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Published: January 20th 2011
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Day 1
Wow what a start 2hr flight to Madrid followed by 14hr flight to Santiago then 1hr queue at immigration. Advance booking for airport transfer resulted in no hassle speedy arrival at hostel bellavista. (7,000 pesos) However our room was not ready so a further 2 hr wait although it’s hard to complain when sun is shining and there isn’t a cloud in the sky (26 degrees). Hostel seems good what it lacks for in cleanliness it makes up for in character plus free wifi.
Feeling very tired we ambled round the local neighbourhood of bellavista which has a very artistic side, lots of murals on the walls and bohemian shops. Has a good vibe and feels very safe
Day 2
Awoke feeling ready to really explore and after a hearty breakfast of dried bread and jam set off to the chaotic smog of Santiago. First stop ‘cerro santa lucia,’ a big public park built in 1872 by prisoners, which is really high and gives a great view of the city. We thought this would help get us our bearings, when in doubt get high was our motto. After avoiding our first confidence trickster who managed to gain our
prized bic pen (it was Simon's fault - Emily) we looked for some lunch. First was the fish market where the roof was built in Birmingham and is a copy of Smithfield market in London, being unsure on the fish we purchased some fruit and the local speciality 'completo' of hotdog with guacamole and tomato.
Next we took the efficient metro to the bus station in an attempt to buy tickets to Valparaiso . Despite our best efforts to mess this up we manage to get what we needed. First we queued in the wrong place, then we bought tickets for the wrong day (I was sure Mardes was Wednesday). In the end with smug smiles we made it back to the hostel for a quick rest before hitting the bars. First stop was a bar offering 2 for 1 cocktails although it was per person so after some complaining in bad Spanish we had our second super strong mojito. Next we stumbled to an excellent local restaurant serving local Chilean dishes. Em had a maze thing with fish and I had a mini chicken with chorizo and tomato. Feeling drunk and tired we headed home at a respectable hour
(10pm) just as everything else was venturing out.
p.s. Promised to buy some shade for Em on her birthday as it was 32 degrees schoorchio today
Day 3
Judging by the noise outside our room closing time is about 4am in Santiago and the guidebook says nightlife in chile is pretty lame compared to Brazil so we definitely need to get some party practice in. Again we aimed high and I decided to march Emily up the biggest hill in Santiago (it is a spur of the Andes apparently), which has a large white statue of the virgin mary similar to the one of christ in Rio. However I didn't take a map and so we ended up going the wrong way, and on a hot dusty bit of road, a set of stray dogs started barking at us... Em was scared, and I was thinking 'why didn't I get that rabies injection even though it was £150', and we backtracked and took the funicular the rest of the way up). Next stop was Pablo Neruda house (a communist poet live there between 1953-73). Really cool house with eclectic mix of treasures from around the world, house built in
the style of a boat. Ended evening with home made tuna salad a la Emily style accompanied by a bottle of Chilean wine and some pisco sours.
Next stop Valparaiso for some sea breeze!
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Louise Corris
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First 3 Days
Hey guys! Enjoyed reading the blog of the first 3 days, keep it up! Be more vigilant with your stationary! xxx