Top 5 Weirdest Things in Chile That Make You Confused

Laelia Yang May 16, 2023 | 07:07

Chile, home to the world's largest swimming pool and the best wine, is a destination in its own right. If you want more information, read on.

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It opened to the public in 2006 in Algarrobo city on the Pacific coast and is the largest swimming pool in the world at 1,000 yards in length, 20 acres in area, and 115 feet in depth, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

According to the media, it was approximately the size of 16 football fields, took five years to build, and cost nearly $2 billion. More than 66 million gallons of pure ocean water are stored there. There's a good chance you couldn't swim across. Thankfully, one can rent a kayak, canoe, or paddleboat. So, how do they load this thing up?

The ocean water is pumped inland, where it is filtered and treated before being used. The perfect spot for a swim, a workout, or a selfie.

2. The Driest Place on Earth, The Atacama Desert

Photo: Traveller

The Atacama Desert in Chile covers an area of 363,000 square kilometers, stretching across a 1,000-kilometer-long strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The Desert is likely the oldest desert on Earth, with some parts of the region never having seen rain.

Especially in the lower Atacama Desert, plant and animal life have nearly died out due to the extreme conditions. Northern coastal areas, however, see slightly more precipitation than the rest of the country, making them less parched.

3. Easter Island

Photo: Black Platinum Gold

It was in the late 1700s that Chile annexed the "moai" island off its coast, renaming it Easter Island. The Chilean Navy oversaw its operation as a sheep farm in the early 20th century.

Over seven kilometers of underground lava tunnels have been mapped out on this island, making it home to one of the world's largest cave systems. The last of the Rapanui people became Chilean citizens when the entire island was opened to tourists in 1966.

4. The Chilean Accent

Photo: Nomadic Boys

An innovative Spanish accent! As soon as you believe you have mastered the Spanish language, you arrive in Santiago completely baffled and unsure of what anyone is trying to tell you. For instance, the letter s is typically avoided in Chilean Spanish, so in a store, "200 pesos" (dos cientos pesos) becomes do ciento peso. Gracias, which means "thank you," has a similar pronunciation to "gracia," and "more or less" is pronounced "ma o meno."

As a result, words like supermercado and pescado—the Spanish words for fish—become supermercao and pecao, respectively. Chileans also drop the d from words ending in ado. In addition, every other sentence contains a word like po that is thrown in at random, even after a simple yes or no: si po or no po.

5. World's Best Wines

Photo: Nomadic Boys

The Spanish first arrived in Chile in the 1500s and brought vitis vinifera grapes with them. This is when Chile's wine industry began. But it wasn't until the late 1900s, when many French families immigrated to Chile, that it really took off.Chile is currently the fifth-largest exporter and seventh-largest producer of wine worldwide. While Chile is renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina is known for its Malbec.

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Laelia Yang