, growth is almost a sure thing. (As opposed to Venezuala and Bolivia, countries that have plenty of commodities but a corrupt and backward-looking government.) Argentina could go either way, but right now it’s not looking promising.

Read the full Time article here.

The first W hotel opened in South America recently, in Chile’s capital of Santiago. We’ve got a detailed review of it, turned in by our man on the scene in Chile: W Santiago Hotel review.

This isn’t the only W hotel in Latin America, as the W in Mexico City has been a trust fund kids’ social magnet for years. I’m kind of surprised Starwood hasn’t opened more of these in the region, actually, since they are struggling in the U.S. and have lost two key hotels because of financial problems. The concept might not fly in a place like Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo, where there are already more than enough designer hotels without bringing in a corporate version, but in many other Latin American capitals there’s a serious dearth of hip hotels with good aesthetics that will appeal to people under age 50.

This Santiago version is too large to be considered a “boutique hotel” since it has 196 rooms and is attached to a huge real estate development with “a convention center, offices, luxury apartments, a sprawling gym, and several boutique stores including a local wine store—a store that is installing on the premises the largest wine cellar in Chile.” It’s got all the right visual touches though and has quickly become the place to see and be seen in Santiago.

If your taste runs to the modern rather than the frilly antique reproductions you’ll find at the Ritz-Carlton Santiago, then Chile’s new W Hotel is ready to welcome you. See the full review here.

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!

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%