Day 4-6: Santiago and Valparaíso

Mon 14 Nov – Wed 16 Nov 

We arrived in Santiago late on Sunday evening and the group was split up amongst our Chilean hosts- Ally and I were bunked in at Chepa and Martin’s flat conveniently located in the city centre at Escuela Militar. Chepa’s mom treated us to a tasty dinner at a pub nearby where I tried the local speciality sandwich (juicy beef, avocado, tomato and some sort of magic sauce) before a good long night’s sleep.

Monday morning the group of nine non-Chileans met at the bus station for a day trip to the coastal city of Valparaíso, about 1h45m outside of Santiago.

 

Valparaíso is nicknamed the “Jewel of the Pacific” and parts of the city centre are designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. We had a leisurely lunch, true to south American timing and topping off at nearly 2.5hours, but with a spectacular view of the city and the sea. Jon was particularly pleased with the view of the ships.

The afternoon was spent wandering town, including a trip down one of the famous ascensors (elevators/funicular) which travel the steep hills from one parallel street to another. The city is also home to Pullman trolleybuses- the oldest in the world still used in normal service.

Riding the elevator between streets.

 Despite it being bright daylight and feeling entirely safe during our meanderings, we did find ourselves continuing along a street where our surroundings began to shift slightly; leaning more towards the half-demolished buildings and seeing a drunk or two asleep on the curb type of look. It was noticeable, but not discerning in the least….at least not immediately.

Heading towards the not-so-safe part of town.

 As we regrouped in a central square, a man passing alongside stopped and said,

 “Watch yourself around here, watch your things.”

 Hm.

We looked around; it was mid-day, and while this part of town was not quite as nice, we hadn’t walked two blocks from the proper city centre which sits overlooked by the massive Chilean Navy office centre.

Jon, with some Navy doormen...or sailors.

Between Alex’s nearly 7feet and lovely ginger hair, our mix of English accents, our slow pace and traveler day packs, there was no doubt we were foreigners. So fair enough, we ought to watch our bags.

But then, not two minutes later, a police vehicle rolled up and stopped next to us and the police officer rolled down his window,

“This area is not safe,” he said, “Watch yourselves.”

Okay then. That’s when I packed away my camera and shifted my bag to my front. We were still standing in the complete center of a relatively empty square, people milling about. Had we not been warned, there was no obvious sense of threat. Then we looked a bit closer, and just opposite us, next to the park bench under a palm tree, were two heavily armed police, sporting bullet proof vests and swat team like helmets. I looked to the other end of the square and spotted three more police vehicles.

We began to make our way back the way we came and before long, two more police officers offered similar warnings. Our pace picked up, and as we strolled along on this bright, seemingly harmless sidewalk, we couldn’t help but notice two police slowly cruise alongside us on motorbikes. It was a fair guess to say that we were being discreetly escorted back to the central, and safer, part of town- a mere two blocks away.

That evening the full ESD reunion resumed with our Chilean classmates joining us after their day of work.

The view of Santiago from the roof of Martin and Chepa's apartment building

An ESD adventure in Lake Bled, Slovenia introduced me to a fire-y (literally) bar shot… and they somehow reappeared in Santiago too.

In typical no-job style, Monday night was a late one for those of us able to sleep in, and Tuesday was spent leisurely wandering the city of Santiago. We were all able to meet up yet again…and enjoy more beers, yet again, visiting local neighbourhoods with Sue and Felipe as our guides.

Ally and I then made a quick visit out to Sue’s parent’s home just outside the city centre, overlooking a lush green golf course with lovely views of the mountains. Of note was our stop at a mall- yes, a mall- which consisted of only sports stores. Imagine: tennis, camping, running, swimming, climbing, mountaineering….all that gear, all in one place. Canada, get on it. They also had parking just for Sue and little Jose.

Later that evening, Tomas and his family were kind enough to host our group at their home in Santiago for a delicious BBQ where Chile’s tasty meats and wines proved consistently excellent. We ate, we drank, we played reindeer ears…and then we ate and drank some more.

Fiorella, Fernanda, Julia, Ryan and Alex on the patio at Tomas' home.

A riveting game of moose/rabbit ears.

It seems we are incapable of early nights in- and with this being our last night as a group- we held strong despite it being a quiet night on the town. We parted ways at the end of the evening, with El Quattro (Alex, Ryan, Jon and Julia) heading north to San Pedro the next day and Ally and I heading south. El Quattro braved a 24hour bus to San Pedro. Facebook tells me they made it, and that the desert stars are indeed endless.

Ally and I spent Wednesday taking care of travel plans and booking flights on the local airlines- an apparently complicated task if you aren’t Chilean. We now have a loose schedule put together- with Pucon (our current stop), Puerto Varas, Chiloe, Torres del Peine (the W hike), and Calafate (Argentinia) on the agenda. Wednesday evening we shared a tasty chicken dinner with Martin and Chepa at their flat, with hugs goodbye and endless appreciation for their generous hospitality. Our stay in Zapallar and Santiago would not have been the same without them. Muchas Gracias!