After our mammoth 23 hour bus ride to Santiago, we checked into a nice hostel. Here we stayed in a 6 bed dorm because prices for the peak season are phenomenal. The next few months are going to attack the wallet! Our roommates were a nice Scottish guy and an English couple. At breakfast I met a lady also staying there with her husband and 2 young children. She is taking them around the world for a year and is planning on enrolling the kids in Spanish classes for 3 months in Cusco (like I did for 3 days). I would’ve thought that once you had kids, the long term travelling option was over as it would be too disruptive for them, but she really inspired me. Travelling is a great way to learn different cultures and customs, and at that age, a second language would come so quickly to them. Got me thinking about the future a bit….
Andrew and I summoned up the energy to take a walk around Barrio Brasil (the area we were staying in) to get lunch, go supermarket shopping and find a bank – the usual chores. We tried Chile’s obsession – a hot dog smothered in avocado & tomatoes, tomato sauce, mustard and mayo. It was nice, and it was cheap but far too much sauce! Being in Santiago was refreshing (not physically… Santiago’s known for its summer smog) as it’s so civilized! The cars follow road rules, the buses and taxis look new (but we still got ripped off by the taxi driver, even in a metered car… grrr), the building & architecture look more familiar, it looks clean, there are malls and loads of shops and we fit in a lot more as the people are fairer skinned, taller and dressed like people in the western world.
Quick history lesson: I know I mentioned it in my previous blog, but Chile is set to be the first Latin American country deemed to be a first world country. The poverty level is much less than neighboring countries which is excellent, but of course it means everything costs more for us! Chile is a very thin country that stretches 4300km down half of the continent. It’s very diverse – dry desert, volcanoes and geysers to beaches, lakes and rivers to massive glacial fields and small islands. On one side is the Pacific Ocean; on the other is the Andean Mountains.
The government is (or just recently was) run by a female president and due to copper earnings they are keeping afloat financially. Life in Chile stretches back to 12500 years ago which was confirmed by a discovery of a human foot print in Monte Verde in the north. Farmers & fisherman in Chile predated the Incas. The Mapuche people were the only indigenous group to successfully hold off the Incas. When the Spanish arrived, the Mapuche fought them for over 3 centuries. Chile gained independence from Spain in 1818.
Chile grew in size from its triumph over Peru and Bolivia in the war of the pacific 1879-83. This gave them nitrate fields in the south which created prosperity until the Panama Canal opened in 1915 reducing port traffic, and the development of petroleum based fertilizers made mineral nitrates obsolete. In 1890 10,000 people lost their lives in a civil war. In 1964 Chile took 50% ownership over their copper mines from the hands of North America. In 1972 there were many strikes against the government resulting in a military coup where thousands of people died and went into exile. In the last 20 years however, things have proved a lot more stable. The average Chilean lives with their parents until they are married, women are respected, and people take pride in the way they dress. Over a third of Chiles 16.6 million inhabitants live in the capital of Santiago and more than 85% of the population live in cities. Down in southern Chile, there is a very strong German influence in their buildings, food etc
After a well deserved sleep, the next day was unfortunately disappointing. The day started with a panic realizing that TurBus had completely booked out of tickets to Valparaiso which is where we had spent far too much money on accommodation for New Years. The buses departed every 15 min so we didn’t think it would be a problem to not book in advance but apparently a large portion of Santiago’s population head to the beach around this time and for the famous fireworks display to bring in the New Year. We rushed to the bus station and managed to secure some tickets with another company. Phew! Crisis averted!
Afterwards we spent almost the whole day visiting computer shops and waiting for hours as they attempted to format a laptop into English so that I could buy it. My hopes were painfully dragged up and down, but it was not meant to be.
We thought we would only have the one day there so we forced our tired feet around the city, sightseeing in the hot sun. It’s just another city really but very nice compared to all the capitals we’ve seen in South America! The buildings are modern and clean but aren’t overly impressive due to a huge earthquake in 1985 which destroyed all the historic architecture. We went to beautiful Santa Lucia park and climbed up to a little view point to look out over the smoggy city. That night we pondered over what we wanted to do after New Year’s. We had 2 weeks free before our next booked adventure and we had extra days up our sleeve as we had planned to spend more time in one place if my mum had visited which sadly couldn’t happen in the end…. We decided to spend some more time at the beach and come back to Santiago to see if we could get my laptop fixed. Fingers Crossed!
On the 30th Dec we joined the throngs of people at the bus station heading to Valparaiso. The trip took less than 2 hours and the weather went from scorching mid 30s to overcast low 20s… My first impression of the town wasn’t overly positive. It was a mish mash of wires above the streets and dirty old paint peeling buildings… however, we had expected a plain box of a room that we had to pay extravagant fees for – and it was still the cheapest one we could find online – but when we turned up, we discovered we had a whole loft to ourselves! Our own kitchen, bathroom, big bed and flat screen TV! Bliss! The common area of the hostel had computers we could use for free so for a few hours here and there throughout our 3 day stay, I typed out some of my blog into a word document so I didn’t get too far behind without the use of my laptop.
On New Year’s Eve we went out for lunch and tried a Chilean dish – a large plate for 2 piled up with fries and covered in onions, bits of egg, sausage and beef. Afterwards we explored the streets and saw Valparaiso’s inner charm. Little thin passageways walled by colorful quaint cottages, with loads of little stair cases and elevators leading to more alleyways covered in graffiti giving it an artistic alternative vibe. Later in the afternoon the sun came out so we ventured out again to some higher points looking over the harbor. It’s not the prettiest port as there are cargo ships everywhere but the sun can make anything pleasant!
