Day 59
Today I'm in: Santiago, Chile
Santiago isn't an especially attractive city, but it's turned out to be one of my favorite stops on the trip.
The Chileans themselves are what I like most. Brazil may hog the spotlight when it comes to economic growth and vivaciousness, Peru has its tragically dramatic history, and the Argentines certainly seem to think they're the most (or the only, if you believe some of them) cultured and refined people below the Equator. All the while, the Chileans have been industriously building what appears to be an orderly, clean, and very nice little society down here under everyone's noses. Sure, they got into the right-wing military dictatorship thing back in the 1970s, when all the cool Latin American countries were doing it, and poverty and income inequality are still big problems (although not as big as they were twenty or even ten years ago) but there's a quiet confidence and a real sense of prosperity here that's very appealing.
Santiago seems to exemplify this. The people on the street - all of them - are well dressed, the shops are full of goods on par with anything you'll find in the US, sidewalk cafes are full of students with their noses buried in books, and the metro system (South America's biggest and fastest-growing) is clean and modern. I didn't see any beggars, homeless people or street kids. To be fair, I didn't venture into any of the city's working-class neighborhoods, but by all accounts, life for Santiago's poor is nowhere near as desperate as it is in other parts of the continent.
I hate to keep picking on Argentina, because I loved my visit there a few years ago, but Santiago - not Buenos Aires, as the Argentines are so fond of claiming - feels like an outpost of Europe in South America. B.A. may look the part, but Santiago really lives it. Right down to the gloomy weather and bundled-up, chain-smoking people. I mentioned this in last night's entry, but it's actually very refreshing to be outside in the cold, under gray skies. After two straight weeks of merciless sunshine in Brazil, it's nice to have a little variety, even if I occasionally wish I'd remembered to pack a pair of gloves.
I'm staying in Centro, the high-rise downtown area that's a mix of residential and office towers. The heart of Centro is the Plaza de Armas, a large, open space dotted with palm trees and filled with benches, pigeons, vendors and musicians. Radiating out from the Plaza are long pedestrianized shopping streets lined with glass-and-steel towers and solid old buildings. Like most South Americans, Chileans are descended from a mix of different cultures, and the street names - MacIver, O'Higgins, Pestalozzi, Amunategui, Subecasseaux, Lord Cochrane, Mallinkrodt - bear that out. It definitely doesn't have the visual appeal of a Rio or a Paris; it's more like Berlin or Milan, full of people going about their business.
Of course, the Germans and the northern Italians aren't exactly renowned for being party animals, so after a few hours in downtown Santiago I decided to wander into some neighborhoods to see if the Chileans can keep up with their neighbors when it comes to having a good time. First up was Barrio Brasil, a slightly rough, bohemian area west of town near the University of Santiago that's Santiago's equivalent of a hipster enclave. The Plaza Brasil in the middle is surrounded by cafes, nightclubs and restaurants, and on every block old buildings were being renovated and repurposed. I had a tasty chorizo pizza and a big mug of Kunstmann bock beer for lunch there.
From there I headed back up to the Mercado Central on the north end of downtown, where fresh fish from the Pacific is brought in and sold every morning. Unlike other markets I've been to, though, here there are restaurants attached to most of the stalls. If you like what you see for sale, you can either have it wrapped up to take home, or buy it and have it cooked to order. Interesting system. There were musicians wandering through among the tables with guitars and drums, which made for a lively atmosphere as well.
Next I crossed the somewhat underwhelming Rio Mapucho - a fast-moving but very un-photogenic concrete canyon - into the Bellavista neighborhood. Like Barrio Brasil, Bellavista is home to several large universities and has morphed into Santiago's preferred day- and nightlife hub. There were restaurants and bars of all persuasions and price points there, and plenty of street vendors, too - I bought an empanada which unfortunately squirted oil all over my jacket when I bit into it. Rearing up behind Bellavista is the Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher's Hill), where you can ride a century-old funicular railway to the top for a panoramic view across the city. The view was really nice, despite the lousy weather and the fact that it started sleeting on me up there.
