How to explore Chilean wine country in 6 days.

Why Chile?

Santiago, Chile’s capital city, sits surrounded by outskirt vineyards and the towering Andes Mountains. Its 18th-century cathedrals and neoclassical museums give way to pristine beaches and an electric nightlife. The city is within a few hours’ drive of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Grapevines were first planted in the Casablanca Valley, about an hour’s drive northwest of Santiago, in the mid-1980s during the revitalization of the Chilean wine industry. The valley has earned praise for its sauvignon blanc and chardonnay grapes, as well as the pinot noir variety, which thrives in the cool climate.

Check out this ideal itinerary for exploring the many vineyards as well as experiencing the rich culture, history, and beautiful landscape.  

Day 1

• Arrive at the airport and check into your hotel.  It's best to find a hotel in the Las Condes district.  
• Get a taste of Chilean food and have dinner at Tacora
• Unpack and rest for tomorrow's busy day.  

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Day 2

• Have breakfast at your hotel
• Take a  full-day tour of Santiago, Chile's capital.  
• While in Santiago don't miss -the Palacio de la Moneda, the Plaza de Armas, Cerro San Cristobal and Barrio Bellavista.
• Have lunch in the Mercado Central market at the famous Donde Augusto 
• Spend the afternoon in Pueblito de los Dominicos, a space for artisans and artists.
• Rest for tomorrow

Day 3

• Breakfast in your hotel
• Full-day tour of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso
• Stop at the Vina Veramonte, located in the Valley of Wines of Casablanca, for a wine tasting.
• Have lunch overlooking the ocean at the Chez Gerald restaurant
• Return to your hotel to rest up and get dressed for an evening out.  
• Enjoy dinner at the Bali Hai Restaurant and a folkloric show that includes a variety of cultural dances

Day 4

• Breakfast in your hotel
• Visit Isla Negra, including the museum that contains the final resting place of poet Pablo Neruda.
• Take a tour of Vina Undurraga stopping along at the vineyards, gardens and underground cellars, 
• Have lunch at the famous La Fuente de mi Tierra in Pomaire
• Hydrate and rest from all of the wine drinking.  

Day 5

• Breakfast in your hotel
• Spend the day in the Andes mountains and take a tour of Embalse el Yeso and Cajon del Maipo
• Experience a waterfall, a tunnel, a millenary glacier and wine-and-cheese tastings in the town of San Jose de Maipo.

Day 6

A day of leisure...after all this is a vacation

Prepare/pack for your return trip home (or your next destination)

Click here to get my FREE: Step by Step guide for finding the Cheapest Airfare

Having a job that you HATE can be the biggest motivator for creating the life that you want.

I HATE my job.

I’ve come to grips with that.  I could easily find another job and be on my merry way.  But finding a job getting acclimated to a new company going through the training process..blah blah blah is just so annoying.  

So why stay at job that I so deeply dislike?

Don’t get me wrong, I still work my very hardest on my job.   I do my very best, show up for work on time, I’m fully engaged with my responsibilites.  I follow the rules.  I jump through the hoops.  

I’m thankful for the job that I have.  

But I am uncomfortable.

Everyday I think to myself, ‘How on earth did I get here in this horrible situation?’  This discomfort and irritation with the job has been my biggest motivator to get to work on the life that I truly want.  

When I began my professional life I never set out to be so dependent on a paycheck.  I always dreamed of multiple income streams.  But somewhere along the way I messed up.

I lost focus.

I got comfortable on the jobs that I had before.  I got in the cycle of jumping from  position to position thinking that the grass will be greener in the next company.  Only to come up empty handed yet again.  

And now, I can honestly say that I have the worst job that I have EVER had.  But I am staying put because it has been my biggest motivator.  I will stay and be the model employee.

But when I am not working, EVERY waking minute is on my creating the life that I ultimately want.  So before I start work, after the work day is over, and even when I take breaks I am working on my freedom.  

My focus is on telling my story to help others.  

So I am thankful for my terrible job.  I am thankful in knowing that I can endure, overcome, and conquer such a worst case scenario .  That I don’t have to complacently accept the cards that I have been dealt.  

I am happier than I ever have been because every day brings me one step closer towards living my vision.  Some days I accomplish a lot while other days I just have a quick 5 minutes to work my plan.  But everyday is a step towards my dream lifestyle and a step away from my terrible job.  

If you are like me and have a terrible job.  Click The Link For This Free Resource

FREE Guide: 7 Steps to Create the Life that You Want even while Working in a Job that you HATE

Not taking a vacation is causing you more harm than good….and here’s why

You wake up in the morning rush around to catch the bus (or train or hop in the car for your commute) to go to work….but really you would rather be catching a flight to Madrid.  

I hate to break it to you but…….This is actually a decision that you have made.  You have chosen to catch the bus to go to a place that you don’t even like instead of catching a flight to a place that brings happiness.  

Of course, we have our personal obligations: taking care of our families, paying bills, buying food etc.  