We hung out in our loft that evening having a few drinks as the hostel common area was deserted and we couldn’t afford to drink in bars or pay the huge club fees. We tried to get into the festive season but my choice of drink just ended up making me feel full and yuck so I didn’t continue drinking. At 11pm we joined the groups of people on the streets migrating to the view point for the fireworks. They fireworks weren’t actually all that impressive and they had the reputation of being the best display in South America. (A few days later we met a Chilean guy who said they were unusually bad this year… typical). We didn’t have the best view though due to the crowd. We couldn’t see over everyone to the ocean where fireworks were exploding off loads of individual boats all over the harbor – that would’ve been neat to see. Once it was over, we just went to bed. It was nice having a taste of the atmosphere and to have the fireworks mark the beginning of the new year instead of being a non event like xmas, but without a group of friends to party with and the money to dine at one of the fancy restaurants with the best view overlooking the water, it wasn’t really worth the paying almost triple our budget for being there.
The streets outside our hostel were buzzing with activity until well into day light. It didn’t bother me but it did remind me of how much I have changed. That used to be me out there, and it didn’t have to be new years for me to be partying, it was a most weekend occurrence…
I still love a good party but there are much more important things in life to enjoy these days.
Our first day of 2012 was spent with a big sleep in and lazy morning. In the afternoon we went outside and instantly my nose began to tingle. The road was covered in a carpet of broken glass and people covered their faces as they walked. The further down the road we walked, the worse the sensation got. Then it was like hitting a brick wall – our eyes, noses and throats burnt fiercely. Tear gas!! It was very calm and there weren’t enough people on the streets for there to be cause for it to be let off recently therefore this must only be the after effects! I’d hate to think how painful it would’ve been to be there when it first exploded. It certainly looked like there had been a riot but the partying we heard last night didn’t sound sinister at all. We very quickly got on a train the short distance to Vina Del Mar.
Everything was closed due to it being a public holiday and it was deserted so there wasn’t much to see. We walked 15 blocks down the tree lined streets to the beach resort area and that’s where we found everyone. Almost every inch of sand was covered in confetti and people enjoying the sun. It was a large beach but not the best id ever seen. There were still big cargo ships out in the water. We couldn’t find anywhere open to eat so we resorted to eating burgers from the gas station, and they were painfully expensive with a long wait in line. There are parks in Vina that are supposed to be stunning but instead of walking the 15 blocks back to them, we ended up getting a local bus straight back to Valparaiso to our comfy loft for more lazy time in front of the TV! Has to be done sometimes!!
The next morning we sadly said goodbye to our privacy. From here on in we are destined to dorm rooms as we can no longer afford private rooms due to peak season prices L
We got the train to Vina Del Mar, then a local bus an hour to Quintero which was a much bigger beach town than I expected! Full with only local people & Chileans on holiday, it isn’t much of a tourist destination and isn’t particularly attractive. From there we got a taxi a short distance into the very quiet area of Ritoque which is a small cul-de-sac right on the beach with 2 restaurants, a mini market, a hostel and some beach houses. As the hostel was the only one around the area and is small, we had emailed in advance to secure 2 beds in a 4 person dorm. Our dorm room was in a house with a kitchen, bathroom, and lounge which is shared with only one other room with a double bed so there was only ever 6 of us in our house at any one time. From our deck we could see the beach; it was literally less than a minute walk away.
We enjoyed 2 days of relaxing on the beach and watching people surf or reading on our balcony completely disconnected from the outside world. We attempted to swim but only lasted a few minutes as it was so cold, our nether regions went numb! On the 2nd day it was overcast until after lunch when the sun burnt through but it was still very warm. Everyone at the hostel was very laid back and friendly and the hostels dogs took us for a walk!
We returned to Santiago by bus directly from Quintero, still via Vina, but it saved us from having to do the taxi, bus, train combination again. It took roughly 3 hours and when we arrived in Santiago it was ridiculously hot!! We stayed at a different cheaper hostel this time in a 6 person dorm. It was the first dorm we’ve been in that we never talked to our other roommates. We dropped my laptop off at a computer technician’s office who spoke broken English and prayed that they could fix it! It was Wednesday late afternoon and I told them we were leaving Saturday morning.
Thursday we had a lazy day at the hostel and I worked on my blog and photos on the free computers there just in case mine couldn’t be fixed. Friday we walked all the way through town and through the Santa Lucia and Bellavista districts. I really liked Bellavista, it had loads of chic boutiques, bars and restaurants. We passed a raging river where the water was so thickly brown it looked like liquid chocolate (or another thing that came to mind…. Yuck) and went through some markets with really cool artistic things that I would’ve loved to have bought. Once we reached the … park, we got the funicular up the hill and looked out high over Santiago city. The smog was so bad you could only see buildings for so far and the mountains were completed hidden but I knew they were there, id seen photos!! Went back to the computer technician at 5pm and asked if there was good or bad news. Moment of truth!
They said it would take 6 days. We didn’t have 6 days… The guy that spoke a little English wasn’t there so it was a difficult conversation. Eventually they said to come back in 2 hours as they closed at 7pm. We went to find a bar so I could try Chile and Peru’s signature drink – the Pisco Sour. We could only find a hotel bar and of course it was triple the price as anywhere else, but we treated ourselves anyway. It was drinkable but it wouldn’t be my first choice! Went back to the office with my fingers crossed… they had fixed it! Yay! They had to wipe all information off it which is annoying having to reload everything but luckily I hadn’t lost anything as we had backed it all up before the trip and I still had all our photos on our cameras and saved on an online website. Due to the rush job, it is now in spanglish…. But the settings are in English enough to get by! $200 later…. And the notebook was worth less than $400! Ah well, I am super happy to have it back.
In the morning we set off to Argentina!!
