Walking around Santiago feels a lot like returning to Mannheim. Its a big, flat, walkable, university city with wide Fußgängerzonen and mountains in the background. Everything closes on Sundays, but the streets and plazas are still packed with families, couples, and cops seeing and being seen in between crowds laughing at an aggressive, but successful mime, gypsy kings look alikes, and moonscape spray painters.
We met heaps of Santiaguinos vacationing on Easter Island who said two days was enough to see the city. Then you should leave as quickly as possible. This is odd to me, 'cause I could easily see us living here some day and the five days we spent hanging out here was more than pleasant. Yet another city that's better than Baltimore.
We're staying at Aji Hostel in the Providencia district (A-, homey, good location, big windows) while we continue to nurture our infant Spanish (Thanks LMH) and stuff in fast food. We've been enjoying gyros, completos (A big hogdog with lots of messy toppings), churrasco, papas fritas, rico mote con huesillos (Tea with peach halves and over-soaked oats, comes with a spoon) and barros luco (A sort of deconstructed cheese steak where the hunk of cheese is fried separately till its gooey and sweating oil). Breakfast is instant coffee and a fat, chewy biscuit with butter or caramel sauce (Or, for us, pate de cerdo and queso fresco).
Santiago is not as easy on the wallet as we expected, so we stick to the cheap eats and cheaper tourist sites. We shot roll of Plaza de Armas, sat patiently in the national cathedral, rode the funicular and cable cars around Cerro San Cristóbal, held our noses through the fish section of the mercado central, and played fashion police on a bench along Paseo Ahumada.
While knocking back Kunstmanns with new-friend-from-Easter-Island Carlos in Bellavista, Kiima's ear began bothering her again. The pain had been building for a day or so and planned its coming out party for that night. So, against the recommendation of our translator friend, we cabbed it over to the public hospital to a waiting room scene witnessed in many a sweaty nightmare. After five minutes, we took another cab to the prettier, private catholic clinic a few minutes away. This was more expensive, yes, but it also had flat screen tvs with Los Simpsons en Espanol, a numbered waiting system with digital panels, and hotter nurses. With Carlos' help, we were shown to our pre-paid hospital bed two hours later and Kiima was given a personalized bracelet. Twenty minutes and $80 after that, we left with a hand full of prescriptions for an ear infection. Two thumbs up to Carlos for hanging with us and explaining the waiting room game shows.
The next few days we planned our escape to the southern lakes district.
We met heaps of Santiaguinos vacationing on Easter Island who said two days was enough to see the city. Then you should leave as quickly as possible. This is odd to me, 'cause I could easily see us living here some day and the five days we spent hanging out here was more than pleasant. Yet another city that's better than Baltimore.
We're staying at Aji Hostel in the Providencia district (A-, homey, good location, big windows) while we continue to nurture our infant Spanish (Thanks LMH) and stuff in fast food. We've been enjoying gyros, completos (A big hogdog with lots of messy toppings), churrasco, papas fritas, rico mote con huesillos (Tea with peach halves and over-soaked oats, comes with a spoon) and barros luco (A sort of deconstructed cheese steak where the hunk of cheese is fried separately till its gooey and sweating oil). Breakfast is instant coffee and a fat, chewy biscuit with butter or caramel sauce (Or, for us, pate de cerdo and queso fresco).
Santiago is not as easy on the wallet as we expected, so we stick to the cheap eats and cheaper tourist sites. We shot roll of Plaza de Armas, sat patiently in the national cathedral, rode the funicular and cable cars around Cerro San Cristóbal, held our noses through the fish section of the mercado central, and played fashion police on a bench along Paseo Ahumada.
While knocking back Kunstmanns with new-friend-from-Easter-Island Carlos in Bellavista, Kiima's ear began bothering her again. The pain had been building for a day or so and planned its coming out party for that night. So, against the recommendation of our translator friend, we cabbed it over to the public hospital to a waiting room scene witnessed in many a sweaty nightmare. After five minutes, we took another cab to the prettier, private catholic clinic a few minutes away. This was more expensive, yes, but it also had flat screen tvs with Los Simpsons en Espanol, a numbered waiting system with digital panels, and hotter nurses. With Carlos' help, we were shown to our pre-paid hospital bed two hours later and Kiima was given a personalized bracelet. Twenty minutes and $80 after that, we left with a hand full of prescriptions for an ear infection. Two thumbs up to Carlos for hanging with us and explaining the waiting room game shows.
The next few days we planned our escape to the southern lakes district.
7 comments:
Did you look up Gonzalo?
I don't think that's a funny comment!
Nope.
Glad to hear your ear didn't need taken off! J/K! It is good that you were able to get it taken care of so fast. Maybe you could sell the left over drugs for money in the next place.....
Santiago definitely looks very European. When I first saw that picture, it immediately reminded me of a trip to Sicily. The way the plaza was laid out, the covered outdoor sitting areas, etc. Have you tried any of the agua caliente? Yummm. . . . . .. .
Take care,
BobO
Bob,
Yeah, it was surprisingly similar to a european city. What did you mean by the hot water (agua caliente)?
Agua caliente (might be Spanish usage rather than S. American) -- a shot of a locally distilled liquid that is usually served automatically after dinner -- it is good for maintaining gastronomic equilibrium! I am sure you have had plenty during your journeys!
BobO
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