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We had been given mixed reviews about Santiago before we got to the capital of Chile. Lacking the European charm of Buenos Aires, the fun flair of Rio, it is not a top city you hear travellers rave about in South America. We walked away with it being one of our best weeks (which is quite tough!). With the backdrop of the Andean mountains, the city is visually impressive particularly when taking in the views from a height (includes the park Cerro Santa Lucia and the funicular up to Cerro San Cristóbal) The city is lively, steeped with history, great food and we were lucky to have sunny weather every day. To top it off we met a group of fun people at our hostel (H Rado - modern and large roof terrace) to enjoy the city with. Becky who lives in the Falklands, Chris taking holiday from the army and Andrew, an Australian banker who like us had quit the job and packed the bags.
It was easy to enjoy the city when staying in the party town of Bellavista. As the name suggests, it is a pretty neighbourhood lined with colourful restaurant and bars. There was a constant buzz throughout the day (partly helped by the close proximity to the university) making it the perfect place to try Chilean food and wine. One local restaurant we visited was Galindo. Here we tried two good local dishes: Choclo (slightly like a shepherds pie but replacing potato with corn) and Chorrillana (fries topped with beef and onions - supposedly a great post drinking dish). I also made use of the £2 a glass wine. Less authentic, we went to an Irish bar.. but it was St Paddy's so it would have been wrong not to. This involved a few pitchers of beer for the boys and cocktails for the girls to honour the leprechaun. We did round off the night with the Chilian favourite 'Italiano', basically a hot dog with chopped tomatoes, guacamole and mayonnaise.
To explore the rest of the city we relied on the two walking tours offered by the company Tours for tips. Highlights included going to the great local markets. Chile as a country has its own continent, which basically means it can produce some of the best food out there. Close to the coast there is also a huge fish market too, Mercado Central (listed in the top 5 in the world) which is a bit smelly but very cheap. With our lunch there we got a free shot of pisco alongside the fresh ceviche! Chile and Peru fight to claim this drink as their own. We'll make sure to try it out in both to decide..
The tour also pushed us to learn more about the unforgettable military rule that only ended in 1990. Key sights included the presidential palace, which was bombed on the day Pinochet took over from the socialist Salvador Allejde in 1973. We also saw the cultural centre, Centro Gabriella Mistral, originally the site of a building built by the people but taken over by the militants as their base. Still a sensitive issue in Chile, we decided in our own time to go to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights (we heard from friends just a few weeks ago Ban Ki Moon visited showing how relevant it still is today). Over 40,000 people were tortured, murdered and are still missing today. You are bowled over by the scale of what happened and it is definitely worth visiting.
So the tour gave us a lot but less so good has to be mentioned too ... We ended up in the cemetery at the same time as the military police were there. Overhearing riots and chants, it turned out there was a funeral of a controversial figure. Our guide quickly moved us along and we rested by a few grave stones. When in South America.
The tour also suggested in our own time to go to the cultural spot of coffee with legs. Exactly what is says on the tin, women delivering coffee with not much on. Grade 1 shops short skirts, grade 2 blacked out windows and bikinis, grade 3 after the 1000th coffee of the day the waitresses take their tops off. No alcohol is served and it is a 9-5 business. Straightforward. Rory was keen, I was intrigued so we decided to go level 2. Expectation was a commercial hooters type place, reality was a strip club... potentially a brothel from where I saw hands move. In a small room it was too late to back down, coffee had to be ordered. The order began by us both kissing the stripper/waitress on the cheek (wearing a thong and bigger than Rory). Luckily this was the closest we got as we conservatively downed our coffees (slightly burning), thanked the main man and left like nothing had ever happened.
In the space of 5 days we ticked off a lot as you can see and we also had a chance to go to Lollopolooza. This is the biggest music festival in South America. Before travelling I hoped we'd hit the city at the right time and by chance we did. Guaranteed sun is an instant tick but the line up was top with Kings of Leon headlining along with Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Alt J, Calvin Harris and Kasabian. Our favourite act though was Chet Faker, just incredible, intimate set and a beautiful voice.
Lastly it would be unfair not to finish with a major part of the city... that is dogs, lots of dogs. The Spanish word is callejero. What we would say is strays and there are 55,000 on Santiago's streets. However, they do not look disease riddled with half fur/half something else. It is like Crufts 2015 running round. They are usually well fed, very friendly and adopted by the Chilean people as the neighbourhood pet. You will only have an issue if you are a crazy lady (hopefully not) , another dog (that's pretty easy) or someone on a bike (not an activity I suggest in this city as it may all get a little aggressive).
Next we were on to Valparaiso, 2 hours by bus to see the coastal bohemium town!
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