Santiago

I arrived in Santiago de Chile after a long and tiring wait in Toronto airport at 5am Uk time and checked into La Chimba Hostel in the Barrio Bellavista area which was very lively and full of bars and multicoloured fronted buildings, art galleries and restaurants. Very bohemian.
My hostel was great, in a fantastic location, comfortable beds, small and friendly. The transfer from the airport was easy and everyone was helpfull without being pushy, what a change from Africa. In fact it was so easy I think I was a little disapointed.
I was a bit paralized by indecision at first, a whole year ahead of me and I couldnt decide what to do first!
I had planned to go down South and take the Navimag ferry to Puerto Natales and onto Torres del Paine which is one of the National Glacier Parks, but, on talking to a guy in the hostel, I discovered that my guide book is about 4 yrs out of date and the tickets were now twice the price (a price which I had been umming and ahhing over paying in the first place). My problem is that a lot of the mountain cabins in the national park close at the end of March and so I want to get down there as soon as possible but not miss out anything good on the way!
I finaly decided just to start with a small step then worry about the rest later so I booked a bus ticket to a small town called Chillan only 6 hrs away. I then got on with exploring the city a bit, went to a museum and walked around the streets but it was all a bit normal really. Santiago could be any city anywhere. Although it was nice and green and pleasant I didnt get excited by it, it was the opposite of a culture shock after Addis Ababa.
I spent a nice day exploring the Parque Metropolitan which was up on a prominant hill just behind the hostel (I have a thing about climbing hills which I can see from where Im staying, its a bit compulsive). There was a nice botanical garden where I tried to commit the native trees of Chile to memory (I have since only seen one of those included in the garden and, of course, couldnt remember its name), then I found a fantastic swimming pool at the top of the hill with a great view but hadnt brought my bikini.
It was my last night in Santiago and I hadnt really gone out in the evening due to jet lag so I got back to the hostel and enquired if anyone had plans for the evening. Unfortunately it was mostly blokes and they had all decided to get tickets for a football match between Colo Colo (Chile) and River Plate (Argentina), my only other option was to stay in with a very moody Chinese couple so, despite reservations (not being a football fan at all), I thought Id go anyway and have a few beers first at least.
Anyway turns out they stop selling beer everywhere, even in supermarkets, about 3 hours before the match, which just happened to be the time we arrived. We then sat around drinking coca cola for 3 hours and although the match was OK, the atmosphere novel, and the backdrop of the Andes quite beautiful, I think I learnt an important lesson - Dont go along with the crowd just for company, especcially if it costs money!

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