Sth America 07-08: 7. Santiago-Lima

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Santaigo-Lima

My hotel is in the old quarter of Santiago, near the centre of the town. It has cobblestone streets and lmited traffic. I thought there would be a lot of small restaurants in this type of area, wrong again. Santiago is divided quite sharply into areas that offer different services. It was late afternoon so I went for a walk through the commercial centre. There are 2 long streets leading to the main square which are pedestrian malls. The are full of american style fast food restaurants and ice cream parlours.

The main square was quite beautiful all lit up prior to Christmas. I walked around for a while before returning to the hotel. The next day I took a furnicular (cable railway) up a very steep mountain for some views of the city, and on the way back I walked through a different barrio, or suburb, which was where all the restaurants and bars were that I couldn´t find the day before.

There are some pleasant aspects to Santiago. It is very safe and ordered, but it is just another big city without a lot of built-in charm.

On Friday the 21 December I flew to Lima Peru, to join up with my tour group. Well, talk about chalk and cheese. Even on the flight, along with the normal aircraft safety warnings, was the warning not to take unofficial taxis from the airport because of the dangers. The airport was full of the same signs, which I must say, I heeded and took a prepaid taxi from within the airport. The run into the city was eye-opening. It was like I was back in Cairo. The standard of living was far below the bits Argentina or Chile I had seen.

My hostel was in the seaside suburb of Miraflores, reputably the best looking and safest area in the city. The area certainly looked cleaner than elsewhere. the most outstanding feature was the 4 metre walls everywhere, topped with spikes or electric fencing. I walked down to a shopping centre by the coast, near to the Hyatt and Marriott hotels. As you walk in there is a sign saying ¨No pets or guns allowed¨.

On the Sunday I moved to the centre of town to join the tour. The main square is just miind-blowing with its beautiful colonial architecture. I had a bit of a cough so I went to a pharmacy for medicine. Cough medicine with pseudoephedrine and codeine, no problems- just pay the man. I met up with the group that night and went for a group dinner, back to Mireflores, not 50 metres from where I stayed.

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Photos

Virgin Mary
Large statue of the Virgin Mary at top of furnicular ride in Santiago.

Furnicular
The furnicular railway in Santiago