But let’s explore, the space between seeing an idea in your mind and actually making something happen.   You can clearly see yourself catching that flight to Madrid (or wherever it is that you really want to experience), being greeted at the airport by a driver who is whisks you off to a luxury villa by the sea.  But in reality you are greeted at the bus stop by the driver that barely even says “Good Morning” and whisks you off to another day of being overworked on your job.  

It's still a decision that you have made to not travel or take a vacation.  But what’s in that space between what we would really like do and what we actually do? Obligation, responsibility, others people’s expectation, our own limitations, self doubt, or even excuses.  Is that space helping us or hurting us?  How is it that there is such a large space between what we want to do and what we are actually doing?  

Whatever it is……. it holds us back from living the life that we want.    By not doing what we actually want to do (or at least working towards it) it really brings more pain.

By always dwelling in that space of responsibility, of obligation, of fulfilling other people’s expectation we are really just hurting ourselves.  Staying in that same space we lose sight of what we want.   

When someone asks us where do you see yourself in 5 years.  Our immediate response in our mind is  “I don’t know”….because we are really not sure what we want out of life.  We just feel burdened with our responsibility and obligations.  

Our burdens, responsibilities, and obligations shape our actions instead of our true heart’s desire.  

There are so many places that we want to visit and experiences that we want to have, but our obligations shift our focus.  It's kind of like when you are having a quiet moment to yourself in the living room and another person just comes in and turns on the television.  That noise of life gets all of your attention and focus and you completely forget what it was you were thinking about.  

Really take some time to think about places you would like to go and experiences you would like to have.

What’s holding you back from catching your flight?

For many people, myself included, it's a lack of travel funds that's holding us back from getting on that plane as often as we would like.  

Check out this quick resource that I created.......

Get the FREE Guide: How to Increase Your Travel Funds Without Earning More on Your Job

Can't wait to see you on the beach!

Kanisa

Bad things happen to good people who don't take vacations

You may see your friends (or enemies) taking some amazing vacations and think to yourself, “oh that’s nice.  Someday I will be able to take a nice vacation like that too”

But someday never comes.

So you live your life.  Watch your friends (and maybe even your family) take some even more incredible vacations.  And again, you think, “ oh how nice….maybe someday”

Believe me, I know…..It’s so difficult to get an extended period of time off from work and when you do it’s typically just a long weekend during a federal holiday.  

So what else can you do but sit at home binge watching the Game of Thrones and think to yourself, “ yeah, I would rather be in the south of France too but a staycation is what I can afford and what I have time for. I’m doing the best with what I’ve got”

What’s wrong with doing the best with what you have (even though you want so much more)  No harm can come to you right?

Wrong...my friend….so very wrong.  

Let’s explore the downright horrible things that can happen to you without a real vacation in your life...shall we.....?

Without regular vacations in your life, you may experience one or ALL of the following side effects:  

1.  Increased stress levels- you may think that pressing play on another episode of OITNB may be an escape from your stressful work life but after you finish the last episode you will feel like even more of a failure.  

2.  Health problems-studies have proven that women who don’t take regular vacations(not staycations) are 8 times more likely to suffer from heart disease.  

3.  People will always ask you for favors (like watching their dog, watering the plants, or getting their mail) because they know you never go anywhere

4.  You will come down with a bad case of #FOMO

5.  By not taking a break and spending all of your days working hard at a job means all your efforts are towards building up someone else's company or organization.  You can lose sight of what you really want out of life.  

6.  You have nothing to talk about; When you talk to people that you haven't see in a while and they ask “what's new?” You will have to answer with your standard answer…...     “nothing much”

7.  Traveling allows you to look at your own life in a new way. By not going anywhere it shuts down your creativity for solutions to your everyday challenges.  

8.  You will miss out on meeting some amazing people and possible lifelong friendships.

9.  Your relationships will not improve because you have less tolerance for people that are different from you.  (especially if you are in law enforcement)

10.  People are attracted to people that are going places. But you are wearing cement blocks. By not going anywhere you are the bump on the log without any interesting insights to offer.

11.  You have a heavier workload because your co-workers take their vacations and you have to cover for them

12.  The only interesting topics of conversation you have is about other people or the latest season of OITNB

13.  You will have no reason to lose that extra ten pounds because there won’t be any vacation photos that you have to look good for.  Not to mention you bathing suit is just getting moldy in your bottom drawer

Don’t let these bad things continue to happen to you.  

I beg you, plead with you, for the love of God…….

You deserve a break.  

And if more vacation time is needed from work,

Get Your Free Guide: Strategies to Negotiate More Vacation Time Without Fear of Losing Your Job

 

So many of us say we want to travel more.....why can't we make it happen?

Adding more travel to our lifestyle is almost like losing weight.  We know exactly what's required to be the size that we want but we can't pass up that piece of cake.....Or why haul our butt to gym in the morning when we haven't finished watching OITNB??  

The experts tell us to eat less food and move more.

Just like the travel experts tell us to just buy a ticket and go.

