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Lately, I've been very curious about Chile due to the fascinating combination of surfing in the morning and snowboarding in the evening. Vina del Mar, also known as Vineyard of the Sea, is known as a VERY popular beach resort area in Chile. Vina del Mar is worth visiting any time of the year! Its most popular time is during the month of February when a large music festival takes place in the town. Keep reading, and I'll share what makes this city so special, how the city got its name, and what makes Chile so unique. What Makes Vina Del Mar so Special? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21lN5aGVkSE Vina Del Mar is the local beach playground of Santiago, Chile, which holds around 40% of the population of the country. Many people who want to escape the city head to this beach resort town, which has a population of around 325,000 people. It's Chile's fourth-largest city. As its name implies, it's known for its gardens. A great place to check out is the garden called La Quinta Vergara, which has different plants and trees. For a fun scavenger hunt, try to find the clock made of flowers. After the garden, the town can be your oyster, depending on your interests. Before talking about the town, first I have to mention the music festival that makes Vina Del Mar special. Starting in 1960, it might just be the oldest and largest musical festival in Latin America. What makes the music festival unique is just how brutal the crowd can get. The audience is named El Munstruo or "The Monster." Booing someone off the stage isn't uncommon. Getting accepted by the crowd can improve an artist's popularity with the rest of Latin America. There are 3 awards that are given out at the festival. There is a Silver Torch, Golden Torch, and Silver Seagull given in that order. If an artist gains all 3 awards, it's called "taming the monster," the monster being the crowd, and gains instant recognition as a major star by the media. You could maybe compare it to the show "The Voice." There is more to Vina Del Mar than a music festival, and if you like architecture, there is a famous castle built by German immigrants called Castillo Wulf. If museums are your thing, there is one having to do with naval artillery, art museums, and even one having to do with native villages from Chile. The real highlight of the town might just be the beach activities and nightlife. Everything from volleyball to skimboarding, and there is surfing just north of the town in a place called Ritoque. The location is also known for swimming due to the peninsula protecting the beach from coastal winds, so the water is usually safe. If you have kids, another idea is the Aviva Aqua Park. There are several pools and water slides in the park, but the water isn't heated. If you get tired of being around people (I've been there), you can head out to the Humedal de Mantagua wetlands, which is great for bird watching and walking trails. I'm not going to lie, I love watching birds, maybe I'm starting to get more nerdy! There are an endless number of things you can do in this town, such as go to a casino, zoo, shopping, restaurant hopping, and more. What does Vina Del Mar Mean? Vina Del Mar means vineyard of the sea or the garden city. It was named after Europeans planting gardens in the location! At first, Vina Del Mar was called "peuco," which means by the water. Then, Europeans came and planted gardens, changing the name. Vina Del Mar might be the most popular tourist destination in Chile, behind Santiago. One reason it's SO popular is how close it is to the capital city of Santiago. It's around a 2-hour car drive between the cities. Many people escape Santiago to the beach area. Another VERY cool reason that makes Vina Del Mar popular is how close it is to popular ski resorts. It will take around 3 hours to get from Vina Del Mar to Portillo Puente Del Inca. There are other ski resorts in the area, such as Valle Nevado and La Parva, which are just east of Santiago. How cool is it to go surfing one day and the next go snowboarding, right? Plus, it's close to the city of Santiago, which has its own personality that is probably worth checking out. What Makes Chile So Special? Chile is special due to its very long, skinny geography. Just the name Chile seems cool, right? I know in Naples, Italy, many people actually worship the chile plant, and it means fertility, I think. The country was formed from natural geography and military conquest. Back in the 16th century, Spanish conquers (conquistadors) moved to the area of Chile from Peru. The Andes mountain range stopped them from expanding east. When Chile became independent from Spain on September 18, 1810, it was a very small country. Only during the War of the Pacific in the 1880s, when it fought Peru and Bolivia, did it grow to the size it is today, making Bolivia landlocked. It also snatched up Peru's southern tip. Now it's the longest and skinniest country in the world, with the Andes mountains on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The country is 4,000 miles long and around 61 miles wide. Another thing that makes Chile unique is its dance. Many countries have their own special dance, from the Flamenco dance in Spain to the tango in Argentina; the Chileans have the Cueca dance. What do you think the national dance of the U.S. is, "twerking?" via GIPHY A third thing that makes Chile unique is how economically strong it is compared to its neighbor, Argentina. Argentina has an inflation rate of around 30% for 2023, and Chile is projected to be around 4% in 2023. Chile has an interesting history of experimenting with Marxism, capitalism, and different economic ideas. Between 1973 to 1990, Chile was controlled by a military government that came about from a coup. The people with the guns make the rules, right? In 1990, Chile started with a democratic government, and it has close ties to the U.S. now. Closing The best and maybe the worst part of visiting Chile is the language barrier. Spanish is an amazing language that opens "many" doors because it is the 3rd or 4th most spoken language in the world. I think it's VERY fun to learn, and I use this program HERE. There are free programs to learn a language, but it's painful enough to learn a language that you deserve NOT to get hit with advertisements. Plus, the program helps with your memory and opens doors wherever you live because many people speak Spanish (cough, cough a lot in the U.S.). The other large challenge to visiting Chile is the airfare, which can be expensive. Lucky for you, I know some hacks that can "really" save you some money, and you can check them out HERE. I'm with you and love to travel, but finding the money can be a concern. One great idea that I fully endorse is a side hustle to earn extra money. There are many side hustles you can do for cash, but a "super" easy (I think) and fun one is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you post a link, and if someone clicks on the link and does something such as make a purchase, enter their email, or download a free app, you can get paid. What's so great about it is that it's SUPER flexible. It can be done anytime, anywhere, around your schedule, in nearly any niche, and it can be FUN. Plus, no or super low startup cost. If you're interested, I've been doing it for 15 years, and I have a whole system you can check out for FREE HERE. I hope this blog post on Vina Del Mar was helpful. Bye for now.