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sabado, 24 de abril We caught the late bus Friday night arriving in Santiago early morning. Chile shuts down at this time and we saw barely a soul as we caught the underground to Bellavista and our hostel. The place was on a road which had 2 of the same address - one three blocks to the left and one two to the right. We of course arrived at a block of flats and had to make the trek back with 15kg on our backs.
After catching up on some much needed beauty sleep we decided on doing a walking tour taking in all of the important sights (minus the cafes and other places requiring money). Our first stop was Santa Lucia, a 600m high hill/mount/slope amidst the centre of town and completely built upon. It´s mainly stairs but has archways and castle battlements too. It´s clearly the site of romance in Santiago, everybody seems coupled up. Mostly quite shamelessly, a cheeky kiss overlooking the city is about as big an understatement as saying our Spanish is ´limited´. For the record Hayley won´t hold my hand here because I´ll "pretend to push me over the wall".
The mount is
covered in danger signs blocking paths, could be the first sign of the earthquake to date. Could just be South American construction!
Next on to the Palacio Belles Artes, an old style building set in the leafy Parque Forestal. Didn´t spend long here just enjoyed the sunshine. There was a couple lying on top of each other, again swapping spit. Such romance. Around the front of the Palacio all of the bricks have come away from the top. Two common themes now.
Further on to the Plaza de Armas, the main square. It´s national book week and hence very busy. We walked around taking in the street performers (mostly balloon animals) and the craft stalls surrounded by some of the more imposing and ornately decorated buildings we´ve seen here (namely a large cathedral which we didn´t go in because churches scare us). Eventually we parked for a rest and watched a man preach so angrily a vein in his head exploded. Less than 3 metres away a tanned and unshaven man (the latest in homeless fashion) slept on the floor. How the fr*g he did with the verbal onslaught going on we´ll never know. Maybe the buddhists are
right about inner peace and not having material possessions...
Sufficiently rested we walked down the Augustinas to the Palacio Moneda. On the way we passed an elderly couple necking in the street. Tongues and everything. The Palacio Moneda was the site of the coup by Pinochet in the 70s. Most of the blood had been cleared up now though, no woman president would allow a dirty Parliament. Next was the Chilean stock exchange which was actually a tiny little street and was not obvious. Maybe the First World can wait a few years.
With light fading quicker than Liverpool´s league hopes this year we caught the underground to the hostel. I got caught between another 2 couples investigating each other´s throats, the sound echoing throughout his brain. Once we had alighted we walked into Bellavista which had completely changed from the morning. From a dead area to one covered with street vendors selling necklaces, finger puppets and sometimes just rubbish they had found. All the bars have opened out onto the streets too. Young Chilean students beginning the night with a bottle of Cristal and waxing lyrical.
We opted for our first Parillada of the trip -
The Virgin of Santiago
and a big white statue behindbasically a large mixed grill but barbecued - it was awesome. Usually they come with tripe and intestines but the worst we had was black pudding. Morrisey was on the radio and when I pointed it out to Hayley a Chilean looked over and said "Morrisey es bueno". Take that, NME.
Everybody smokes. God dammit.
domingo, 25 de abril Everbody knows Sunday is a day for culture and today we decided that the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino was a must-see. Here more evidence of the recent earthquake could be seen, huge cracks in the walls and buttressed window frames in the old building dominated our entrance. The permanent exhibit is a documentation of Mayan civilisation stretching all the way back from 3000BC up to the c15th when the Incas got involved. The museum is filled with statues, decorative pots and death offerings and is quite spectacular as to its quality from so long ago.
We learnt that in those times dwarves were considered special. Can´t imagine there was any midget tossing back then. Also, the losers of their equivalent of basketball were decapitated. It´s a shame that the tradition didn´t make it up to North America.
One statue appeared to be a group of p*n*ses dancing.
The temporary (unphotoable) exhibit led more towards the Incas and has a more direct link to Chile (Maya was a bit further North). The pots weren´t as good as the Mayans but the evidence of census taking using knotted ropes was pretty fascinating. There was a video with old folk telling of legends but without any context. All that was concluded was that Alzheimer´s is not limited to the Western World.
After the museum we took a stroll down Ahumada; Santiago´s Avenida Florida. Buskers and the mentally ill have been replaced by shoe-shines and carabineros. The carabineros are the armed police, they are everywhere. It´s difficult to tell whether you feel safe with such a presence or whether you are just sh*t scared to even contemplate any criminal activity. We suspect they may be telepathic.
The underground to Cerro San Cristobal was filled with Colo Colo fans, kids almost shaking the train off its rails in anticipation of the derby with Universidad de Chile (Copa Libertadores representatives). At the 870m mountain it seemed everybody had a portable radio. Towering at the top of the hill is a
statue of the Virgin Mary a la Cristo Redentor, but it´s obvious football is the true religion. The climb itself was dusty and rocky and tough in the sweltering heat. The whole city may be seen from the top, blurred by the smog of a country trying to shed itself of its continent. Blocking good photos aside the smog is not as bad as we had been led to believe. Certainly we noticed it more in BA.
On the return to Bellavista we were stopped twice, once by a man who told us the gringos were loved because they are so beautiful and once by a woman who said Pinochet was best friends with Maggie Thatcher. Bellavista itself is a bit seedy in places and not great value for money, some restaurants look as though you would catch an infection just walking through the door. There are no vaccinations for that. Beer is cheap, liquor is most definitely not.
A man almost got his willy out in front of Hayley this evening as we walked for our next parilla. He was waiting for us to pass before relieving himself, though not very patiently.
lunes, 26 de abril Didn´t do much today, so here are our top 7 findings of South America to date:
1. There are literally no gingers.
2. Dogs are for Christmas, not for life.
3. If you drink Fanta you can light a room with your stomach.
4. No cheese on your dinner? You´re probably not here.
5. 7 o´clock means 7.30.
6. Everybody loves dulce de leche (a sweet condensed milk).
7. WHEREVER you go, graffiti will tell you exactly who has been there before.
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james st. james
non-member comment
creepy gingers
well, you can't say there are no gingers, just that you haven't seen any. the chilean exchange student in my high school was ginger, my best friend in chile is a red-headed freckled ginger, one of chile's most famous movies called "machuca" features a ginger as its protagonist. chile is not scotland or ireland, but gingers do indeed exist. enjoy the rest of your time in south america!