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Published: July 16th 2008
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My first taste of Santiago was negotiating its metro system during the morning rush hour, where the presence of both me and my rucksack no doubt made me several new friends. The crowdedness was at Tokyo levels, though tickets could only be bought by a decidedly non-Japanese "women in booths" paradigm.
Speaking of tastes, Santiago has perhaps the single greatest collection of fast food outlets, both international and home-grown, in the known world. I could hardly turn a corner without the opportunity to put a sausage in my mouth (hot dogs have an unexpectedly high status in South American cuisine). Chilean empanadas have the edge on Argentinian ones in terms of size but they also contain a stoned olive which, for me, is not something I want to be sinking my teeth in to. My final noteworthy culinary experience in Santiago was my debut appearance as a pisco sour drinker. The national drink of Chile is a mix of brandy and lime, the combination of which has an innocuous but dangerous taste in the manner of a margarita.
Santiago was surrounded by snowy mountains but the smog did its damnedest to keep them hidden. Even on cloudless sunny days,
you could tell there was a haze in the air, and only black came out of my nostrils whenever I had a good blow. Supposedly the geography of its location makes it hard for pollution to drift away but having more taxi cabs than New York City - and one of the highest bus densities in the world - probably doesn't help either. The smog was most visible near sunset, a fact I realised on my first evening when I negotiated Cerro Santa Lucia, the strange labyrinth of paths, staircases, and terraces leading to a small lookout over the city. Picking my way between the hordes of snogging teenagers, I reached the summit and viewed the capital through what seemed like a translucent veil. Don't be surprised if any Chilean athletes from Santiago achieve success in the Beijing Olympics.
My favourite area of Santiago was Bellavista, whose gaily painted buildings and graffiti reminded me of La Boca in Buenos Aires but to a higher degree. I spent many hours aimlessly walking its streets, finding new details each time. In the evening, even with temperatures reaching close to zero, its sidewalk seating was full, and the weekends brought even larger
crowds.
I also enjoyed the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, which covered all areas of Central and South America in the time before Columbus landed and changed everything. Unfortunately the level playing field that exists in Age of Empires is not representative of what actually happened in real life.
Probably the biggest negative of the city, apart from having no flip-flops and a dismal selection of shower gels, was that the one nightclub I visited - which mentioned 70s and 80s on its website - played entirely 90s R&B and hip hop.
I stayed in Santiago for a few days either side of my visit to Easter Island (blogged separately) and came away having no strong feelings about it. As can perhaps be seen from the above paragraphs, there was nothing that blew me away and nothing that raised my blood pressure to critical levels either. So in some ways it was a bit like a hot dog - I'll eat one if it's on my plate, but I probably wouldn't order one in the first place.
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PowderLover
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Impressed
Your pictures are absolutely beautiful. You capture the spirit of the place perfectly. I especially love the no PDA's in the church. PowderLover