Santiago

Hola Gente Maravillosa!

After finally crossing the border through the Andes from Mendoza to Santiago, we only had a couple of days to explore Chile. We arrived at the main bus terminal with no Chilean money, no battery on our phones and we hadn't booked a hostel either. I can be quite a disorganised traveller – but I’m never usually that bad! I blame the hectic bus journey for our distinct lack of organisation.

It was starting to look like we may have to camp out on the streets of Santiago, but luckily my Hostel Bookers app was still showing the last page I’d looked at, hostels in Santiago. We took a taxi to the only hostel that was showing up on the app, Santiago Backpackers, and it turned out to be a cracking hostel! It was in a great central location and close to several tube stations. It also did a good free brekkie every morning, so you can’t complain!

Our first morning was spent wandering round some of the markets near to our hostel. Despite being a veggie, my friend really wanted to check out the local fish market, as it was supposed it be an interesting must-see and you could also eat there. So we traipsed round the smelly market, looking at the most disgusting looking fish then chose a restaurant to eat in. There was only one vegetarian choice on the menu, which was quite a surprise considering we were eating in a fish market. However, when the waiter came to take our order he told me that this option was not available and suggested a fish dish to me instead (cracking, I knew it was too good to be true). I tried to explain that I was vegetarian and didn't eat fish, which he clearly did not understand as he then suggested the crab cakes to me. When I explained (again) that I didn't eat fish, his reply was ‘crab is not a fish.’ At this point I gave up and just ate some of the bread from the basket. Not the finest meal I’ve ever had.

In the afternoon we did a free walking tour and it was a great way to see and learn about the city and some of Chile’s history. The tour took us around 3 hours and we saw several sights including; the cathedral, the presidential house, a large park and Pablo Neruda’s house. I would always recommend doing a free walking tour whenever you visit a city for the first time. The people who give the tours purely work of tips, so they are usually really engaging, funny and informative. Plus the tip you give at the end will always be heaps cheaper than paying for an official tour. After the tour finished we went to a bar we passed earlier in the day, in an area called the Patio. This is located in Bellavista which is the student area in Santiago and full of bars and restaurants. We opted for the traditional drink of a Pisco Sour, but with added avocado, and despite seeming like an odd combo, it was really tasty!

Our second day in Santiago was pretty chilled, we wandered round town for a while then headed over to the San Cristobal Hill. We took the funicular to the top, rather than walk (yes I’m super lazy), and were just in time to take in the views and see the sunset. Sadly, there was a bit of smog around which made some of the view a bit hazy, but the view over the city to the Andes was still cracking.

As we only had a few days in Chile before we flew to Lima, Peru, we decided to do a day trip to Valparaiso, a coastal city an hour away from Santiago on our final day. This meant we were only in Santiago for 2 days so we actually managed to see and do a lot in the short time we were there. I really loved the feel of Chile and would love to go back and do some more exploring. Watch this space!