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From Mendoza we took the night bus (we are getting really good at them!) to Santiago de Chile, and our 4th country of the trip. We had heard so-so things about the capital, Santiago, so we were very happy when the city surpassed our expectations. Apart from the smog that it is known for, Santiago has a nice bustling center, with beautiful colonial architecture, pretty parks and an unbelievable metro system. Coming from Seattle, where mass transit continues to ellude us, we really appreciated their efficient, clean subway. Also coming from Seattle, we could appreciate the great balmy weather!
On our first night there, we went to the neighborhood of Bellavista, which is supposed to be the happening, trendy area of Santiago. We found a great outside table, and Melia enjoyed her first Corona of the trip, while Bryan partook of the sangria. Our very nice waitress (and clearly persuasive) told us about a great ¨special¨that she had to offer us. A nice platter of salame, sausages, ham, cheeses and different marinated vegetables. It all sounded too good to be true! We readily ordered a platter and enjoyed our great evening. That is until we got the bill. When a
platter costs the same price as your hotel room, it is hard not to be a little disgruntled!!! That was our first sign that Chile was to be what we now affectionately call it, ¨the budget buster!¨
Shaking off the pricey platter, we ventured off the next day for a tour of the city. We climbed Cerro Santa Lucia, a beautiful park that marks the site where Santiago was founded. Unfortunately, our view of the Andes mountains that surround the city, was obscured by the smog. Nonetheless, it was a nice outing. We then headed off for the one thing that Melia wanted to do while in Chile: eat sushi. Although its typical food is on the bland side, Chile´s seafood is world renowned, so the sushi could not be missed. After enjoying the delicious Chile Roll and Santiago Roll at a recommended Japanese restautrant, we were off for some more exploring. We walked through the heart of the city, Plaza de Armas, and ended at Palacio La Moneda, the government house. It was there that former President Salvador Allende ended his life in 1973 in the face of a military coup. La Moneda was really interesting for us,
because there was an photo exhibit in honor of Chile´s newly elected first woman president.
After our full day of sightseeing, we met up with our friend Mark who was at Spanish school with us in Cusco. He was in Santiago for three months working on a graduate school project, and it was nice to see him and hear about his life abroad.
The next day, we decided it was time to leave the city, and head for the beach. We went to Viña del Mar, which is Chile´s premier beach resort. After a beautiful 2-hour bus ride through the autumn colored countryside, we arrived in Viña. As in most cases when we arrive at a bus station, we were approached with different offers for lodging. We ended up going with a woman, Ximena, to check out 2 different appartments. Of course we chose the nicer one, with a peek-a-boo view of the ocean. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and so after a nice long walk on the beach and dinner, Melia went to bed with visions of long hours of sunbathing ahead. First, though, came the Mosquito Massacre of 2006. Waking up thirsty in the middle
of the night, Bryan went off in search of a local mini-mart to buy water (no tap water yet). Thankfully our thirst woke us up, because when Bryan returned home and turned on the light, he saw to his horror dozens and dozens of mosquitoes poised for attack above Melia´s unsuspecting head. This set him on a killing frenzy that lasted at least an hour! In the morning, with the remains of the battle on the walls around us, we were able to first glimpse the many, many bites that covered us. No more sleeping with the window open!!!
Despite the bug bites, Melia was ready to put on her swimsuit and soak up some rays. Unfortunately, that plan was foiled, because outside the window looked a lot like a Seattle day in January (Februaray, March, and maybe even April). In other words it was cloudy and gray! Trying to make the best of it, we sipped some cafe con leche, did some more walking on the beach and caught up on some cable TV.
The next day, we were off to Valparaiso, Chile´s oldest port town. To get there, we hopped on the very modern and convenient
light rail that connects the 2 cities, and were again amazed by Chile´s transportation system. From modern transport to the very old, we rode up three of Valpo´s famous accensors that connect the city to the upper residential areas. They were all built during the late 1800s - early 1900s, and by the looks of them we were very certain that no maintenance has been done since. The rides were fun (and creaky!), and we got some great views. We had a great lunch in Valparaiso, too, but we were happy with our choice to stay in Viña, as Valpo is a working town that has seen some better days.
After a full day in Valparaiso, we returned to Santiago by bus. Our original plan was to stay one more night in Santiago before heading south to the town of Pucon. Our plans quickly changed, though, when we learned at the terminal that the only buses the next day to Pucon would be ¨Clase Classico,¨ a fancy way of saying that Bryan´s legs would not be able to fit in the space provided. Deciding that leg room would be important for the 10 hour ride ahead, and with not
much more to do in Santiago, we decided to leave for Pucon that night. We had the best ¨Clase Coche-Cama¨ experience to date thanks to Buses Jac! Not only were our seats super comfy, we also had free beverage service...a backpacker´s dream!
On to the Lake District! More adventures to come...
Love,
Melia and Bryan
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Debby Dittman
non-member comment
Love the blog!
Thanks again for the fabulous travel log and the amazing pictures. We are getting a virtual tour of South America thanks to your efforts. We are off this week-end to Hawaii with all the troops, Nana, the girls, husbands, babies, Robby, and Suzy and Terry. I leave for business this afternoon going to LA, then most of us leave from LA Sunday morning. Mother is getting the "Bob and Rob" escort as they will fly directly from Sacramento to Maui. We will be thinking of you, and I will have just a few mai tai's in your honor!! Take care, hugs and kisses, Aunt Debby