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Hola Amigos!
After a very long journey from La Paz, we made it to Santiago which couldn't be more different from La Paz in every aspect! It has a strong European influence and feels much more like a´big city´than that of Lima in Peru and Sucre in Bolivia. Chile is one of the most developed countries in South America, which is unfortunately reflected in prices, but also means that it should be a whole different experience to that which we´ve had so far in Peru and Bolivia. We found a hostel with a prime location called 'Andes Hostel' and I can safely say we won't be staying there again due to the fact that it was a total party hostel and the term ¨sleepless in Santiago¨ would be an accurate depiction of our lengthy stay there!
In the style of a true tourist, we took some time to wander around the city, following the route recommended in our trusty lonely-planet book, and were amazed at how beautiful a place it was. My favourite spot was the Palacio de la Moneda, the presidential palace which is an impressive, grand building surrounded by lovely grounds and fountains, as well as about a million Chilean flags. Also enjoyable was our stroll through the Cerro Santa Lucia which is like a fortress build amongst gardens and statues in the centre of town and from which you can climb the monumental staircase and enjoy vistas of the whole city.
As well as the beautiful sights, worth a mention here was an amazing gadget being sold by a street-vendor and whose sales pitch we were drawn into like moths to a lightbulb. It was the most incredible vegetable grater/slicer I've ever seen and if we didn't have 2 months left to go we would have most definitely bought one! I know you're wondering why such a mundane instrument has made it's way into this blog but if you'd seen what this thing could do, you would understand! Vegetables have never been more exciting! The guy even made a whale from a cucumber using nothing more than the said gadget! Ok enough said, but if you ever visit Santiago, look out for it!
The people in Santiago are friendly, however, our lack of Spanish vocabulary has proven difficult at times. Craig's favourite phrase has become ¨no entiendo, habla ingles?¨which unfortunately is usually followed by a curt shake of the head! Whilst not having much luck with the locals, we managed to get a group of Argentinians on side whilst at a Saturday night barbeque at our hostel. Initially they thought we were Brazilian which isn't surprising given that they shouted ¨Brasilio¨at us and Craig shouted back ¨si¨and gave them the thumbs up and, of course, because we both look so Latino. However, after they'd established we were Scottish, they considered this for a moment and then one looked at Craig and proclaimed ¨Andres Iniesta!¨ and instant friends were made!! This was followed by each one of them posing for a photograph with Iniesta as well as much back-slapping and applauding. Craig also discovered that when the stilted conversation was waning, he simply had to name an Argentinian footballer and this evoked such a dramatic response from the guys, I thought at first Craig had promised them money or something. When he dropped in the name El Diego, the reaction was beyond belief, similar to worshipping and resultantly the friendship was thereafter cemented!
Another thing we've come to appreciate in Santiago are the ´completos´which are hotdogs here and, surprisingly, are incredibly popular. Now I know I slagged Craig for eating hotdogs in Asia but the ones here are too tempting to pass by. They are served with guacamole and salsa and much to Craig's delight can be upsized to Jumbo or Gigante! Delicious! Also something new we've tried in Chile is coffee. We both don't like coffee but it's more how it's served which intrigued us. There are these little em, let's call them cafes, serving ´coffee and legs´which are on every corner of Santiago. The one we went to was hidden in a little doorway and inside it was pitch black, apart from UV lights, and was absolutely boiling. Serving up our coffee was a waitress in only a bikini and g-string and who spoke no English. Needless to say we all sat about uncomfortably, gulped down our coffee and made a sharp exit!
We were supposed to move on to Puerta Arenas yesterday but there have been some troubles in that area due to fuel price increases so we were advised not to fly. Apparently the military and the British Red Cross are trying to get people out of that region so it made no sense for us to travel to it! Torres Del Paine national park is also shut for the foreseeable future as a result which we're gutted about as we were keen to do some trekking there. We've decided to therefore take a slightly different route down through Chile in the hope that by the time we reach Puerto Natales the situation will have resolved. Fingers crossed!! x
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