Welcome! Thank you for considering coming to our wedding, it is long trip for many and understand it may not be possible. But if you are willing and able this document will further describe wedding details, as well as recommendations for traveling to Chile. We encourage you to take this opportunity to travel with friends and/or family to Chile. Additional guests you are traveling with that were not invited to the wedding are welcome at the open bar reception, please let either Ryan or Hidemi know so we can add them to the list. Events: 1. Welcome to Chile - A barbeque at Hidemi's parents house to welcome people to Chile Time: 11/20/2026, 5:00pm Place: Near the wedding venue, for privacy reasons address will not be posted until a closer date 2. Wedding Time: 11/21/2026 Cocktail: 5:30pm - 6:00pm Ceremony: 6:00pm - 6:30pm Dinner: 6:30pm - 7:30pm Reception: 7:30pm - 3:00am Place: Casona Cañaveral Cam. A Farellones 19520, Kilómetro 5, Lo Barnechea, Región Metropolitana, Chile
Chile is about as long as the continental United States is diagonally, it includes Easter Island in the Pacific, the Andes Mountains, Atacama Desert, and the capital city of Santiago. Where to stay within Santiago: While in Santiago, we would recommend staying within the neighbourhoods of Lo Barnechea, Vitacura, or Providencia if you are not fluent in Spanish, as these are near the wedding venue. Things to do in and near Santiago: Centro Costanera - Biggest mall with the tallest building South America, there is a nice viewing deck on top where you can see the city from. Mitani Ramen - Hidemi's aunt Taka's ramen restaurant Cajon del Maipo - A canyon ~30 minutes to an hour from Santiago in the foothills of the Andes, there are hot springs, cabins, horse riding, zip lining, rafting, and other outdoor activities here. Valparaiso - A seaside city about an hours drive from Santiago, it has tightly packed bright buildings and steep stairs, great to walk around and excellent views of the oceans. Go for a boat tour of the harbour, or tour the house of Chilean poet Pablo Narudo it has interesting architecture and a great view. Things to do outside of Santiago Santa Cruz - A town ~2.5 hours drive from Santiago in chilean wine country, winery tours, alpacas, and gondola rides Pucon - A town in the south of Chile, reminiscent of small town BC. It is ~8 hour busride, but you can ride overnight busses from Santiago that have seats designed to sleep in. The town is charming, there are lakes to see, and a volcano that keeps the ground around it warm, you can take tours through the old lava tubes. This is where we got engaged! Pichilemu - A seaside town ~4 hours drive from Santiago, cold water beaches and excellent surfing. Very popular places to consider traveling to in Chile: Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Atacama, Patagonia, Easter Island
Renting a Car: Ubers are much cheaper than in the USA, but renting a car allows for more flexibility and would be more economical overall. Key differences between the USA and Chile when driving: Parking in spanish is Estacionamiento, so a sign with a big E means parking and E with a cross through it means no parking. Lanes are smaller than in the USA and drivers are more aggressive, but generally more aware. Highway systems are privatized, and require tolls of ~50 cents to $1 USD to use, rental cars will be equipped to pay them automatically, but be sure to enable the use of toll roads if you are navigating with google maps. Carabineros are police in Chile, their lights and cars are green, blue and red lights are ambulances, private security or construction have orange lights Phone: You can buy a prepaid sim card for ~$5 USD for a month of data from a Movistar. Allowing you to translate and use apps General Advice: If you ask to buy water you will typically be asked "Con o Sin gas?", Con gas is sparkling water, sin gas is normal water, "agua de la llave" is tap water if you don't want to pay for bottled water Tap water in Chile is safe to drink Tips are a binary 10% of the sale price at restaurants, a waiter will typically ask "quieras agregar la propaina?" = "Would you like to inclued a tip" the minimum wage is ~$20 usd per day Gas is pumped by an attendent unless you drive to the pumps labeled "Autoservicio" = "Self-service" Tax is included in written prices at stores, so the only additional fees when buying things would be the tip at food service places.
Minimal Spanish Phrases: Spanish is the official language, English is uncommon outside of high end places. Puedo tener X por favor? Could I have X please? Donde esta el bano? Where is the bathroom? Lo siento, no hablo espanol, hablas Ingles? I'm sorry, I don't speak spanish, do you speak english? "Con tarjeta o en efectivo?" = Card or cash? Efectivo = Cash Tarjeta = Card If you say "tarjeta" they may ask "credito o RedCompra/debito" Credito = credit card RedCompra/debito = debit card "Para aqui/servir o para llevar" = For here or to go? Para aqui/servir = for here Para llevar = To go When ordering a coffee you may be asked: "Simple o Doble?" = Single or double shot of espresso "Como se dice X en espanol?" How do you say X in Spanish If you are going to learn spanish numbers to talk about money, chilean pesos typically reach the thousands. However, 1000 pesos is refered to as "una luca", 2000 pesos is "dos lucas" it is called "luca" because the gold coins in the 18th century were called "pelucas", and in typical Chilean fashion, they shortened the word to "luca". It is akin to saying "buck" for US dollars.
Chilean food and drinks to try: Pastel de Jaiva - crab casserole Pastel de choclo - corn and meat casserole Locos - abalone Machas a la parmesana - baked clams with parmesan Chilean Sushi (Suchi) is very unique and creative take on sushi, try an acevichado roll. Pisco Sour - pisco is a hard alchohol made from grapes, grape tequila Empanadas - savory pastry, pino is the most traditional Completo - hot dog with a lot of toppings Pan con Palta - avocado toast, Palta is avocado in Chile and very high quality Sanguich - sandwich, churrasco italiano - roast meat with mayonaise avocado and tomato, Chacarerro - green bean sandwich Alfajor - chilean cookie Manjar - carmalized condensed milk Marrequeta - chilean bread Ceviche
* Written by Ryan, reviewed by Hidemi