 We've Arrived |
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We had a long flight, but arrived safely in Santiago at 5am this morning. We took a taxi to our hostel this morning and we are really enjoying our stay here. The owner is an American and is very helpful. We were incredibly exhausted this morning, but decided to go out for a walk and check things out. It didn't last long and we came back to sleep on a futon in the middle of the game room where everyone could see us, because our room was not ready. After a great morning nap we showered and went out for the rest of the day. We walked to other side of the city and saw the incredible view of the mountains in the distance. We would love to share pics, but we went out today with a dead battery. It is charging right now and will be ready for us tomorrow. Tim and I are traveling well together so far and feeling out how to do all this. Thanks for all the responses thus far, its great to hear from everyone. Here is one goofy story about today. Tim and I were speaking to a man today at a restaurant who seemed to be three sheets to the wind. Tim wisely suggested we move on and I agreed. As we went to leave the guy went right in for a kiss from me. I dodged him and gave him a strange look. Tomorrow should be a visit to a winery and we'll plan to get some pics on here. L
Besides everything that Ellen excellently summarized, I wanted to talk about my apparent mistrust of everyone, and my view of Ellen and I as targets (Ellen's red hair doesn't help). I think I'm becoming OCD; any person who follows us, I suspect is going to try to pick our pockets or open our backpack and remove any of the valuable things inside of it (The worst being G.O.R.P. to lose). Besides being a big distraction from the scenery, it is not doing justice to the openness and friendliness of the local people. There have been numerous situations where people have gone out of there way to help us, translating or assisting as possible. Why is there such disparity of wealth in the world? I need to work out a way to ease my mind, making me more open and friendly, absorbent of culture, while also increasing our security than carrying our important documents in the backpacks. Last note: the sun set at around 9:00 tonight and rose at about 5:00 this morning.
Tim
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December 29th 2007 - Mike Rigg...:
if you guys get into a bind maybe you can sell Ellen's red hair. That is if no one has stolen it. Can't wait to see pictures!!
December 29th 2007 - Maggie: So cool!
Hey guys! This blog is so great! I can't wait to keep reading of your adventures.
Tim, don't worry, the longer you travel, the openess will come. You have to de-program your American brain and you'll start to absorb the culture around you. The first night I went out in Greece, I refused to put my coat down in the bar because I was scared it would get stolen. In a couple of months, I was walking home by myself at 3 in the morning because it was perfectly safe, but its something I never would have done in America. Give yourself an adjustment period. But do cary your documents in a safe place! Please.
Good luck and best wishes!
-Maggie
December 29th 2007 - Paul: Stealing things
Tim, you only need to worry about someone stealing a Discman from Ellen. Glad you are having fun!
December 29th 2007 - james st. james: curaditos chilenos
(comment titles translates to "chilean drunks")
first of all, thanks for choosing chile as a destination. chileans are in some ways the irishmen of latin america. they love their drink and seeing a few drunk men in public is almost normal. the thing is that these drunks are actually very very harmless. chileans just ignore them and you should too. americans especially have a very hard time just "ignoring" people b/c they think it's rude, but that's simply the best advise and what chileans themselves do.
second, the kiss you dodged is simply the way chileans meet and then say bye to women (men kiss women on the cheek, women kiss women on the cheek, men shake hands or hug each other unless they're family in which case kisses are common too). if you watch a chilean interview show and there are already 10 guests there when a new person arrives to be interviewed, this person will kiss each and every one of the people present plus the host. same when attending a chilean function. kissing is the norm, on the cheek, and often actually you just touch cheeks and kiss the air with a smooching sound.
santiago is THE safest capital city in the western hemisphere next to ottawa canada. the murder rate in chile is 1.7 per 100k population (compared to about 12/100k in the US, 40/100k in colombia, or 1.5/100k for canada or 42/100k in detroit, my city). however, petty crime like pick pockets and opportunistic theft (not watching your belongings in an outdoor cafe for example) is common. you don't need to be paranoid (save that for peru or brazil) and you shouldn't let that get in the way of your vacation. this is mostly a big city issue common to cities anywhere in the world. just be aware of your surrounding and you'll be fine. that said, have a great time. drink pisco and ask your american hotel host where to get pitchers if wine with fruit in it (delicious, especially with chirimoya [custard apple] or peaches). happy trails....
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