Santiago, Vina del Mar, and Val Paraiso

IN TRANSIT WITH THE KILLERS

I was a little early to the airport, but this gave me plenty of time to run errands.  You have to pay an $18 USD airport tax when you leave Argentina.  No biggie since there is no Visa fee when you arrive.  I did the money exchange for Chilean pesos.   They are about 500 to the dollar, so I am suddenly feeling rich.  However, my bag now contains 4 different currencies all from countries I will be returning to so I will need it later.  The trick is not getting them mixed up and confused in my purse.  Next stop is the cafe to get a Havana cookie knock off called Tranvia and water to wash down my sudafed.  Spent a good amount of time chatting with a man from Peru who was on his way home from a  teachers conference.  Our conversation was all in Spanish and he said my Spanish was good.  Other than being a liar, he was very nice.

  I have been geting all kinds of advice from strangers.

Amazingly enough, our plane was on time.  The unlucky guy to sit next to me on this plane was an Australian expat working in the mining business in Buenos Aires.  When I started hacking non stop, he didn`t act bothered a bit.  The couple in front of me started passing back throat losenges to shut me up.  It eventually worked and we had a nice conversation the whole 2 hour flight to Santiago.  He is also part owner of a very popular club in Buenos Aires called Drink Gallery.  Go there.  Say hello to Brant.  It is a competitor to The Alamo I have mentioned before.  Brant gave me the run down on filling out the correct arrival papers, where to pay the $100 visa fee, etc.  This was a big help.

On the plane I had noticed some pretty funky looking guys.

  A big group of them.  They said they were in a band which was pretty obvious.  They had some dude with a walkie talkie taking care of their passports and leading them through the airport formalities ahead of everyone.  I was right there with them as I had gotten the run down from Brant.  After making it quickly through customs, we walk out into the open arrivals area.  There was a sign with my name on it for my shutle.  But, for them, there were crowds of adoring fans yelling and flashing bulbs at them.  These guys must be bigger than some local Chilean band trying to get a break in a big city.  I soon learn that they are The Killers.  Yes, a very popular band worldwide.  They played in BsAs the night before and next in Santiago.  I immediately send an email to my neice and nephew as I know they will be impressed and they can tell me what the heck they sing.  

Our shuttle van fills up with lots of really nice people.  It is such a noticeable difference from Buenos Aires.  Strangers actually making eye contact and chatting with each other.  It is nighttime so I dont see much along the way.  We drop off some people at a major hotel of which I know very well, but won't say the name just yet because that is where The Killers are obviously staying.  (Crowne Plaza) The crowds were outside there chanting for them.  Finally we arrive at my hostel, La Chimba www.lachimba.com.  It is in an unmarked building.  No name.  No address.  They have plaques showing that they have been voted in the top 10 hostels in the world.  In a very artsy cool neighborhood with lots of activity called Barrio Bella Vista.  I might like Santiago more than expected.

WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE TO GET A BITE TO EAT?

I am staying in a room with 6 bunks and they are all full except the top one under the low ceiling.  Darn.  The girls are all nice.  They met up while on the road and are travelling together now.  Aussies.  They are leaving tomorrow, so it looks like I might get to move to a bottom bunk. 

I need to get something to eat before going to bed and trying to sleep off the cold that is coming back.  The guy that works the desk said that the restaurant across the street is cheap and has good food.  Fine.  Very convenient.  I will go check it out.  It is 10ish and just about to get busy it appears.  There are about 6 people sitting at the bar...all women.  All very friendly women, who encourage me to come sit down.  I ask to look at a menu.  It looks good, so I plop down at the bar.

  Then I start to look around.  Lovely artwork everywhere.  Most of naked women.  Then Gloria who appears to be the leader of the pack tells me that this is a lesbian bar and wants to know if I like women.  Jokes on me.  Hostel guy must be laughing his ass off. 

