The day of the big earthquake in Chile we were sitting in a hostel dining room in Uyuni, Bolivia when Nico recognized a Chilean accent. He leaned over to ask the couple if their family was fine and if they had any news about the earthquake. They are the same age as us and live in Santiago de Chile. Augustin offered for us to stay with them the following month during our visit and we exchanged contact information. That short interaction led to a great weekend with good people. When we arrived in Santiago, Augustin had arranged for a taxi to pick us up and even had dinner on the grill. We spent the evening chatting with him in both English and Spanish. Their home is on the 25th floor of a building with a clear view of the mountains and was a comfortable place to stay right after the tough travel of Bolivia.
Santiago de Chile is the capital of Chile and the seat of both the executive and judicial branches of the government while congress is based in Valparaiso. Chile is a very interesting country for many reasons. The reason that stands out the most to me is the fact that it is so skinny and long. Most of the economic output and population are in Santiago. Populating and funding other regions of the country has proved to be difficult for the government. One big issue is the lack of transportation from one region to another. Train travel is basically non-existent and the mountainous terrain makes bus travel lengthy and difficult. Flying is pretty much the only option. The city was founded in 1541 and has a distinct European flare. I was really impressed by how clean, modern, and spacious the city felt. In some ways it reminded me of my home city of Portland. It has the most extensive metro system and tallest building (Gran Torre Santiago) in South America. The food was clean, the supermarkets had just as many options as the ones in the US, cars waited for you to cross the street, and strangers smiled at you! In general in the Pacific Northwest of the US, it is rude if you pass someone and don’t smile. Unfortunately, in some countries, such as Bolivia, people look at you strangely if you smile at them. I really really really like this fact about Chileans. I also loved that shop keepers didn’t try to push their goods on you. You could look at their wares and walk away and still be given a smile and a nod. On Sunday, the main avenue that runs along the Mapocho River is closed to motor vehicles so that runners and bicyclists can rule the road. We took advantage of this and went for a run along with a seemingly huge portion of the city’s inhabitants. The Parque Forestral also runs along the river and provides a peaceful place to enjoy the outdoors within the city limits. In summary, I like Chile a lot.
Ok, ok, one bad thing did happen. We were walking and all of a sudden a man grabbed my shoulder and pointed to Nico’s backpack. Sure enough his bag and pants were covered with a sticky substance that at first glance appeared to be bird poop. The man gestured for us to step to the side of the road and offered us assistance. Nico instinctively grabbed my arm and began walking at a brisk pace. A second man approached and offered to guide us to a public bathroom. Nico said some strong words in Spanish to indicate that A. he is a native Spanish speaker and B. he knew what they were trying to do. In this neck of the woods it is common for thieves to “mark” you. They will throw ketchup, mustard, or something on your clothes and when you go to clean yourself off they rob you. Apparently this has happened to several people he knows and luckily he kept it from happening to us. Safely within Starbucks we assessed how bad we had been “marked”. It was all over my butt and back as well. After inspection, we assumed it was some sort of salad dressing. Always be cautious and clean yourself up away from the street.
We visited the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Plaza de Armas, the church of San Francisco, ran up to the statue of the Virgin Mary on San Cristobal Hill (great views of the mountains and city), ate fresh fish at the Mercado Central, climbed the Cerro Santa Lucía, visited the Hard Rock Café, and took it relatively easy. There was definitely more to see, but our time there was simply relaxing. Our last night we had dinner in the apartment with Agustin, Connie, and their Spanish roommate who grew up in Ecuador (he himself was a very interesting person to chat with). Connie has a strong traveler spirit as well and told us about her time in India with three female friends. It is one of the countries I so badly want to explore, but am hesitant to due to safety concerns. I have a feeling that one of these days I will make it to the land of yoga, amazing curries, and Hinduism. Thank you Augustin and Connie for your enjoyable company and for allowing us to use your well equipped kitchen. You were excellent hosts and we hope to return the favor in the future.
Above there are pictures of Valparaiso, but I will write about it in a different post.
Santiago de Chile is the capital of Chile and the seat of both the executive and judicial branches of the government while congress is based in Valparaiso. Chile is a very interesting country for many reasons. The reason that stands out the most to me is the fact that it is so skinny and long. Most of the economic output and population are in Santiago. Populating and funding other regions of the country has proved to be difficult for the government. One big issue is the lack of transportation from one region to another. Train travel is basically non-existent and the mountainous terrain makes bus travel lengthy and difficult. Flying is pretty much the only option. The city was founded in 1541 and has a distinct European flare. I was really impressed by how clean, modern, and spacious the city felt. In some ways it reminded me of my home city of Portland. It has the most extensive metro system and tallest building (Gran Torre Santiago) in South America. The food was clean, the supermarkets had just as many options as the ones in the US, cars waited for you to cross the street, and strangers smiled at you! In general in the Pacific Northwest of the US, it is rude if you pass someone and don’t smile. Unfortunately, in some countries, such as Bolivia, people look at you strangely if you smile at them. I really really really like this fact about Chileans. I also loved that shop keepers didn’t try to push their goods on you. You could look at their wares and walk away and still be given a smile and a nod. On Sunday, the main avenue that runs along the Mapocho River is closed to motor vehicles so that runners and bicyclists can rule the road. We took advantage of this and went for a run along with a seemingly huge portion of the city’s inhabitants. The Parque Forestral also runs along the river and provides a peaceful place to enjoy the outdoors within the city limits. In summary, I like Chile a lot.
Ok, ok, one bad thing did happen. We were walking and all of a sudden a man grabbed my shoulder and pointed to Nico’s backpack. Sure enough his bag and pants were covered with a sticky substance that at first glance appeared to be bird poop. The man gestured for us to step to the side of the road and offered us assistance. Nico instinctively grabbed my arm and began walking at a brisk pace. A second man approached and offered to guide us to a public bathroom. Nico said some strong words in Spanish to indicate that A. he is a native Spanish speaker and B. he knew what they were trying to do. In this neck of the woods it is common for thieves to “mark” you. They will throw ketchup, mustard, or something on your clothes and when you go to clean yourself off they rob you. Apparently this has happened to several people he knows and luckily he kept it from happening to us. Safely within Starbucks we assessed how bad we had been “marked”. It was all over my butt and back as well. After inspection, we assumed it was some sort of salad dressing. Always be cautious and clean yourself up away from the street.
We visited the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Plaza de Armas, the church of San Francisco, ran up to the statue of the Virgin Mary on San Cristobal Hill (great views of the mountains and city), ate fresh fish at the Mercado Central, climbed the Cerro Santa Lucía, visited the Hard Rock Café, and took it relatively easy. There was definitely more to see, but our time there was simply relaxing. Our last night we had dinner in the apartment with Agustin, Connie, and their Spanish roommate who grew up in Ecuador (he himself was a very interesting person to chat with). Connie has a strong traveler spirit as well and told us about her time in India with three female friends. It is one of the countries I so badly want to explore, but am hesitant to due to safety concerns. I have a feeling that one of these days I will make it to the land of yoga, amazing curries, and Hinduism. Thank you Augustin and Connie for your enjoyable company and for allowing us to use your well equipped kitchen. You were excellent hosts and we hope to return the favor in the future.
Above there are pictures of Valparaiso, but I will write about it in a different post.
