Arriving in Santiago, it's easy to see why it's the most developed and unfortunately, expensive country in South America. An army of towering skyscrapers line the orderly streets while businessmen hurry in and out of buildings. Universities are on every street corner, and I got a sense that it really is a young city. Especially because I was staying in an area known to be the university/bohemian/party district.
As soon as I got on the metro to go to my hostel, I was approached by a guy from Alaska, mostly because I was carrying my Lonely Planet guide in my hand. An easy give-away. So just like that, I had my go-to guy for the next 2 days before my flight to Isla de Pacqua or Rapa Nui or Easter Island. The guy was staying in a hostel very close to mine so we decidedto meet up for dinner that night. We went to a grundgy little place, and I ordered my first (and probably the last) Chorrillana! It's beef, sausage, chicken, caramelized onion, and 2 eggs on a bed of french fries. It's heart attack city. As great as it is while eating, you can't help but to regret it after. It is the best pub grub though.
And since I arrived in South America, the Copa America (soccer tournament) has been going on, and Chile was playing Bolivia that night. Fortunately, they won. I say fortunately because the city was in an uproar of frenetic celebration. Zealots honked their car horns relentlessly, and even the police seemed to be having a good time.
As a city, I thought it was much more manageable than Buenos Aires. And it definitely helped that I did the free walking tour the first day. I learned about the city's history, the indigenous people, quirky facts, but one institution absolutely blew my mind: coffee with legs. Apparently, because the coffee in Chile was so bad years ago, coffee shops needed a way to sell this shit drink. Someway, somehow. So this guy came up with the ideato have cladly dressed women be their waitresses. No chairs, just tables. And of course, it became a huge hit. Nowadays, these coffee with legs dot the business district, and men in suits frequent the place during business hours (it's closed at night). But seriously, some of these places literally look like a club - with light up floors and discoballs.
...and apparently if the customers are lucky, the girls briefly shut the curtains and flash everybody inside.
Also afterthe walking tour, my group wentto a popular Chilean restaurant to try some Pastel de Chocle, Parrilladas, and bottles of Carmenere wine. The first dish is a corn pie stuffed with chopped beef, other meats, and onions. The second is a meat bucket of chorizo, ribs, steak, pork chop, blood sausage, etc etc. But I had to really hurry to catch my winery tour!
Instead of cheaply going by myself, I stupidly decided to do a tour of Cocha y Toro. It's one of the biggest in the world and probably one of the most well known in South America. The tour through the vineyards and the cellar was interesting enough, and the 2 glasses of fine wine helped me cope with the money foolishly spent. Well, at least I got one winery tour while in Argentina or Chile, two big wine countries.
And after an eventless night, I woke upat 4 am to head to the Santiago airport. I was off to the midle of the Pacific!!
- Ryoji
No comments:
Post a Comment