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Published: January 3rd 2012
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My second journey to visit Chile did NOT go smoothly. Travelling as a group of 6 Girlguides from the UK we were under instruction that we must travel together to get to our country, so more panic than usual ensued when we discovered that our plane from London Heathrow to Buenos Aires had been overbooked by 21 seats! A very stressful few hours followed and we resigned ourselves to a night in the airport until at the last minute we were told we were on the flight. Cue mad dash through terminal 5, making our plane with seconds to spare.
The flight to Buenos Aires went without a hitch until we arrived to find no baggage. A lot of confusion later we discovered that our bags had been checked through to Santiago de Chile but we hadn't. At this point we had about an hour to go out through customs, check in again, go back through customs and find our gate. Not that hard I hear you cry...unless the customs queue snakes all the way through the baggage hall. So we took a plunge and went through the diplomat customs. I don't know whether Argentinian security is particularly bad or
if the neckers made us look more important than we were but no-one batted an eyelid and we caught our flight without a hitch, praying that our bags were actually on the same plane as us.
Arrival in Santiago went very smoothly, visas accepted and baggage retrieved, until a sniffer dog took massive interest in Rosie and Rachel's bags which meant having to unpack the whole thing (to find out the cause of all the alarm was an apple and a bag of raisins).
We were picked up from the airport by our Chilean Girl Scout, Dani. Who had apparently been using google translate in her emails to me so actual face to face communication was a bit difficult to start off with. Our life was made easier by having someone pick us up from the airport but if you are travelling to Santiago city itself the options are getting a taxi from outside the airport (these are generally reliable but make sure you agree a price before you leave) or getting the TurBus to the main bus terminal in Santiago. Form here it is easy to get the metro to where you want to go. It is
La Casa Roja
The garden at La Casa Roja relatively cheap and shouldn't be more than about 3,000 pesos.
Our hostel was one that I had stayed at before - La Casa Roja. It is well known in travelling circles and it is highly likely you will bump into other people you have met on your travels at La Casa Roja. If you are wanting somewhere quiet and peaceful it is not the place for you but it has plenty going on, a bar, a pool (though it was winter when we were there and we didn't really fancy it), a garden, internet access and a large kitchen. Accomodation is in dorms of 8 or private double and triple rooms are available for a slightly higher price. Staff are mostly friendly and are generally travellers themselves. There are a few permanent staff knocking around cleaning and in the kitchens (including a gorgeous little 5 year old girl who will come to make friends with you if you sit still for long enough.)
Information for La Casa Roja: Price per person per night (dorm): 8,000 pesos
Location: Agustinas, Barrio Brasil
Nearest metro station: Cummings (green line) or Republica (red line)
Catering: There is the
Hummingbird
A Hummingbird at Santa Lucia option to pay for breakfast (baked beans on toast included!) but otherwise you can use the well equipped kitchen - just make sure you label your food!
Nearest supermarket: Santa Isabel - turn right out of the hostel to the end of the block, turn right and it is a couple of blocks up the main road on the left.
Things to do in Santiago: There is plenty to do in Santiago itself or you can take buses out of the city to the mountains or nearby cities.
• Cerro San Cristobal - an absolute must - particularly spectacular at sunset where the sun casts a beautiful light over the Andes. Cerro San Cristobal is a large hill in the centre of Santiago - topped with a giant white statue of the Virgin Mary. You can walk up or take the furnicular. Halfway up there is Santiago Zoo which is full of typical zoo animals - lions, tigers, giraffes, a rather sad looking polar bear etc. Accessed from Baquedano metro station it is a couple of blocks walk away.
• Santa Lucia - this is the smaller version of San Cristobal and is basically a giant fortress/castle
The Andes at sunset
The Andes at sunset - taken from Cerro San Cristobal set on a hill - it offers great views over Santiago and of San Cristobal. Don't forget to check out the little markets at the bottom of the hill.
• Plaza de Armas - this is the central square in Santiago - I suggest on your first day going here and wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere of men playing chess, street performers and food stalls. Santiago centre is actually quite small and if you wander about enough here (aside from finding all the shops) you will find yourself stumbling upon museums, the Palace de Moneda etc.
• Shopping - there are shopping centres dotted about all over the city - bigger ones tend to be on the outer edge of town. There is a big one at the central bus station.
Getting around in Santiago: Santiago is not set out for tourists. Signage (particularly on the metro) is poor and does take some getting used to. The easiest way to get around is on the metro - it is around 500 pesos per journey (but can be more or less depending on the time of day) and the easiest way to do it is to purchase
The Andes at sunset
The Andes at sunset - taken from Cerro San Cristobal a Bip! card which works like an Oyster card in London. You will need some sort of travel guide to help you work out which station you need to be at as they don't always match up with the places (for example for the main station don't get off at Estacion centrale, get off at Universidad de Santiago).
The main bus station is called Terminal Sur or Terminal de Buses Santiago - it is crazy busy - watch your bags (though it is safe to leave them at the left luggage place located on the lower corridor). From here you can catch a bus to pretty much anywhere in Chile. The best bus companies are Turbus and Pullman and the standard of even the lowest class will be hundreds of times better than a coach in the UK or US even. Choose a seat away from the toilet if it is an overnight journey as you will be constantly disturbed.
Walking around Santiago is also very viable as it is quite a small city and it is a good way to discover new things.
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