After leaving pucon and the volcano (copyrighted band name!), we travelled to a small town by the name of chillán, with no notable sights or sounds, except for it being the birth place of Bernardo o'higgins the man who led chile to independence! It also in the past has been bruised, battered and destroyed by earthquakes, so the buildings in the town aren't very tall! We spent our time in Chillán, fighting our way through Christmas shoppers, and hard sell PR people for restaurants in the central market!
We travelled to Santiago on 21st December, to stay for just about 2 week over Christmas! Prior to Christmas we went on a free walking tour of the city (highly recommend these tours, they do them in lots of European cities) this tour showed us the important sights, and Plaza de Armas, the square around which Santiago was built! Also in the now centre of the city, there is a park built on a hill, that divides the old from the new, this park was initially a big rock that was just in the way until some local farmers planted grass and trees on it!
As well as the walking tour we visited Cerro San Cristobel, a monument ribeye virgin Mary, seated some 200m above the city! This gave us a huge panoramic view of the city, and it was only then we realised the extent of the city and how small a percent we would get to see!
New years eve we spent eating a traditional Chilean meal, with the owners of the hostel, which also included pisco sours, and Champagne! From the balcony of the hostel we where able to watch the 20+minute firework display in La Moneda (the presidential offices). We had planned on venturing out to the square but upon seeing the crowds on tv we were glad we hadn't!
In Santiago there is a huge shopping centre, that we were forced to visit! But that story is for another time! The reason I mention the shopping centre is because of the music in Santiago, nowhere else in the world, when walking into a department store have I heard Good Enough by Dodgy, followed by pulp followed by every imaginable Mid 90s Brit Pop band, it's ace!
Now, for our last day we plan to visit the pre-colombian art museum, showing work by the mapucho Indians. We also need to buy our bit of tack! And our finally task is to drink terremote, a local cocktail in which pineapple ice cream is a major ingredient! Terremote means earthquake and the drink is called so because the first time you stand after drinking the cocktail, the floor feels like it is moving like during an earthquake! Will update you on the effects next time!
The only downside to Santiago, has been the people! Surprisingly car drivers are Well mannered and follow the rules of the road, and stop at zebra crossings and green men! However pedestrians are horrendous, three people walking towards me I have to step onto the road so they can stay Side by side, I'm penned in against a wall with nowhere to go they walk into you, at one point we saw a lady shouting at a man who clipped her heels with his bright red blind mans stick! It's unbelievable!
And finally how could I forget about Cafe Haiti or coffee with legs as it is affectionately known. About 20 years ago Chile did not import any coffee, and the home grown stuff was pretty dire, so a upcoming business man saw a hole in the Market and an incentive for folk, mainly men, to drink coffee! They opened a cafe with blacked out windows, and a long high table with no seats, he employed only good looking women, who served the coffee and flirted with the clientele, wearing only a bikini! If that isn't enough a number of times a day happy minute was called, the door locked and the "waitresses" shed the bikinis! These days there are cafe Haiti in all the business districts and both men and women are found there, they also serve the best coffee from around south America, and the girls now wear a dress that is exceptionally short, and shows off their legs, hence the brand name of "coffee with legs"
Chile fact: There are more than 2,000 volcanoes in Chile, of which 50 are actually active.
happy new year, good luck for the rest of your journey, yoz
ReplyDelete