Santiago Again

Back to Santiago. Again. Definitely not complaining. It is for the final time though . Well except for a layover later this month. But I will only be in the airport. Santiago is one of those cities that you can't help but pass through multiple times when visiting a country. And it's not a bad place to pass through. 

As previously mentioned, Emily and I got a ride from Valparaiso, and they dropped us off directly at our airbnb rental. We also got a handful of recommendations in the area since the couple who drove us, lived nearby. It was time to show Emily a little bit of Santiago. And do a few new things myself. 

Earlier that morning I had gotten a little bit of attitude from the host of the airbnb. We booked something last minute and apparently he wasn't prepared for us. My issue isn't that he wasn't ready, it was his attitude that he gave me over email. There are many different ways that you can address a last minute booking, and his attitude wasn't one of those ways. If you can't handle a last minute booking, make sure your property isn't listed for same day rental. And definitely don't make it an "instant book". If you need more time, that is ok, just let me know and we can work around it. I don't want blame put on me since I booked it last minute. So obviously we arrived and it wasn't ready. I think it was actually his dad cleaning the place. We dropped off our bags and went to find lunch in order to let him finish up.

The first recommendation we took up, was the nearby El Aji Seco restaurant to get some local ceviche and of course pisco sours. Since it was lunch and they looked like large portions, we got a salad and the ceviche to split. The recommendation was spot on and was very fresh and good. I'm glad we were able to try some before leaving the country. 

Ceviche.

On full bellies, we walked over to Plaza des Armas so Em could see a bit more of Santiago. We also connected with our brother, Zach, and his girlfriend, Liz, since they had arrived the day before. A poolside BBQ was in our near future. After a change into our suits, we headed to meet them at the metro. Liz's friend April is a local Chilean who had studied in Boston for a year when they were teenagers. They stayed in touch over the years, and we had the pleasure of meeting more locals. April and her friends were very welcoming to all of us. We accompanied her to her friend's place on the outskirts of Santiago where we relaxed by the pool for a while and played with all their dogs.

Hanging by the pool.

We drank some local beer, barbecued some food, and spoke to her friends in our limited Spanish. Liz and Emily were ok since they both took Spanish in high school and college. Zach and I on the other hand took French. We tried to learn a few things though, especially some slang. Except I can't remember any of it now. It was getting a bit late and we missed the metro cutoff time. I do love how NYC subway runs 24 hours. We hitched a ride back to our place and called it a night. A late one.

Cheese galore.

The following morning, we got a bit of a late start. We didn't get to spend as much time wandering around the Bellavista neighborhood as I would have like since we had lunch plans. I met up with my old teammate, Becca, again. We ate some local food and drank some borgona, a type of sangria. It was a good drink to enjoy on a sunny afternoon outside. This time I was keeping an eye out for any drink thieves.

Borgona.

Zach, Liz and the crew found us again, and since they hadn't eaten, we returned to our lunch spot. We hung out, chatted, and drank more borgona.

Lunching.

After everyone was full, we headed up Cerro San Cristobal to check out the views. The hike wasn't so bad, especially since I was wearing flip flops. It was a nice steady incline and not too hot. The shade was a nice welcome though. The one thing that's great about dry weather. It may be hot in the sun, but the shade is a nice reprieve. And let's be honest, I've been hotter elsewhere in the world. 

The hike up.

After about 40 minutes or so, we made it to the top. We had to just keep looking for the Virgin Mary and eventually we'd get there.

The Virgin Mary.

As with any ascent, we were rewarded with some great views. I think the mountains were not as covered in smog as previous days, but still not the clear outlines I think you expect in the winter. Although we did see some snow covered peaks at one point. Very hard to tell though. 

Santiago down below.

After all the exertion, (not really), we decided to take the tram down. It was fun going down and we did do the hard part by hiking up.

Taking the tram.

And of course to further reward ourselves, we stopped by a famous ice cream place (another recommendation) and tried a few samples before deciding on our flavors.

Ice cream. 

We spent the rest of the evening grabbing a few drinks outside a cute alley bar, smoking some hookah, and getting dinner. Not a bad last day in Chile. 

United States.

Emily and I separated from the group, took some photos with emojis, and headed to bed. We were on the same flight to Mendoza as Zach and Liz, so would see them the next day at the bus stop. We were running out of cash, so needed their money. And the printouts for our Argentinian reciprocity fee. 

Emoji wink.

After a bit of a rush, we made it to the airport with plenty of time and all together. As we took off and flew over the Andes, we had one last glance of Chile. Time for Argentina. 

Somewhere over the Andes.