Just elected a feminist agnostic woman who was tortured as a girl after her father was killed by Pinochet. Give them credit for thoroughly ridding themselves of Pinochet's legacy in recent years.

Try some chilean wine, get to the top of Aconcagua, the highest peak of Americas.

I used to admire Allende (see my comments on Allende), but upon realizing that socialism and hand-outs are not the way to develop self-reliance and a sense of self-worth, I really can't give this country higher than one star, based upon politics. Their support of NAFTA is OK, but since I really am suspect of unions in general I can't generate too much enthusiasm for a nation's namesake that reminds me of a spicy food.

I´ve been living in Chile for two months now as an AFS exchange student & before that I knew a girl living in Santiago for almost a year, so I should know more about the country than most others. First: The most fantastic with this country is the very open-minded human beings who live there! :-) For the first time in many years I´m actually enjoying being at school! The worst with Chile is the water cuality (with a lot of clorid, witch Chilean think makes the water 'clean & tasty') & most of the food, except 'empanadas' & 'pastel de choclo' (maiz cake). And a shock I got: Santiago is extremely polutioned, a lot more than any other city I´ve visited! Now I understand why most environmentalists live in metropols! Beside the people, the nature is fantastic too, from the driest desert in the world, to some of the highest mountains, where you among other things can go rafting, snowboarding & paragliding! :-)

As Latin American tourist destinations go, this place ranks pretty low on my list because it is so.....blandly prosperous. As Latin American economies go, there is none stronger.