Advertisement
Published: January 26th 2023
After finishing our 6-day hike in Torres del Paine we decided to treat ourselves to a special dinner. I guess that everyone has their own different tastes. Nathan chose a hot dog ... four dollars ... no problem. Leanne and I decided to sample the last remaining culinary delicacy from southern Patagonia, King crab, served three ways and followed by a minted rack of lamb. This was all washed down with pisco sour then a delightful Maipu valley Carmenere. A little more expensive than Nathan's hot dog, but who cares. We deserved it. And the restaurant in Puerto Natales, if you're looking for a very nice dinner, is called Afragonia.
Our final stop on this seven-week trip was Santiago. We had five days left and decided on a nice top-story apartment, or should I say 'penthouse', with a pool, spa and balcony. The plan was to enjoy these facilities in the warm and dry Santiago summer, which we did. The only downside to our plan was that these facilities aren't found in the central parts of the city and we ended up staying in an eastern suburb called San Damian, which is part of a larger area known as Los
Condes away from the action. From our 8th-story view, we could see the grand neighbours' homes, which occupied larger blocks than houses elsewhere in Santiago. There were a lot more trees around and the place felt different from anywhere else that we have seen in South America. All residences have security guards and electric fences. There is a significant police presence. The Carabineros drive new and shiny green and white police cars without the riot protection of cages over windows and lights. One place in our street had a police car permanently parked on the nature strip. That's right, they even have nature strips here. I learned from a taxi driver that the place is the home of ex-president Piñera, who lost the election last year. He is also the fifth richest man in the country. Well, we didn't have any problems with the neighbours.
On our first day in Santiago, we had visitors. Ilona is a friend we made in the Galapagos seven years ago. By chance, she and her partner, Bert, happened to be in the area and we met up again. We walked a long way to find a pizza and burger restaurant and joked about
which South American country we should meet in seven years from now.
After Ilona and Bert left in their purpose-built camper van to continue their nine-month South American odyssey, we felt a craving to see some more of the real Santiago. We caught buses and trains to see the bohemian inner-city barrios of Bellavista and Lastarria. Bellavista is famous for its colourfully painted buildings and after dark its nightlife. During the afternoon it seemed deserted! In Lastarria we found artists selling their wares and a brilliant wine bar, Bocanariz, which only sells Chilean wines and you can buy them by the glass, 50 ml or 150 ml, meaning we could sample lots of different Carmeneres and other varieties from the many different latitudes and terroirs of the western edge of the continent. This seemed like a much better idea than a wine tour to the nearby Maipu valley, where you have to pay too much for a bus tour and then buy wines at the bodegas. We read that they don't offer tastings like they do in Australia. You have to buy by the bottle. Ilona told us that one day we have to go to Cafayete in Argentina,
At Last!!!
After 7 weeks of looking, Nathan finally got the fake 'Air Jordans' that he wanted.for a really good wine-tasting experience. I'll add it to the list!
Nathan first spotted vendors selling 'Nikes' from the windows of the bus that took us from the airport on day one, back in early December. Since then we have promised him that we will find a pair that he likes and with days to spare, we fulfilled our promise. Together, we whiled away an afternoon in Bio Bio's Mercado Persa, soaking up the atmosphere, sampling some cheap eats and scouring every stall for the right pair of Air Jordans. I can't vouch for their authenticity, but they are three days old now, and haven't fallen apart yet! Another day we took Nathan to a hair dresser, to complete the makeover. The hairdresser was super cool and spoke excellent English. He asked what type of haircut Nathan would like.
Nathan said, "I'll have one like yours." Have a look at the photo and decide if he got what he was asking for!
Near our place in Los Condes, there are lots of malls and one is called Mall Sport. Most shops have a sporting theme, for clothing, cycling, Garmin, etc. Then there are other attractions including
some restaurants but most relevant to us was the Go Karting! Nathan has wanted to do this for a long time and our nearest Go Karting center, in Queensland, requires participants to be 12 years old. Not here. It is measured by height and he passed the test. So we had a spin around the track in the underground carpark. It was lots of fun but ended far too quickly. I guess we are just that fast!
One of our favourite hangouts is Plaza Bulnes and we made it there one evening for piscos and a meal. After we ate, it was nice to wander up and down the pedestrianised street, looking for the right dessert to finish off our meal. We watched dogs play together. Their owners bring them here for walkies. Then we headed to the northern end where rollerbladers come to practice every night. If you're looking for this place, it is near La Moneda train station.
Finally, our adventure is at an end. We are back in Sydney, having landed in Australia late on Australia day, and tomorrow we fly home to Queensland. It has been great to see and do the thing we
have done. Most memorable to us are seeing Antarctica, being in Argentina for the World Cup final and the Torres del Paine hike. But we are ready to go home. Can't wait to see our dog, Buddy. It will be good to get back to a normal routine of cricket, cycling, swimming and I guess a little bit of work.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.064s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0302s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
