One Giant Step…Is All It Takes

CHI-CHI-CHI!! LAY-LAY-LAY!!! Universidad de Chile!! Viva Chile!!

6700 strong, they chanted…the entire game!!  A small crowd, too be sure, but passionate none-the-less.

Fair warning: I am not a soccer, errr…football fan. In fact, I don’t exactly know much about the game despite having played a little myself during high school. But, being in Latin America, we knew we had to take a game in just to experience it.

I went to experience the crowd as much as to watch the game, and I wasn’t disappointed…don’t worry mom(s), there was no hooliganism and if there had been there was more than enough riot police around the manage it

Read the rest of this entry »

We settled nicely into Santiago, even getting ourselves an apartment.

We knew we were going to be here for 4 or 5 days and heard that renting a short term apartment would be possible. It is more than possible and is somewhat economical too, considering we can cook meals (which, after 2 months of travel, is appealing) and generally just hang out.

It’s near the metro, which was super easy to use, meaning we could get everywhere we want to without too much trouble. We easily found the grocery which is also the liquor and beer store, and quickly got to roasting a chicken and opening a bottle of wine…making us feel right at home.

The best part is that it was part of a regular apartment block so it really was just like being at home…in a neighborhood. It was nice to have a small piece of our normal lives in a foreign city.

Santiago’s downtown area is quite compact and we were able to wander around very easily. We explored the two closest cerros (hills) both with parks at the top, visited the lackluster zoo, and took the metro out to the closest winery for a tour and a tipple.

The weather has been very good to us and, although Santiago suffered a cold snap the week before we arrived, the temperatures were reminiscent of fall at home with bright days and lots of sun.

One of the best things about visiting a city like Santiago, or any city, is that it’s just that…a city. It’s not there for purposes of tourism specifically so it’s easy just to fit in and enjoy the city ‘as a local’ – well as much as any two white kids in hiking gear can.

We knew that traveling south in South America would be cold…it’s winter here right now…but we hadn’t expected it to be this cold. San Pedro de Atacama is inland a bit  and, at 2500 meters, is the chilliest place we’ve visited yet.

We got off the bus after dark and set about to look for a room. I’d heard it was expensive here but was still feeling burned when we finally settled on a room with a private bath that cost us 35,000 CH pesos – that’s $70CAD!!! Sure, a lesser room could be had but that included a shared bath that was to be reached by going outside and crossing the courtyard…it’s around –5 here at night!!

Tours are also expensive, but we found one for the next morning at about $50CAD each. The girl explained all that we would do on the tour…but it was in spanish.  I heard ‘Salar de Atacama’ and ‘flamingos’ and that was enough for me…I should have listened more closely.

Read the rest of this entry »