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Published: March 13th 2008
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Chile
Santiago by sunset I arrived exhausted into Santiago around 2am. I stayed in the 'burbs to the northeast of the city. The weather was scorching, late 30's most days. Santiago sits in a valley and the air is generally still and has a pleasant smell despite the hanging pollution. I took it easy my first day and walked around the area I was staying in and took my guitar to a park and sat under a big tree. My host and I took a few beers up the hill behind her house where we could watch the sunset over the whole city and the many lights of Santiago come on. We then went to her friend's house for some more drinks and then to a bar nearby where I got a good taste of the Chilean/Peruvian drink Pisco. We joined in a traditional Chilean game with the people at the table next to us. The game is featured in Pirates of the Carribean 3. The players have 5 dice in a cup and turn them over without showing the other players. Then each person has to guess how many of any number they choose is face up amongst all the players dice. It was
Chile
Santiago - Backyard of my host's house and hill behind it good fun and I didn't do too bad for my first time.
My 2nd night out in Santiago was also a fun one. Met some more people and settled in to a nice little bar.
The next day I finally got around to seeing the centre of Santiago with my host. We started with Santa Lucia, a large hill in town. It has paths and pretty gardens built into the existing rock and has a cool labyrinth feel to it. We checked out the view from the top and then went to street level to see more. Santiago has a nice centre with beautiful old buildings and interesting sculptures. We walked around Plaza de Armas and the surrounding areas of the city.
Later in the evening I had a couple of bad asthma attacks which took me out of commision for any activity that night.
Sunday afternoon my host and I went with her friend to Forestal Park near the centre for a bit of unwinding. There were markets and all sorts of performers such as clowns and jugglers. The place was abuzz and pumping out a great vibe.
Monday I moved on from Santiago
Chile
Santiago to the seaside city of Vina del Mar. About a 2 hour bus ride from Santiago, Vina del Mar and its neighbour city Valparaiso are a popular holiday destination for Santiagoans. As the bus pulled closer the air became dark and smokey. A huge bushfire had begun the day before and the coast was covered in smoke and falling ash. In the night my host and I took a long walk along the beachfront. It was as always, a thrill to see the Pacific. My host didn't speak much English and I had forgotten most of the little Spanish I knew, so we did our best to converse in a strange sort of Spanglish.
The smoke had mostly cleared by the next day to reveal a blue sky. I borrowed my host's bike and rode it along the beaches in the north and south of Vina del Mar, doing my best to cling to summer.
I followed the smoke to Valparaiso for the next few days. Even though a 5 minute drive is all that separates the two cities they are vastly different. Vina is much cleaner and wealthier, and Valparaiso has the nightlife. A few of us
Chile
Santiago went to a cool pool bar my first night there for some Chilean style pool.
I walked around Valparaiso the following day and was disappointed as it had been talked up so much by the people I had met in Chile. To me it has not much to offer aesthetically. It is the principal port of Chile and that's basically all it is. There are no beaches and it is very dirty.
From Valparaiso I took the bus further north to another seaside city, La Serena. It's a cool town with a nice relaxed atmosphere. The weather was great, warm days full of sunshine. I walked around the town by day and by night. The beach is a bit separated from the town and using my strange sense of logic I walked there because I couldn't be bothered catching a bus. The beach itself is pretty boring, just a long stretch of dark sand, but the water sparkles amongst the crashing waves. I sat for a while staring at the ocean and pondered the year that was.
I spent a day at a nearby town called Coquimbo. At the highest point there is a church - Cruz
Chile
Santiago - Santa Lucia Del Tercer Milenio - which doubles as a landmark. At the top there is a panoramic view point where I saw the endless Pacific to the west, and the rugged, dusty terrain of Chile to the east.
After four nights in La Serena I made my way back to Santiago for the flight home.
It is hard to believe that this trip I decided to undertake two and a half years ago is now at an end. The decision was made so lightly and spontaneously, but the trip itself has changed my life.
One thing I have learnt from this trip is that the world is full of amazing people. And another is that we really are the "lucky country" in Australia.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all real soon !
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tom
non-member comment
congratulations
well, here i was thinking you would be raped, robbed and back to australia by the time you had gotten on your first flight from sydney! but look at ya, a whole year of fun, excitement and good memories. I hope you get to hold on to this blog because it will be good to look back through in the future!! see ya tomorrow and welcome home eh!