Santiago to the sea

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Vik's bit:
So an uncomfortably long journey brought us to Santiago, capital of Chile and home to about one-third of the population there. Suitably sized in order to hold all that folk, it spreads itself within the confines of the mountains that surround it. The city bustles, but does not overwhelm, and we spent our days enjoying the plazas, the coffee and the seafood. The plazas provided random opera performances and other such treats, and the coffee shops a different kind of entertainment. Turns out that purchasing coffee is a risky business in Santiago. Luring you in with their very ordinary appearance, the cafes here go for more a 'lapdancing' kind of vibe. Waitresses wearing extremely tiny outfits that seem - as well as startingly skimpy - just a little bit impractical for the task of serving piping hot drinks. And metal poles to separate customer service from customer, just to add to the saucy ambience. All a bit peculiar with your morning expresso. As for the many coffee shops with the blacked out windows and the neon signs, not sure that the regular public were heading there for a caffeine fix. It certainly felt like there was a good bit of evidence of the after-effects of an oppressive regime!
And despite bold declarations that we would take a break from ancient artefacts, the excellent museum in Santiago was worth the wander. If not only for the fact that we learned that the Inca rulers believed that the key to achieving their political and social goals was resting. Amazingly wise people those Incas.
From Santiago we headed for the sea. Expecting St. Ives, Valparaiso was more Morecambe. But the cheerily coloured buildings that clutter the narrow streets work their charm, and of course you can't resist a few pointless journeys up and down the ageing furniculars that sit on each of the hills that the place is made up of. Then a jolly walk along the coast to neighbouring Blackpool (or Viña del Mar) and it was time to leave the lovely sunshine and head south into the rain...

Steves banter,
A return to Chile, winter has past and spring had well begun since our last visit. Santiago welcomed our return with warmer days and green leafy people-filled squares. The business heart of Chile, with its banks and stock market buzzed away, the grand buildings seemed to shine in the spring sun. The controversial statue of Allende stands watchfully in the square of the former presidential palace in which he was assasinated during the Military coup. Underground some of the metro stations are painted with huge murels. In the streets some kind of dog collective means that the random stray dogs not only get fed, but patted and taken for walks. It seems to work by greeting your chosen stray with a pat, and then it just follows you around for a bit. The fish market/restaurant place was brilliant for fresh seafood, a really nice break from the red meat diet. We even got treated to a conversation with a Chilean version of the Daily Mail reader, we got hear about the Army and its tanks, followed by how much Chile hates the Argentinians, and backed Britain in the Falklands (the Chileans call them the Falklands rather than the Malvinas) war. It was refreshing to see that we are not the only country with folk like this, he was luckily the exception not the rule.
Valparaiso with its beautifully coloured buildings, its steep hills and fantastic street art, some of which managed to be artistic, political and comic. It was one of those pretty places that are hard to get to, looked fantastic from a distance but seemed to slip away as you got close, however the vistas were amazing. The buildings by the harbour, most of which were badly run down looked incredibly familiar, only for us to later find out that many of them were built by the British (they get everywhere). The chileans also do great wine, the Carmenere is fantastic and dead cheap, so much was consumed.

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