I cant walk out now.  That wouldn't look right.  So I order a... ham and cheese.  The ladies have all kinds of questions for me about my travels, where I am from, and if I have a boyfriend.  We are communicating pretty well in Spanish. They giggle and tell me that I am pretty.  Why thank you.  Kathrin and Gabriella ask if they can join me at a table when my food arrives.  Uh, sure. They tell Gabriella's girlfriend who works there to put on some salsa music so Kelly can dance with us.  Oh geez.  They tell me about pisco and the local beer and I tell them that will have to be another night as I am not felling well.

  Then I run back to the hostel to laugh it off.  I find the group at the hostel BBQing on the patio.  Oh well.  My adventure across the street was much more interesting.

CITY ORIENTATION

It was a busy day and I feel as though I conquered Santiago.  First thing on the agenda was walking to the subway.  Found it.  Figure out how to get to the bus station to see what the deal is about getting to Mendoza.  Easy.  They have really well done maps in each station.  Although Buenos Aires subte was easy to use, this one is better laid out.  You can transfer easily from line to line and get to most areas of the city without having to walk as much.  The bus station is attached to the subway. 

The TurBus ticket booth was in plain view.  Got the schedule, price 9000 pesos, a seat picked out on the right side for a better view and then ran into an issue.

  They tell you to only carry a color copy of your passsport around.  Leave the original locked up.  Well, the bus guy laughed at my now mangled copy and said that I needed to have the actual passport in order to buy a ticket.  Drat!  I will be so bummed if someone takes my seat before I can get back there with my passport. 

While sitting outside the bus station studying my map, a creepy looking middle aged man with a New York sweatshirt walked up to me.  He asked if I spoke English.  I, of course, thought he needed some help with directions or something.  I had just given some directions to a German tourist so maybe he thought I was the city information desk.  His questions were "What are you doing here?" and "Where are you going?"  That is odd.  So, I lied and said I was just here to buy a ticket and go back home.

  He said "Okay" and walked away.  Weird.  I wonder if this is some outside the bus station ploy where they dress up like tourists and try to befriend you by saying they are headed to the same tourist destination as you and then steal your kidney.  Beware of men in New York sweatshirts wherever you are. 

Not wanting to spend my day going back & forth and knowing that I would be going back there the next day to get on a bus to Vina del Mar & Val Paraiso I decided to take advantage of free museum Sunday.  First stop was Museo de Bellas Artes.  Not sure, but I think I saw a few Killers there. Do you think they could be stalking me?  Saw some interesting art there from Gracia Barrios, Jose Balmes, and Beatriz Leyton.

I happened upon this vertical park with a castle on top at St. Lucia.  Decided to climb it.

  Great view of the city...the smoggy city.  Here is where I confirmed that my camera battery just isn't holding a charge.  After enjoying an ice cream and the view I headed down hoping to find a new battery.  Sunday is not a good day for small specialty shops.  I stopped in many larger department stores with camera departments, but none carried batteries.  However, I have a good option for tomorrow morning called Casa Royal.  It is supposed to be the mother of all electronic stores.  As I was walking these city streets I noticed the many big lazy dogs just laying around looking abandoned.

St. Lucia also has a cute little tourist mercado.  Stolled though there seeing if there were any really super small souvenirs I might want.  Found some shoes I adored, but stopped myself because I just don´t have the room.

  I am growing tired of my flip flops, crocs, and hiking boots but am not willing to part with any of them just yet to accomodate these green leather stenciled unsensible shoes.  Thinking I needed a heathly drink I purchased a mango drink.  Fresh sqeezed mango with no additives.  Healthy it was.  Ick!  

Decided to see if I could find Plaza de Armas on the map.  It sounded like an important place, however I really did not know anything about it.  Found lots more feria type vendors, interesting artwork and sculptures, and many dualing preachers yelling into megaphones.  There were also several stand up eateries with big photos or plastic versions of their food on display.  Looks like the hot lunch item here was the hot dog con queso y quacamole.  Eliminate the hot dog and I am all over that!  Luckily they were willing to accomodate my special request and added some guac to the side of my empanada.