I closed up my day in Santiago with a haircut - trying to convey instructions in my non-native language was a bit of an adventure - but I walked out looking mostly like a shorter-haired version of my old self. Tomorrow I'm still debating whether or not I should take a bus to Valparaiso, a port city on the coast about two hours away, or if I should stay here in Santiago and keep exploring. Decisions...
Today I'm in: Santiago, Chile
Santiago isn't an especially attractive city, but it's turned out to be one of my favorite stops on the trip.
The Chileans themselves are what I like most. Brazil may hog the spotlight when it comes to economic growth and vivaciousness, Peru has its tragically dramatic history, and the Argentines certainly seem to think they're the most (or the only, if you believe some of them) cultured and refined people below the Equator. All the while, the Chileans have been industriously building what appears to be an orderly, clean, and very nice little society down here under everyone's noses. Sure, they got into the right-wing military dictatorship thing back in the 1970s, when all the cool Latin American countries were doing it, and poverty and income inequality are still big problems (although not as big as they were twenty or even ten years ago) but there's a quiet confidence and a real sense of prosperity here that's very appealing. 
Santiago seems to exemplify this. The people on the street - all of them - are well dressed, the shops are full of goods on par with anything you'll find in the US, sidewalk cafes are full of students with their noses buried in books, and the metro system (South America's biggest and fastest-growing) is clean and modern. I didn't see any beggars, homeless people or street kids. To be fair, I didn't venture into any of the city's working-class neighborhoods, but by all accounts, life for Santiago's poor is nowhere near as desperate as it is in other parts of the continent. 
I'm staying in Centro, the high-rise downtown area that's a mix of residential and office towers. The heart of Centro is the Plaza de Armas, a large, open space dotted with palm trees and filled with benches, pigeons, vendors and musicians. Radiating out from the Plaza are long pedestrianized shopping streets lined with glass-and-steel towers and solid old buildings. Like most South Americans, Chileans are descended from a mix of different cultures, and the street names - MacIver, O'Higgins, Pestalozzi, Amunategui, Subecasseaux, Lord Cochrane, Mallinkrodt - bear that out. It definitely doesn't have the visual appeal of a Rio or a Paris; it's more like Berlin or Milan, full of people going about their business. 
Of course, the Germans and the northern Italians aren't exactly renowned for being party animals, so after a few hours in downtown Santiago I decided to wander into some neighborhoods to see if the Chileans can keep up with their neighbors when it comes to having a good time. First up was Barrio Brasil, a slightly rough, bohemian area west of town near the University of Santiago that's Santiago's equivalent of a hipster enclave. The Plaza Brasil in the middle is surrounded by cafes, nightclubs and restaurants, and on every block old buildings were being renovated and repurposed. I had a tasty chorizo pizza and a big mug of Kunstmann bock beer for lunch there. 
From there I headed back up to the Mercado Central on the north end of downtown, where fresh fish from the Pacific is brought in and sold every morning. Unlike other markets I've been to, though, here there are restaurants attached to most of the stalls. If you like what you see for sale, you can either have it wrapped up to take home, or buy it and have it cooked to order. Interesting system. There were musicians wandering through among the tables with guitars and drums, which made for a lively atmosphere as well.
Next I crossed the somewhat underwhelming Rio Mapucho - a fast-moving but very un-photogenic concrete canyon - into the Bellavista neighborhood. Like Barrio Brasil, Bellavista is home to several large universities and has morphed into Santiago's preferred day- and nightlife hub. There were restaurants and bars of all persuasions and price points there, and plenty of street vendors, too - I bought an empanada which unfortunately squirted oil all over my jacket when I bit into it. Rearing up behind Bellavista is the Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher's Hill), where you can ride a century-old funicular railway to the top for a panoramic view across the city. The view was really nice, despite the lousy weather and the fact that it started sleeting on me up there. 
I closed up my day in Santiago with a haircut - trying to convey instructions in my non-native language was a bit of an adventure - but I walked out looking mostly like a shorter-haired version of my old self. Tomorrow I'm still debating whether or not I should take a bus to Valparaiso, a port city on the coast about two hours away, or if I should stay here in Santiago and keep exploring. Decisions... 
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