2014 Latin America Adventure: Day 17 - 19 Wandering in Santiago, Chile

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Photo Album: Wandering in Santiago

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I left the hostel for the airport early, as it was difficult to find a taxi on a Sunday morning. The owner, a young Colombian, who is also a 4x4 enthusiasts, acted as my taxi driver, took me to the airport in his small Suzuki 4x4. One that is the same as what I planned to rent in South Africa later this year.

The queue at the airport was very long for immigration, and I accidentally stood in the line for diplomatic passport holders, fortunately, they let me through without a fuss.

It was Copa Airline flight again. And my backpack was properly wrapped up as well, with their bag.

When the flight to Santiago landed 6-1/2 hours later, according to the crew’s announcement was 19:18 and so is the time indicated on my mobile phone, however, the schedule clearly indicated a 20:20 ETA.

Footprint from LAX to Santiago

Later, I checked with a local, and indeed, the time is one hour ahead of the announced time. It is quite strange, as all the International Information indicate that the announced time by the flight crew was correct. It appears that Chile has not reverted from Day Light Saving time.

Travelers from Australia, US, Canada and European country are slugged with a so called Reciprocity Fee, despite being visa free. It is a hefty US$117 for us mere mortals from Australia, valid for 90 days.

It was a quite uneventful airport bus and metro ride to the hotel.

As it turned out, it is a reasonably modern single room apartment with a kitchen and lounge, which I booked online just a few days ago, and with very good Wifi, all to myself.

And right in the centre of town too. For US$45 a night, this is very good deal.

I had been to Santiago in Oct 2000 on a business trip, visiting the 2^nd largest telco of Chile, who were very kind hosts. Santiago, at the time, was barely out of the Pinochet dictatorship, during which many dissidents and political prisoners disappeared without any trace. The street were still full of stern faced polices, poverty was quite noticeable, and people were not relaxed.

The trip through the southern parts of Chile last year, had given a hint of the present Chile, which is quite relaxed, and little sign of corruptions, despite still having poverty around.

The people are very friendly, and little sign of police throwing their weight around. Santiago is very much like that, despite being a large metropolis.

This time, there are thriving businesses and retailers, street stalls running the lengths of many clean streets.

I enjoyed walking around, revisiting the places that I remember, especially, Cerro Santa Lucia Park, up to the hilltop, overlooking the surroundings, with a towering Andes mountain.

Then there are also many many museums, cultural centers, parks, markets and local streets to wander, and explore.

One final visit, was to the Grand Hyatt Hotel which I stayed on my 2000 trip here, I only remembered little of it, until I got there.

I ended the day with a vegetarian pizza and a very large avocado.

Sensing that I was catching a cold from the crowd in the hot metro trains ( no air-conditioning in them), I quickly bought some salt for mouth wash and gargle to ward off any potential sore throat.

I started the 2nd day walking through the old Mopocho Train Staion which has now been modified to be a cultural center for performances.

When I walked through the Santiago Central Market, there were many beautiful fruits in the stalls, but the minimum purchase is 1 Kg, and no selection allowed, so I gave them a miss, and bought only 4 packets of mixed natural nuts and dried fruits. The quality of the natural nuts are nowhere near the varieties and quality of those in Australia, but it is better than none for the long trip ahead.

The most interesting part of the walk, was passing the Presidential Palace and its surrounding plazas ( squares ). What is most interesting was the friendliness of the police, smiling and always a word of “hello” when in eye contacts.

The underground of the Palace is a large public art gallery, which is very well presented, due to language difficulties, I did not understand much of the exhibitions.