Un Tourista

For parts of my third, fourth, and fifth days in Santiago I went out during the daytime and did what the tourists do.

Day 3 – Saturday

My third day in Santiago got rolling with a hike to the top of Cerro San Cristobal to see the Virgin Mary. Me being me I decided to do it as a hike instead of taking the funicular railway. I also decided to go straight up on some semblance of a trail instead of following the main trail. The plan worked well and I bombed up there in under 30 min with only a few scratches. At the top I was afforded a view of downtown Santiago with an epic Andes backdrop. Unfortunately the smog detracted from the impact.

After taking in the view of downtown, I decided to check out the other side of the hill. Once again, off the beaten path, I followed a narrow ‘trail’ that ended up winding between cacti, radio towers, and unauthorized mountain bike trails to the less travelled end of the hill. Sadly, it didn’t make for much of a view as you could only see the sun shining through an apocalyptic haze with faint outlines of buildings and mountains in the distance.

I looped my way back to Mary and the other tourist attractions. I went up to see the statue and her suitor, a radio tower. She’s getting on in years so I think she should settle. He’s a bit thin and pointy but seems stable.

Next I headed to a patio area where I tried my first mote con huesillo. It’s a sweet drink consisting of wheat grain with rehydrated dried peaches in a sweet syrupy liquid that’s slightly flavoured. A little sweet for me but certainly interesting.

After a post hike nap, I headed out to find somewhere to eat. Based on some positive internet buzz I decided on a restaurant/wine bar called Bocanariz. The food and wine was great. Additionally, I met a trio of friendly locals. They had been sitting next to me for awhile as we ate and drank. Eventually, one of the two women, Daniela, asked me why I was eating alone at a restaurant. She seemed concerned for me and sad that I was alone. Apparently this is a very unusual thing to do in Chile. I explained my trip and then we ended up discussing my trip, Chile, jobs, life, etc. I left the restaurant with positive vibes and a wine and pisco sour buzz. As we parted ways I agreed to swing by a local Cafe the next morning where Cristian said two of them would be having coffee.

Day 4 – Sunday

I had a rather late start to my Sunday. My goal for the afternoon was to explore the Santiago civic centre (government buildings, main square, Santa Lucia Hill). I strolled by a cafe recommended by Cristian the night before. I opened the door and he was there with one of his friends from the previous evening. I ate a tasty sandwich and then headed across the street to Santa Lucia Hill with a list of recommendations from Cristian.

Santa Lucia Hill was a neat little urban oasis — a prominent hill with some greenery and older structures surrounded by city streets and buildings. Some of the buildings and structures on the hill were in a state of disrepair but overall it was quite nice. At the top of the hill there was a lookout point that afforded a nice view of the city. Unfortunately,  as with Cerro San Cristobal, the haze from the smog limited the view.

After leaving the hill, I walked around to an area that would have been a nice shopping street but was completely shut down due to it being a Sunday. I moved on further to see the government palace (La Moneda Palace) but the whole grounds were under construction and the walking path in front of the palace was blocked off. Alas. This seemed to be a common theme as several other museums and historic buildings were being renovated and weren’t open to the public.

My next two stops were visits to two popular public spaces. The first was the main square in Santiago (Plaza de Armas). Compared to the relatively dead streets it was bustling with people. There were several different gatherings of people competing for physical and noise real estate in the square — a family of drummers performing for a crowd, a woman singing for a different crowd, an evangelical preacher, another singer, and a large Spanish tour group. I wandered through the mayhem, snapped a picture of the old cathedral and then moved on towards the Central Market.

The Central Market (Mercado Central) was a little underwhelming. The central portion of the market was occupied by restaurants with pushy hustlers trying to get you to sit. The fish portion was pretty much closed by the time I got there. I quickly moved on and explored some of the graffiti on surrounding buildings and walls.

For dinner on Sunday I met back up with Cristian. He took me to a really neat place called Bar, The Clinic. It was very tongue and cheek with a focus on lampooning Chilean politics. I won’t go into more detail here because it deserves it’s own post /w gallery.

Day 5 – Monday

On my final day as a tourist in Santiago I met up with Cristian and we headed to the fruit market. This wasn’t a touristy type of market but a more ‘real deal’ latin american style produce market with good quality and great prices. It was worth seeing and I wish we had more places like that within walking distance of downtown instead of  supermarkets, Granville Island, or farmer’s markets that tend to cost more than the supermarkets.

On the way back I found a few more interesting pieces of graffiti to snap a picture of. While I was trying to take a photo of one, a local guy in the alley came up to me and asked why I didn’t want to take a photo of him instead. I didn’t realize this until Cristian translated the exchange (post event). I initially thought he was upset about me taking photos, I would have gladly taken his picture, oh well. Shortly after that, another local who was making money carrying heavy items around on his cart handed me the cart and said I should do his job for awhile. I gave it a whirl be he was reluctant to take it back and was quite pleased he’d got me to take it for a few meters.

For dinner on Monday I met up with Mauree’s lovely friend Arlette and her equally lovely sister Lily. They took me to a nice place where I had some very typical casual Chilean fare that was quite tasty. Sliced steak, fried egg, deep fried onions, and some chorizo sausage in a bun. Oh yes!