Santiago

Surrounded by mountains on all sides is the massive city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. Museums, parks, skyscrapers, San Christoval, music, restaurants, bars, and pollution are among the highlights of the city. The metro (subway) system seems to be the most common way for people to move around the city, but there are many buses and cars as well.

Spending close to 3 weeks in Santiago, I got to explore many different parts. I visited museums, one of which I liked very much. The museum I liked is called The Pre-Colombian museum and had ceramic artwork from different cultures and times throughout South America. Beyond that, I got a history lesson in Mayan and Inca culture.

The sun was out everyday and I enjoyed walking around the city and parks in the 80-degree weather. I joined a gym because I needed some exercise and was feeling restless. I got to strengthen my knee a bunch and after a couple weeks in the gym it feels much stronger.

During my home stay and school I would spend much of my time out of the house exploring the city with friends or my ipod. Visiting San Christoval, a statue that looks over the city, I was disheartened to see the abundant amount of pollution that sits trapped above the city by the mountains.

After school one day we headed to a fish market with a couple locals and a couple friends from school. The waiters’ stand outside their restaurants and do anything in their power to get you to stop and eat at their establishment. The local Chileans did the ordering for everyone and pretty soon our table was filled with creatures from the sea. I love seafood, but was hesitant to eat the shellfish having heard so many bad stories of people getting sick. To not be rude, I ate a little of everything along with ceviche (raw fish with lemon and onions), a popular dish both in Chile and Peru.

            After lunch we head to a dive bar that is famous in Santiago called Piojera. The bar is filled with loud, drunk locals drinking Terramotos (Earthquakes), a drink made with cheap white wine, pineapple ice cream and Brandy. I manage to force one down and then a group of 10 or so Chilean students call me over to their table in English. They are studying to be English teachers and are excited to practice what they are learning in school with me. They all ask me questions at the same time and eventually ask to take pictures with me. Being tall, white and American was enough for them to want to have their picture taken with me.

            The bar itself is quite dirty. The walls have hand written tags on them and all the tables are quite old and dirty. The bar, like all bars and restaurants in Chile, is filled with cigarette smoke and after an hour or two, the smoke starts to make me feel sick. One of the girls from our school who is quite small drank her fair share of terramotos and so we eventually guide her to the exit and lead her safely back home on the metro.

            After I finished the Spanish school program, I moved to a hostel for 4 nights waiting for my flight to Lima to meet up with Summer and Paul. The hostel is one of my favorites so far. It is a huge high-ceiling Victorian type house that has been renovated to become a youth hostel. There is more than enough lounge space and a pool with a swim up bar with grass to lie out on to enjoy the warm weather. I spend the rest of my stay relaxing and reading in the sun, talking with the many other gringo travelers from all around the world.

            Two British girls seek advice from me because they have a 50-year-old Turkish stalker staying at the hostel. The guy invited himself along to travel Chile with the girls asking, “Where are you going next?” The girls responded that they were going to San Pedro and then he replied, “I go with you to San Pedro”. Their plan was to try to get up early and sneak away. We laughed at their predicament and I told them I was going to try the Turkish guys strategy at some point in my trip to see the other persons reaction.

            Santiago treated me well, and now I am sitting here in the airport writing this before I board my plane to Lima, Peru and the land of the Incas! . . . well the Spanish and The Incas!