I come from a country where an average bottle of wine costs US$15-20. You wouldn’t drink wine with your meals. Heck, grape juice was a luxury when I was growing up because juice isn’t cheap either.

Chile is, in comparison, ridiculous. At some point, I caught myself at the supermarket in a twist over if I should get a good bottle of wine for a full dollar more. Why is that even a choice when it’s easily a $10 difference back home for the quality gap? … …

I think I decided to hike the Torres del Paine in the Chilean part of Patagonia days before I did that. It was the right season; I happened to be in the area and everyone who’s done it raved about the brilliant scenery. Google tells me that it’s a must-do – a constant best hikes in the world contender and high up on a lot of people’s bucket lists.

All the cool kids do it, the internet told me. … …