Don't Skip Santiago

Sporting the Hyatt Regency's trademark interior atrium, the 310-room hotel has lush gardens and ponds, a smart-casual patio restaurant that serves savory meat and cheese empanadas, and the intimate, Thai-style Anakena restaurant, where we were introduced to the national cocktail, the pisco sour. Made from brandy, bitters and lemon or lime juice, the drink is delicious and refreshing, with a well-disguised wallop of alcohol.

While dining in the prosperous Las Condes district, my wife, Georgina, suddenly found her handbag tied to her chair. To deter snatch-and-run thieves, a solicitous restaurant staffer explained. "This is South America,'' he said. There has been an upsurge in petty crime, according to media reports. We were cautioned to take care of our camera by a watchful local woman as we wandered, charmed, near the Metropolitan Cathedral at Plaza de Armas, in Santiago's historic center. For the record, we saw no untoward incidents and didn't feel unsafe, even after dark.

Mid-September is a festive time in Chile, thanks to Independence Day, which falls on Sept. 18, and Armed Forces Day, on Sept. 19. Banks, schools and many offices are closed, and Santiago's traffic, which can be ferocious, lightens up as thousands of city-dwellers abandon the metropolis to enjoy their free time. For visitors and the residents who remain, there are parades along major boulevards like Avenida 11 de Septiembre, parties, traditional music and dance and displays by skilled horsemen to mark the beginning of Chile's popular rodeo season.

One of the prime parade routes passed the four-year-old Ritz Carlton, a plush hotel in the city's prosperous El Golf district. Spacious guest rooms, good in-room technology, a snug, classy hotel bar and the superb Wine 365 restaurant and wine bar distinguish the hotel -- the first Ritz-Carlton in South America.

At 365 we enjoyed toothsome grilled fish and beef, but the real stars are on the list of 365 Chilean wines -- one for every day of the year. We especially liked a well-structured Carmenere -- a red wine descended from old vines transplanted to Chile just before phylloxera devastated the vineyards of France in the 19th century.