chile

Hello again!

As promised, here is an overview of the weekend I spent in Chile. I'm gonna do things a little differently in this post; there are going to be more pictures and it's going to be organized by topics instead of a chronological "I did this, and then went here, and then that happened" break-down. Without further ado, let's get to my trip across the border!

 
Buses, Customs, and Huelgas: Oh my!

So to get to Chile, my friends and I took a bus from Mendoza to Santiago. It's about a 7-hour ride across the Andes, depending on how long you're stuck at customs. Because nothing can be that simple, there was construction being done along the pass, making it one-way. That meant we had to take a morning bus to Chile and a night bus back.

Customs was relatively painless both ways. We were stopped for an hour or two but there was nothing really to complain about.

However, when we returned to Mendoza everyone was shocked we were able to get back. We had heard snippits of information from fellow hostel patrons about trouble crossing the cordillera, but assumed it was weather-related and assumed it had worked itself out since we were able to cross. To our surprise, it was actually because the Argentine bus-drivers were on strike (actually, it's not that surprising considering the regularity of strikes down here in Latin America, but it certainly wasn't what we were expecting). Thankfully we had waited until we were in Chile to book our bus back so that we could travel with Tur-Bus, a Chilean line. Otherwise we probably would have had to buy a plane ticket back.

tl;dr: We totally lucked out travel-wise and were able to make it to Chile and back sin problemas. 


Food

As you probably know, I love food. My tummy has been quite happy here in Argentina, but it took special delight in visiting Chile. This was partly because of a few "tastes of home" -- with a foreign twist. 

First and foremost, upon arriving in Santiago we were greeted with a very familiar sight: Starbucks. The chain can be found if in Mendoza if you're willing to venture out to one of the shoppings, but in Santiago they were conveniently located all over the city. After two months without the over-priced coffee whose mediocre quality is made up for by adding any flavor under the sun, I was re contenta to be sipping a grande white mocha. 

In Valpo, I experimented a little to get my caffeine fix by trying a cafe dos leches. Let's just take a minute to look at this little piece of heaven:

It was almost painfully to stir this beautifully assembled creation, but boy was it worth it! The dos leches refer to the standard milk foam (top layer) and -- wait for it -- condensed milk (bottom layer). Please, if you can't imagine how delicious this was, go find a barista friend and try it. The only downside to my cafe dos leches was it overshadowed the leche caliente con miel (that's warm milk with honey) that I had earlier that day.

I may still occasionally dream about both of them. Drool.

As of writing this, I have just under 29 days until I can make my next diner-run. If you don't understand exactly how important that is to me then you probably shouldn't be reading this blog because you've clearly never had a single conversation with me in your life. That being said, Chile knew how to pile a heart-attack on a stack of fries in a way that made me feel right at home. My friends, I give you chorillana.

Double drool.

Yes, that's beef, chopped-up hot dogs (classier joints use sausage), egg, and onions on top of those fries. Yes, I have found a recipe and plan on making this when I'm stateside. Yes, I am getting diner cravings just thinking about this and need to move on.

And now for something really adventurous! There aren't many foods I won't try, even if I wasn't entirely sure it was edible until I saw it in a fish market stall. So, when we stopped for lunch at el Mercado Central in Santiago, I went our on a limb and ordered erizo -- sea urchin.

Something I'm happy to cross off my bucket-list and probably never do again.

This, by the way, is what they look like before you throw them in a soup.

As far as snacks go, you couldn't beat some fresh churros from a truck on the side of the road. Whether you got them plain or filled with manjar, they really hit the spot.

Que rico!


Street Art

But Nancy, I thought you said there were going to be more pictures in this entry?

That I did, and here they are. Both Santiago and Valpo abounded with street art, some of it commissioned and some of it "graffiti". I spent a good chunk of the weekend wandering about snapping photos of the murals, so here are some of my favorites (all from Valpo). 

Are you my mummy?

Even an empty, abandoned lot could make a statement.

Neruda

It's hard to study Spanish, or literature, without at some point talking about Pablo Neruda. A Chilean poet, diplomat, and Nobel Prize winner, he was called (by Gabriel García Márquez) "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language."

