Santiago, the capital of Chile, was the first and only major metropolitan city we toured. Like all urban areas, Santiago is full of smaller neighborhoods. Some upscale, some dirty and dangerous. The city is similar to Los Angeles in climate and landscape. With the Andes looming off in the distance, the relatively flat cityscape is interrupted by small mountains, offering a quiet oasis for the locals to get away from the noise and activity of the city below.
Living in Southern California did not prepare us for the incredible amount of graffiti on the buildings in Santiago. It seems like every building was tagged. Even churches weren’t spared. It looked like the graffiti was more politically motivated than just meaningless tagging or gang affiliated territorialism.
Our time in Santiago was spent wandering the streets with no specific plans. The food never lived up to our expectations, the best we could find was also extremely pricey, so we opted for noodles bought at a local asian store for most of our stay.
One thing that really stood out to us was the amount of couples openly making out wherever we went. This included gay couples, which is something you don’t really see that much of in the U.S. Walking through one of the main parks, we saw a lady attempting to sell flowers to young couples who were spread out on blankets all over the park. Needless to say, the majority of them didn’t seem to notice her and carried on with what they were doing.
The second day in Santiago, we took a day trip west to the coastal city of Valparaiso, known for its colorful homes and artistic culture. Valparaiso has that fun, vibrant feel to it, much like San Francisco. With its hill-side homes painted in bright, happy colors and its alleys covered in murals, Valparaiso has quite a unique personality. Not to mention, it was a stop on The Amazing Race.
Carlos, our private tour guide, wanted us to experience all the different types of transportation this little city has to offer. After parking our van, we hopped onto an old cable car, riding it for a few blocks. Then we tried the Collectivo, a very smart, effective means of public transportation. Collectivos are similar to taxi cabs, except each cab has a prescribed route. For a flat rate, anyone can jump into a cab that is not already full and ride the route for as long as one wishes.
Not only are the buildings of Valparaiso interesting, the people and animals of this place are just as fun. At the stoplights, street performers rush into the middle of the lanes and perform their routine. We saw this guy juggling with torches. Others did cheerleading routines complete with a toss and a flip in the air.
But the stray dogs were not to be outdone. They have a peculiar game of their own. It’s called, “Bark at the Wheels”. They literally run up real close to cars driving by or stopped at the signals and begin barking like crazy at the wheels. When the cars drive off, some dogs even chase them down the road. This was the first time we saw this game, but as we traveled to other regions of Chile, the stray dogs there also knew of this same game. Weird.
The most fun form of transportation in Valparaiso has to be the old-time funiculars. A funicular is like a boxed-elevator that runs on tracks. It takes you almost vertically up and down the steep slopes of the city, saving you a good workout on the stairs. The oldest of these funiculars were built around the turn of the 20th century. Many are still in operation today.
Wandering the residential streets of Valparaiso, we found just what we needed, a small farmer’s market full of leafy greens and juicy, sweet fruits. Our cup-of-noodle dinner that night was one of the best meals we had in Santiago.
For lunch, we stopped by a small fishing village south of Valparaiso. The view was absolutely gorgeous, and the weather was perfect. Best of all, the seafood lunch was fresh and delicious. We ordered the congrio eel, cooked in two different ways, grilled and battered then deep-fried. When the food arrived, we were staring at 12-inch fillets of the whole fish. Ummm, ummm, ummm! The fish was fresh and prepared so well; every bite just melted in our mouths. Even the deep-fried fillet was tender and juicy. Lyle ordered the seafood stew. He could have eaten that every single day and still be satisfied.
After the lunch, Carlos drove us to a remote beach where he and his wife had their first date. The blue ocean lapping at the base of undulating cliffs reminded me very much of the Californian coastline. In fact, this temperate region of Chile is home to very similar plants and animals as those native to California.
What culinary specialties is Chile known for? Chilean seabass. Check. Seafood ceviche. Check. How about the Carmenere, Chile’s own red wine? Now, you’re talking. Our next stop was Vino Indomito, a vineyard set on a hill-top overlooking some of Chile’s best wine country. Lien, our resident wine taster, loved the Carmenere so much she bought a couple bottles, even if it meant wrapping them with her clothes and lugging them with us for the rest of the trip.
