Landing in Santiago reminded me that time is flying and our trip is slowly coming to an end. Ending, but not over. There was still much to see and South America promised a different adventure than Asia or Oceania. After a 10 hour flight from Auckland we landed early in the afternoon Santiago time and both felt a bit drained. We managed to make our way downtown to our hotel and resisted the urge to immediately go to bed. Instead, we walked the little hilly park near our hotel and then continued on to the Plaza del Armas. Here we found old men playing chess, young people hanging out and both young and old dancing the tango. It was Friday evening and the bars were packed for Happy Hour. We wandered the streets for a bit and eventually found ourself eating sushi for dinner. Sushi must be popular in Santiago as there were plenty of sushi restaurants. We were back at our hotel early and excited for a bed and some sleep.
Sleep was not easy to come by. The time difference found Danny awake in the middle of the night. And while I slept for almost 12 hours I still awoke feeling tired. For the first time, we were glad it was a rainy day. It allowed us to take things slow. We headed to a coffee shop and spent the early part of the afternoon planning our time in South America. We arrived with pretty much no plan other than meeting Danny’s sister in Buenos Aires. What should we do until then? Not a tough decision but it required a lot of research. Patagonia.
With that decision made and some flights booked we headed to the Central Market for a delicious meal of warm fish soup! That evening we moved into an AirBNB, cooked our own dinner, drank local wine and relaxed.
Our next day we headed to Valparaíso. This coastal town two hours from Santiago is known for the hundreds of murals painted on every inch of its walls. Colorful houses fill the hills that over look the bay. There are many abandoned buildings and others that could use a facelift. It has a bit of a run down feel but it’s what gave this city its charm; along with the murals. The sunshine was on full blast that day and it was perfect for just wandering around. You can see the many mural photos in our photo gallery.
We spent our remaining two days in Santiago walking the city and preparing for Patagonia. We had a delicious lunch in the Bella Vista neighborhood. We climbed the top of the Cerro San Cristobal for views of the city and the giant statue of Mary the Immaculate. Our sneakers had seen better days so we also found time to buy some hiking shoes in preparation for Patagonia. We walked a lot! But we also spent time relaxing in our apartment.
We drank a bit of Chilean wine. We tried the pisco sour, Chile’s famous cocktail. It was muy delicioso! Santiago is known for their variety of hot dogs. I tried one with tomatoes, guacamole and melted cheese. It was strange but not bad. We tried mote con huesillo, a traditional summer-time drink made from fresh cooked husked wheat (mote) and dried peaches (huesillo) that are cooked in sugar, water and cinnamon. It’s a drink and a meal in one and it we really enjoyed it.
It was now time to leave the city and head back to nature. We’ve realized time and time again how much we prefer nature or small towns over big cities. Santiago felt draining and we needed fresh air and the excitement of hiking. We were headed to the Argentinian side of Patagonia but it was so much cheaper to fly to the Chilean part. So we flew to Puntas Arenas (Chile), took a bus to Portes Natales (Chile), and took yet another bus to El Calafate (Argentina). And here we are! At the end of the world and the end of our time in Chile. Santiago was nice but Argentina, here we come!
