A long narrow streak of a country, jam-packed with natural charm. That's how Lonely Planet describes the South American country of Chile. We cruised down the Chilean coast for several days as the first leg of our four week trip around the bottom half of the continent.

Chile must be the oddest shaped country in the entire world. While its average width is less than 100 miles, its length stretches more than 2,700 miles. That's farther than the distance from Los Angeles to New York City!

We sailed south from Santiago's ... (more)