  Quiere coca cola?  No, Cristal por favor.  Cerveza?!  Si.  Had to try the beer that has the name of a fancy champagne.  A smidge better than Budweiser.

Off for my third subay ride for the day, I headed to the one museum I had heard about before coming here.  It really is a home tour of a nobel peace prize winning poet and diplomat named Neruda.  Apparently, this is really special as they do not participate in free museum Sunday.  This cost 3500 pesos.  The house was designed like a ship.  He was a little eccentric so there are some interesting things here.

Heck, I am on a roll.  Not far from there is the funicular up to Santiago's version of Cristo (that I saw in Rio.)  Watching over the city high on a mountain top is the Sanctuary to the Immaculate Conception.

  So, it is a big Mary statue.  It was a pretty steep climb.   Again, amazing 360 views of the smoggy city.  But, that is not all.  You can then jump on a Telepherico (gondola) and go onto another mountian.  Why not?   Now I have seen the whole city from every angle. 

This Cristo copy attraction is not the only deja vu I had here.  There is a Plaza Italia.  There is a Liberatador Street.  There is a 10th of July Street and a 21st of May Street.  There is a Bulnes Street.  And, there is a Recoletta.  They are trying to confuse me and make me think I am still in Buenos Aires.      

I ended my day like I thought any other Chilean ready to eat dinner at 11pm.  Last night the streets were just filling up with people at that time.  I had to search for a hole in the wall to be open on Sunday night.

  Not wanting to appear too tourista, I glanced at the menu and said "Italiano, por favor" thinking I am ordering a sandwhich. A few minutes later I am brought over a hot dog bun with what looks like guacamole and more mayonaise than anyone would ever want to digest.  I am so hoping that they ran out of normal bread and that underneath will be the salami and cheese I am expecting.  Nope!  There was a hot dog under it all.  So, I eat around it and make faces like I really like it.  Then when the cook isn't looking, I dig the hot dog out and hide it in a napkin that gets shoved in my purse. mmmmm

IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

My list of things not to miss was empty as I started my second full day in Santiago.  Make note...2 days should be more than enough in this city.  So, it ended up being my errand and live the hostel life day.  First errand was heading back to the bus station with my real passport.

  My luck, the bus was sold out now.  So, I either had to take the afternoon bus or find another less reputable bus company.  Having felt like I had already wasted 2 days by travelling in the afternoon Iguazu to BsAs and BsAs to Santiago, I was not willing to do it again.  I am an early riser and need to take advantage of that to get a good start on a new city.  And, I am thinking that there is no way that a less than reputable bus company in South America can be as bad as the the one I took in Africa (see Mombasa blog entry.)  I was able to find an 8:30am bus for 8000 pesos that had many open seats.  The company is Tas-Choapa.  Does that mean bald tires in Spanish?! 

Next stop was Casa Royal, the Radio Shack of Chile.  My Dad would be in heaven.  There are about 15 nerds ready to assist you with any electronic issue.  A very helpful one looked up in his computer which battery he might have that would be compatible with my Casio camera.

  He did not have it in stock, but another one of their stores did.  He drew me a nice little map and filled out a sales invoice with the proper codes so I would just have to hand it to them and not try to use my bad Spanish again.  My camera is now happily charging for 16 hours in hopes that I will be able to start taking some photos of this area before I leave.

I decided to splurge on lunch at a nice outdoor cafe called La Boheme in my barrio.  The bread they served came with nice flavored butter and a spicy dipping sauce that was addictive.  The salmon was excellent.  And so was the Coca Cola.  From my table I enjoyed watching a young man working very hard at helping direct people trying to parallel park and offering to wash their car or windows when they got out.  Poor guy was denied so many times, but he kept his smiley face and moved onto the next parker.

