Chile- We're in South America!

Santiago

6^th of July and we arrive in Santiago, Chile at 12pm jetlagged. We never crossed the International Date Line before, so maybe that had something to do with it, but the minute I got to the hostel I slept through until evening and still later had a good nights sleep! Chile definitely felt different to anywhere we’ve been before; we instantly knew we were in South America. It’s not like landing in Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong or whichever huge Asian city, where the shiny newness blends everything together and if someone told you that you were in Frankfort you might believe them- architecturally of course. Looking out the bus window from the airport to town (between protesting eyelids) everything looked old and dusty. Even the people looked weather beaten as if they’d just descended from their mountain hut rather than their city home. Of course this could be due to the route the bus took as we later discovered the heart of the city is a cosmopolitan place.

It has a rich inheritance from the Colonial age with beautiful buildings lining the city alleyways making a change to the Asian skyscrapers. We liked what we saw. Everyone warned us about the notorious pickpockets and advised us to watch ourselves at every turn, but the more we walked the city the more relaxed our tense grip on the money belts became. But we’ve been on the road nine months at this stage and not even our wedding rings look shiny and new; I don’t think anybody will be bothering us!

Our next stop was a town called Valparaiso just under two hours from Santiago, the Galway of Chile. It’s a cool hip town, like what I’d imagine San Francisco looks like as it’s built against a mountain and you’ve to climb uphill to get anywhere and that included the hostel with our backpacks; never mind it’s all training for Peru!

The town was an important port in its heyday and they built acensores between 1883 and 1916 which are still in use today. These elevators are basically bucket carriages on steep rail tracks leading up to the houses built at a crazy angle and elevation to the sea. We did the walking tour visiting all the sites en-route, taking a few acensores while we were at it and loved the place.




The vibe is bohemian, the people are friendly and it’s a place you could stay a while, although your wallet won’t thank you. Chile is not that cheap, and while we were there Chile was in fact downright chilly! Moving on, next stop Argentina.