Santiago

I made it to Chile, and Santiago was my first stop. I would be passing through here a few more times during my stay in Chile, so I wasn't in a rush to see everything. After 2 flights, 1 bus, and 1 metro ride, I arrived at my hostel in the Lastarria neighborhood. I couldn't check in quite yet, but was able to clean myself up as best as I could and went out to explore a bit. My sister was meeting me 2 weeks later, so I didn't (and she didn't) want to explore too much. I also had some planning to do since I had no idea where I was headed after Santiago.

Covered up.

One of the first things I did, was go find food. I wandered around the neighborhood and found a lot of cute restaurants. I decided on a cafe, ordered a sandwich and some tea, and blogged. Nothing too exciting for food. I have to find out what typical Chilean fare is. After writing for a bit, I went to check out Cerro Santa Lucia. I heard there were some great views, so I took a walk up the hill to check it out. 

Castle on top of a hill.

It's a nice little spot in the middle of the city and I climbed the 69 meters to the top. It was a pleasant walk and you were able to get different views the higher you went. From the top, you could see the Andes in the distance, just barely due to the smog, Cerro San Cristobal, which I was going to check out later in the trip, and various parts of the city.

The view.

I headed back to the hostel and settled in. I took a nap, after a little bit of trying to fall asleep, and then decided to go check out another part of the city while on a run. I got to Rio Mapocho and ran along that for a couple of miles. I encountered a lot of other runners, which was great. It was pretty warm in Santiago, but not unbearable. Nonetheless, I wanted to wait until it cooled off a bit, and it ended up being a nice run. The dry climate makes such a difference. 

Running along Rio Mapocho.

After hitting up the grocery store and grabbing some very inexpensive Chilean wine, I settled in to do some research. Where to go next? Atacama Desert? Torres de Paines? Somewhere else? Chile is a challenging country to travel if you don't plan. It's not very wide, but it's so long (about 110 miles by 2,653 miles). It looks like I would have to fly to some places or make some decisions on where to go that may be closer. Decisions I wouldn't make for another couple of days.

I slept in the following day, as I needed it. But totally missed breakfast. Good thing I still had some snacks. Even though they confiscated my opened dried fruit at the airport. I headed out for a late morning run and went in the opposite direction of the day before. It was very similar along the river, but this time I came across my old company. I thought it would be funny to stop by, but then thought better of it. Plus I'm sure I don't know anyone there. 

Havas.

I grabbed some lunch nearby at a cute little cafe and had my first Chilean beer, a Kross pilsner. It was quite good and would have loved to stay longer, but I decided to explore a bit more.

Kross pilsner and running journal.

I went over to the Bellavista barrio to check out all the artwork throughout. It was definitely a hopping area with lots of restaurants and bars. I meandered a bit and found myself at the foot of Cerro San Cristobal. This would have to wait though. I wanted to wait until my sister arrived, and we would hike up it together (or run up it?).

Bellavista artwork.

I had some ideas of where to go after Santiago, but figured I should stay another night. This way I didn't have to be in a hurry to go somewhere the following day. And I could spend some time sorting out other parts of my trip, like Peru. It was official, 7 people were flying in to meet me in Cusco. I think we are still ok on timing, but I definitely want to get some things figured out, as I'm sure the group does as well.

I finally ventured out to find lunch near Plaza de Armas. The square was very popular with lots of people hanging around and playing chess.

Plaza de Armas.

I finally found some food, and since I'm not quite fluent in Spanish (not at all), I somehow ordered a hot dog. With a beer of course. I guess if I had looked a bit closer at my surroundings, I may have figured it out. But I didn't know what it was until I actually bit into it. Whoops. No worries, since I will almost eat anything. Almost. I left Asia without eating any sort of bug. I call that a win. And avocado on a hot dog? Also a win. 

Hot dog and beer.

I walked around a bit more and made my way back to the hostel for one last run before heading out of town. I was too tired the following day to get another run in. I finally made some semblance of a plan and decided on my next destination, La Serena, a coastal town up north. This was on the way to the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, so figured it would be a good stopover.