Had to walk off the big lunch, so I went down a few subways stops to cruise 11 de Septiembre and Seucia streets.  One of my roommates, Nicky from Oz, had given some info that this place was good for nightlife.  It appeared to be filled with restaurants and bars catering to tourists looking to have a wild and crazy time as if it were spring break.  Glad I checked it out during the day.  I like my bohemian neighborhood better.

The rest of the day was spent being a hostel rat.  Jeremy from Boulder and Karl from Ireland were getting ready to head to southern beaches.  Nicky and her Aussie girls had headed that direction already too.  All that was left from the good 'ol days when I checked in one day ago was Phillip from Germany and my roommate from Bolivia.  We welcomed in the newcomers of the day while sitting on the patio.  Sophie from Holland and my new roommate Allison from Australia soon joined us in our beer taste test.

  Cristal Black ended up being my favorite.  None of these others from hard core beer drinking countries seem to be able to handle dark beer.   They fancied the light Escudar and Austral brands.  As the most experienced in the city and best Spanish speaker, I led the girls out in the barrio to find some food.  This time I ensured that the Italiano I ordered had real carne in it instead of the caliente pero (or however you say hot dog in Spanish.)

VINA DEL MAR AND VAL PARAISO

Decided to take a little side excursion today.  Hopped on a bus for the 1.5 hours ride to Vina Del Mar.  These buses leave every 10 minutes from the Alameda station at the University de Santiago MetroRed stop.

  I took TurBus and the cost was 3700 pesos ($6.50 USD).  I bought my ticket about 10 minutes before the bus left and I got the first window seat in the front of the bus...the best!  I´m not sure how they stay in business when a bus takes off with just 6 people in it.  Nice cushy reclining seats, TV, A/C, a pillow, and toilet.

 

The ride was nice as we cruised by several vineyards.

  At the station I grabbed a free tourist map of Vina Del Mar and Val Paraiso (Vina and Valpo to the locals.)  I also took a 200 peso pee.  Can´t believe they charge in the station after such a long ride.  I guess they prefer that we mess up their free bus toilets.

 

I walked through city center before making it to the beach.  There is a nice white wedding cake looking building which is a casino and the Hotel Del Mar.

  Lots of restaurants with nice views there too. There is a tiny little slab of beach between Vina and Valpo with water on both sides of it.  This is where I got my first toe dip into the cold Pacific Ocean since I left home. 

 

Continueing my stroll towards Valpo, I tried to break into a castle with some other tourists but there was a private party going on there. Lots of pelicanos there too. A little beyond that you find a clock made of flowers.  This is the last photo opportunity before jumping on a bus to get to the Bella Vista area of Valpo 10km down the road.

 

I stopped at the Valpo bus station just before that though to ensure I got a ticket home.  Did not want to get stuck in some other city again far far away from my bag and having to pay for two hostels.  The ticket home was 3400 pesos.

 

Valpo had no beach I could find.  It was just big city businesses and a port during my first hour of strolling.  Then I came upon the Constitution Ascensor (funicular) after snapping some shotos of the Sotomeyer Square memorial.  For 250 pesos each way, you can take the rickety tram up the side of the mountain for a better view of the port.  Better yet, you can stroll around the colorful homes, galleries, and boutiques on the hill.  Very cute.  There are several of these old elevators scattered around in the big city, but they are tucked away and hard to find. 

 

My tourist map indicated that Neruda had another home up Yerba Buena street.  So, I hiked this very steep street for quite some time.  Never did come across his house.  Did get some good exercise though.  Too tired to walk anymore, I jumped on a bus to go sit in the park across from the bus station for my final hour in Valpo while eating an ice cream. 

 

All in all, it was a tiring day.  The beach in Vina was okay.  I am not much on ports.  Might have been nice to have a few more hours to take a few more ascensors and stroll the streets up there.  It was a nice way to spend an extra day getting out of the city.