Blogs from Providencia, Santiago Region, Chile, South America
5 Days and 1 Birthday in Chile
Published: May 31st 2012South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Providencia
May 22nd 2012
We arrive in Santiago 4 hours after we leave Sydney, this is something none of us got over in terms of jetlag for at least a week. The ATM machine in the arrivals hall won't let us take out any more than 50 pesos which we are told is just over 7pounds and every taxi driver in the area soon swarms us offering their services. Being totally dewildered, tired and keen to get anywhere that wasn't there, we followed the one with the most english to his car and headed into town. Our hostel; the Chile (Aji) hostel is in Providencia district near the student area of Bella Vista. Run by locals and with an attached cafe it is one of the best places I have stayed thus far including my Sydney hostel at around 4 ... read more
February 12th 2012
Hier ein Abriss meiner ersten Woche: Frueh auf den Zug, damit ich auch bei gefrorenen Gleisen noch rechtzeitig in Kloten bin, schliesslich warte ich seit Monaten auf diesen Tag. Flug verspaetet, dann mal Massage. Madrid Barajas, Flug verspaetet, dann mal San Miguel, Montadito und Tortilla. Santiago - mein Schatz wartet auf mich - Endlich!!! Aber scheissheiss hier - darum mal kuehles Bier und meine erste Erfahrung mit hiesigem Essen: Pastel de Choclo, lecker! Wir logieren bei Freunden in einer Dreistoeckigen Loft im Ausgehquartier Bellavista, mit Aussicht ueber Santiago und Pool auf dem Dach - fett. Alle sagen, dass Santiago und insbesondere Bellavista sicher sei. Nun, am ersten Abend sassen wir gemuetlich in einem Strassencafe als auf der anderen Strassenseite eine Schlaegerei losging. Die in die Flucht geschlagenen kehrten mit Stoecken und Keulen zurueck, welche sie dann ... read more
January 4th 2012
No tapas, no empanadas but a lovely polo dish and a great Chilean dark beer, Kunstmann bock. I forgot to mention the temp in concorse J of the Miami airport. IF YOU EVER HAVE TO BE THERE, BRING MITTENS, EARMUFFS AND A BLANKET. According to the ground personnel and the restaurant servers it is always like that. I didn't fully warm up until I landed. My hotel, The Orly is a boutique hotel in the middle of the Providencia district, one block from the Metro. While small, my room is comfortable and clean, the bath spotless. After breakfast I headed to the ATM and then the Metro. The subway stations are decorated with art, the trains clean, quiet, timely and CROWDED! It is the best way to get around to the area I wanted to see, ... read more
January 3rd 2012
At the risk of boring you to tears, here is a brief syompsis of my travel day. Other than a small snafu at LGA and a minor melt down because a 1) curb sheck in could not find my reservation, 2) Found it but it was too complicated for him to handle and 3) there was a duplicate revervation in my name, I arrived in Miami on time. To get from AA domestic gates to the International gates, I had to exit the terminal and trudge with the air of people movers to the opposite terminal. It must have been a mile. Then it was a trudge through the concorse to the very last gate. Did I ever mention that my gate is usually the very last gate? It was two hours to flight time so ... read more
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? (Santiago)
Published: December 6th 2011South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Providencia
November 23rd 2011
Santiago reminds me of the old computer game Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego. It was a game designed to teach school kids about geography and used to play it on an old Apple that had green type on a black screen. I remember Santiago seeming so exotic and far away! In reality it is quite a European city and it is really easy to walk around and explore which is nice. I arrived at around 7am and headed straight for my hostel in the upmarket Providencia area. I wasn´t able to check in until the afternoon so had a shower, and after some chatting and gmail checking headed off to explore the city. A girl called Elodie that I met at our hostel accompanied me and showed me the way into town, ATM´s etc ... read more
the forgotten apple...
Published: November 22nd 2011South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Providencia
November 22nd 2011
well we've made it to our final destination here in santiago. we've been on the go constantly since we left buenos aires, with little sleep, at times little food, and most of all scarce bathrooms! we spent two days in mendoza, arriving this past sunday. cute city with smaller streets, shops, and again friendly people. our hotel, on the other hand, was a different story. we walked into a great looking place, full of marble floors and leather chairs...then we walked into our hotel room, full of scuffed up walls, a shower curtain that barely covered half the shower, and floors that weren't even meant for feet. we'd sucked it up the best we could, and did what anyone else might have in the situation...drank vino. that day alone, we'd gone through multiple beers, and 4 ... read more
August 8th 2011
7th August – We arrive in Santiago airport, and get a cab to Providencia, a suburb in Santiago, to go to our apartment. Thank Christ there is a key for us at the door!! The owner of the apartment we have rented for the week, Fernando, has been so obliging. We have arrived to a bottle of red wine (good man), and Shane takes off to grab a bite to eat. He comes back with a bag of potato chips from the local servo, as it turns out there is nothing else open here until tomorrow. Have awoken in daylight to see we are surrounded by the snow capped peaks of the Andes!! Today, Fernando has paid us a visit to check that everything is ok- we have free Wi-Fi, mobile phone, and even free calls ... read more
July 25th 2011
I've been spending a long weekend in Ward Colorado. My boyfriend is doing some work on a friend's house and I am using the time to write. Inspiration abounds in the mountains. The first day I found myself going through all my old writing, dating back to 1998, when I was a creative writing student at Colorado State University. Those have been interesting, if not funny to look at now. I stumbled upon what is to follow in a notebook. The first four moments were written on January 25, 2004, while I was still living in Santiago. The rest were written yesterday. Moments in Santiago 1. Dan and I walk down Lota and see a motorized bicycle riding down El Bosque. We both look at each other and laugh. Dan comments on the speed in which ... read more
July 11th 2011
Chile Our flight into Santiago from Auckland went off without a hitch (despite this route having been cancelled for about 1 month before our departure due to volcanic ash – lucky us!). We spent 2 weeks in Chile going north to La Serena and then back down to Santiago via Vicuña. Highlights of Santiago include: 3 day Spanish class with Nastling (managed to just about understand how verbs worked in that time); 2 earthquakes (we were all set to panic given any slight look of apprehension from the locals – none came, we survived); trip up the funicular to the top of Corre de la Virgen; and the Santa Lucia hill walk. North Chile highlights include: trip to the Humbolt penguińo reserve (great trip – we managed to see a handful of these miniature penguins, 2 ... read more
July 3rd 2011
Hey everyone... well one more time, cheers to all the people who took a couple minutes to write me a few words ! Last time I wrote I just got back from Rapa nui (Easter Island) with my dear sister... When I look back on it I realise the chance I had to go there... wow it's fucking incredible ! Unfortunately, I couldn't do any more travel since that trip, for mainly 2 reasons, the lack of time ( I have school almost everyday but I realised it's not such a big deal if you skip class... The thing is I came here to study so I don't really feel like missing it too much) and, like every backpackers, the money is slowly becoming a problem... And i'm trying to save it for my last month. ... read more