Being a skinny traveler sounds like a good idea on paper.  So why are we still at home, eating cake, watching OITNB, and fat???

When it comes to losing weight, there is more advice, tips, and tricks than you can shake a stick at.  You definitely won't go broke trying to figure out how to do it.

But,  when it comes to travel,  what if you are like me, a busy professional, lots of responsibilities, life didn't turn out the way we planned, so we had to push travel way to the bottom of our priority list.  There isn't nearly enough advice for people in our boat.

Of course we can hire a personal trainer/travel agent....but if we don't have the time or the money to pay her....our first session will be quite short.  And then, you guessed it, back to the couch to eat some more cake.  

The travel bloggers tell us about all of the amazing places to go but they don't really tell us how to get there.....

So what's the answer for those of us who are desperate to break from the routine and stresses of life but can't seem to figure out how..

More on that later....

Until then check out our story here

Kanisa "Piece Of Cake" Baker

Why Aren't Americans Using All Of Our Vacation Days?

I recently came across article after article after article on the fact that last year over half of all American workers did not use all of our vacation days.  

So the real question is why in the h-e-double hockey sticks would you want to work for free???

Now I am in the jealousy camp saying, "Oooh look at my European and Australian pals that get a month to go on holiday".  While I would be lucky if I could get 5 days off in a row..(I mean is the place really gonna fall apart without me?)

But back to the real issue at hand, is it that we are so dedicated and focused on our jobs that taking a vacation gets pushed to the back burner?  Or are we so afraid of possible losing our jobs if we take time off?  Or have our jobs become such a major part of our life that we wouldn't know what to do with time off?  

Focusing too much on the the answers to any of these questions is just sad..sad..sad.  We Americans are known for our hard work, perseverance, rising above, and overcoming challenges.  But these together-everyone-achieves-more corporate wranglings can be to the detriment of the individual.  

We are stressed out, overworked, and so complacently used to our work life that we can barely get our heads above water to get that break that we desperately need. (no staycations don't count y'all)  We've got so much built up tension we could pop off at any moment.  Today's news stories (which I had to stop watching) is just chock full of people blowing their tops.  

While I know simply taking a vacation does not even begin to address all of the challenges that we face.  But wouldn't taking a break give us a fresh perspective to come up with solutions???

So I've started Travel More Work Less:  a movement for women (and men if we let them come) to take action on real strategies to add more travel to our lives taking a break from the routine and stresses of life.  We women are more likely to suffer from heart disease by going long periods of time without taking a real rest.  And if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....

Kanisa "Vacation Days" Baker

Travel Fund Tuesday: Rewards Points

It sounds so good on paper, "Use this credit card, shop, dine, and boom collect award points for travel".   But in reality the stars have to be aligned in order to cash in on reward points for hotel stays, air fare, car rentals, etc.  

Lets face it, the rewards point game is tedious and confusing.  

So what's a girl to do?

Well, here are the traditional options.........

• Furiously shopping using a reward point credit card
• Book flights with the same airline in hopes of taking advantage of any loyalty programs
• Staying in the same hotel chain again...to demonstrate loyalty
• loosing sleep scouring for promo codes and preferred programs

Well if you have a lot of money or time perhaps these might work for you.  But this chickadee is short on both........

So I choose the shopping portal option.  In a nutshell, I have the ability to shop with 4000+ stores (major and local), I earn a commission that can be applied directly towards my travel fund.  

"Rovia bucks" are the name given by the portal and are the equivalent of one $USD,  

For each retailer, they tell you exactly how much you can earn in commission. Here are some examples....

Now, I earn money for traveling from stuff I'm already buying day in and day out. The travel dollars I earn can them be directly applied to airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc.   It's a win-win in my book.....................................>

It's Travel Fund Tuesday

One of the top reasons that people don't travel is lack of funds.  

However, you may have more funds available for travel than you think.  I love  mint.com for tracking all of my expenses.  In a snapshot....this is how it works.  

I've loaded all of my bank accounts in to this app and can track all of my spending and get weekly updates to make sure I'm on track with my budget.  On a weekly basis, I can see where my money goes while cutting out the extra expenses.  These funds can then be re-allocated towards my travel piggy bank!

Download a free copy of 5 industry secrets helping thousands to travel more than they ever thought possible.  

Aren't you tired of scrolling timelines and looking at your 'friends' vacation pics?

There are so many places in the world to go.  Your bucket list is never ending.  Traveling gives you life and a fresh perspective.  You would never admit it out loud, but you are green with envy when you scroll timelines and see all of the wonderful places that your friends go to.  

So what happened?  Traveling is your all time favorite activity and yet somehow it has gone way down on your list of priorities.  Life has just gotten in the way and you may be wondering how you can possibly clear some space, time, and freedom to even take a trip.  

You know that the wide world is out there just waiting for you to experience it.  This blog is focused on arranging our lives at home so that traveling can be pushed up to its rightful place as a top priority.

Stay tuned....

Kanisa