Today, his three houses are preserved as museums and open to the public. I was lucky enough to visit (and totally geek out at) two of them: La Chascona in Santiago and La Sebastiana in Valpo.

Unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures inside the houses, which is a shame because each room had a new quirk that revealed a new piece of Neruda's personality. His love of the sea and all things nautical was evident in the furniture, the architecture, and the exteriors and views. While I would love to use only brightly colored water glasses and can't help but smile when I think about the pair of paintings in La Sebastian bought to keep each other company (and set up on opposite walls so they can stare into each other's eyes), the private table in La Chascona where only he and Matilde sat was definitely my favorite feature in any of the houses.

Actually, on second thought it's probably a good thing I couldn't take pictures. I'm sure my Pinterest followers are grateful.


Santiago

My friends and I arrived in Santiago in the afternoon, checked into our hostel, and set out to do a bit of sight-seeing. We walked around La Plaza de Armas for a little bit -- that's the square where the city was first settled by the Spanish.

Naturally one of the main features was the cathedral, as shown by this artistic reflection in the building across the street.

A street performer in from of the cathedral

 

The fountain at the center of the plaza

 A statue of the Chilean national hero Don Pedro de Valdivia

The next day we really toured the city in earnest, starting with Cerro Santa Lucia. From that hill we could get a nice view of the city. And get scared by a cannon, but that's besides the point.

If you look closely you can see the railing that is your only hope when descending the stairs of death.

It was a bit hazy, but still a great view of the city. This was taken from up in the tower seen in the last picture.

Next up: El Mercado Central, or Central Market, which is basically a giant maze of pescado. There are rows and rows of stalls selling fresh fish as well as plenty of restaurants, complete with the ever present workers trying to harass you into eating there.

Of course, there was plenty of harassment from the fish stall workers too.

We did end up having lunch there, which is where I ate the aforementioned sea urchin. I was eventually able to get the smell of fish out of my sneakers and jeans, which I was honestly worried would never happen.

 

 Oh hello there.

 Live lobster tank! Just cause I'm 20 and still like saying hi to the lobsters doesn't mean you have to judge me.

 

We also found a floral market, which was basically a warehouse lined with stalls, each filled with flower arrangements. It reminded me of running around Bill's Village Florist when I was little and playing in the big fridge, and I also liked getting to show off what knowledge I've picked up from being a florist's daughter.

 I will never stop loving that these are a thing. Ever.

 Roses on roses on roses

The ones topped with birds of paradise were my favorite arrangements.

When we came back to Santiago for our return trip to Mendoza, we checked the last landmark off our list: La Moneda. Not to be confused with monedas, or coins, this is akin to The White House or La Casa Rosada -- the seat of the executive power of the government.

Valparaíso 

I've already covered most of the sight-seeing we did in Valpo with the street art and La Sebastiana, but that's not all the beauty this port city had to offer.

First off, there's the port itself. Taking a break in the open air to sit and enjoy the view of the city was a nice change from walking around. Now if only I'd appreciated it more before having to climb all those hills...

 Hey, look at those guys! These seals were all over the port and didn't seem to be bothered by the harassment from tour guides.

Back on land, what struck me the most was how the entire city is one big work of art. The buildings themselves were painted in brilliant hues, dotting the hillside with bursts of color. 

 

Of course, this was portrayed in various murals throughout the city. It was like Valpo-Art-Ception.

Oh, and then there's a view from La Sebastiana, up in the hills. Pro-tip: head there later in the day, close to closing. The sunset is spectacular.
 

So that, ladies and gents, was my trip to Chile! What you did not see are the handful of ferias -- artisan markets -- where my friends and I spent hours (and probably too much plata). I also haven't mentioned the fantastic hospitality of old and new friends who played the role of tour-guide for us in both cities. A huge thank you goes out to all of them for helping us find our way around, giving us the inside-scoop on where to go and what to do, and especially for being able to communicate with los chilenos... I still can't understand half of what they say.

Keep your eyes peeled next for a post about my home-away-from-home, Mendoza :]

Hasta luego!