Not so chilly in Chile!

Well, after not thinking Chile was going to happen this weekend, I made it there and had the greatest time! So, after a week of rain here, they call it Santa Rosa because in the Catholic tradition every Saint has a day, and the end of August/beginning of September is named after Santa Rosa and they always have about a week of rain, and I mean RAIN until it clears up and then spring time comes! I find it similar to Groundhog´s Day in the states. Anyways, back to the Chile adventure. So I had a plane ticket for Thursday afternoon, but after trying to get in touch with Purdy, which is not always the easiest of tasks, I didn´t hear from her until of course, Thursday afternoon while my flight was taking off and I was in my apartment. So, I called the airline and for a small, or semi-small fee I booked a ticket for the following morning and was on my way to Chile! I first noticed I wasn´t in BA anymore when I caught a glimpse of the gorgeous, snow covered Andes mountains. I finally landed in the valley of the city of Santiago and went through customs. It only took two hours (as long as my flight) to wait in 3 different lines, pay my $140 reciprocity fee, and find Purdy waiting for me at the end of it all! We took the bus back into the city center of Santiago where Purdy´s apartment is. She lives in an older apartment building with another girl from Boston College.

During the winter months, Santiago is the third most polluted city behind Beijing and Mexico City. This is because of the fact that the 6 million inhabitants live in a valley and drive their cars and the pollution has nowhere to escape because it is caught in the mountains. Luckily, it had just rained so the majority of the smog was cleared out. Purdy, her friend Johanna from NZ, and I went to one of the two Cerros or mounts that are in Santiago. Cerro Sán Cristobal is the larger of the two cerros and we took a funicular, the funny name for the tram or acensor that takes you up the cerro to the top! At the top of the cerro is a large, white statue of none other than the Virgin Mary. Pope John Paul II took the funicular to the top back in the 70s to bless the Virgin and the outdoor Chapel that is at the top. There was a small gift shop where Purdy informed me that one could purchase "Virgin things," I didn't find out what those were. It was absolutely gorgeous. There were tons of flowering trees and you could see the entire city and the mountains that surround the valley on all sides. It was really peaceful and being so high up you couldn´t hear the city, it actually sounded like the ocean from the noise of the cars and the people. We descended the cerro and walked around the city a little bit. The buildings are not as high as in BA and some are brightly painted. We had a cup of tea in Plaza de Armas, the main plaza in Santiago, right around the block from Purdy´s apartment.

                                                          At the top of Cerro San Cristobal!

The Chilean accent is extremely difficult to understand, especially if your first language is not Spanish! They speak really fast and don´t include all the letters of certain words. According to Purdy, most Chileans don´t understand why someone would come to Chile to learn Spanish, since it is not the easiest thing to do. One of Purdy´s friends from Canada actually met her boyfriend, Juan in Santiago at a street show that makes fun of gringos. She is now fully fluent in Spanish and has a thick, Chilean accent. It just proves the point that the only way to learn Spanish is to have a Spanish speaking novio! It was Juan´s birthday, so Purdy, her friends, and I went to a bar to celebrate. I got to meet her friends who were all really nice and the bar had karaoke. So, of course I sang Hero by Enrique Iglesias with one of her friends! It was great and the Chileans seemed to like it, too! haha We spent the night dancing and went back to her apartment, much earlier than in BA! A nice change!!

We woke up the next morning and decided to go to Valparaíso for the night. We took a bus from Santiago and in less than two hours we were in the beautiful city of Valparaiso. The brightly colored houses along the curving mountains was such a sight and really reminded me of what you think of when you think about South America. We headed down the main center street of the flat part of the city and then walked up a hill or two and a bunch of steps to our lovely hostel. The owner asked if we wanted a dormitorio or a cama matromonial, obviously we picked the latter. We quickly threw our stuff down and headed back down the hill and over to one of the most famous trams in Valpo. By the time we got up to the top it was dark but the city was full of bright lights and the ocean glistened. It truly was so relaxing and great to share it with a friend! We started to get hungry so we walked back to a small little café that is known for it´s tea. I had a yummy salmon salad, since I haven´t had any seafood since I´ve been here! We each tried several types of teas, from coconut to rhubarb. We spent the rest of the night just sitting and talking, and enjoying the atmosphere.

In the morning, we woke up and had breakfast in the hostel with two Brasilian girls. One of which had been almost everywhere. She informed me her favorite place was Thailand, and least favorite included Caracas, Venezuela and Laus. Thailand sounded incredible...but that is for another blog ;) Purdy and I headed up the hill to Pablo Neruda´s house. He was a Chilean poet that had a love for the sea, and especially for Valpo. His house was 5 stories, each one getting smaller as they went up. After listening to the audio-guided tour, we took in the view and then walked into the gardens that were below his house property. There were big kid see-saws and so many different varieties of flowers and plants! I felt like I was in a tropical paradise for a minute!

Pablo Neruda's house!

Afterwards, we took the Valpo metro to Viña del Mar. Just about a fifteen minute ride around the bay. It was so crazy to me that in a matter of a 2 hour flight and a 2 hour bus ride, I went from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We hung out on the beach for a while, watching the brave ones that were swimming in the cold water. As the sun started setting, we gathered up our stuff, checked out of the hostel, and headed back to the bus station to go back to Santiago. On the ride home, the stars were so clear, the first time I´ve really been able to notice the southern cross and other constellations since I´ve been down here. Just the fact that I have never seen these stars before is so cool to me. NERD ALERT...but really, I find it crazy that I could have gone my whole life and never have seen what the other half of the world sees all the time! 

Vina del Mar

That night, we picked up some food stuffs for stir fry and hung out in her apartment, skyping some friends at Richmond and abroad. The next morning we got up and headed out to explore the other Mount, Cerro Santa Lucia in Santiago. We trekked up to the top of it and had a much more smoggy view of the city and the Andes. It was still really pretty and fun to explore all that is built up on the Cerro. Afterwards, we walked to an artesan market that is set up and I couldn't resist the $5,000 alpaca sweater....that's in Chilean pesos, of course, so just a mere $10. Purdy showed me the main campus of her school, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, a sister school to my University in BA! For lunch we headed over to Mercado Central, the large fish market in Santiago where there are several restaurants serving fresh fish! I had delicious grilled swordfish with a side of avocado! They love them down here so I am constantly making guacamole! After lunch, we headed back to her apartment, I packed up my stuff, and we took the bus to the airport. 

All in all, Chile was absolutely amazing and I am so glad, after some troubles with my plans at first, I was able to go and see one of my best friends and such a beautiful country! This week has been filled with getting forms, photocopies, and pictures for my Visa, as well as making final plans (and payments) for a trip to Salta and northwest Argentina! Expect a blog post later next week about my adventures!