Santiago, Chile - Day 1

Sunday, July 29th, 2007:

We left the winery (see photo on left) after having a nice European breakfast. We arrived by train after three hours during which I was engrossed in my new read: The Fine Balance by Rohindri Mistry - a book based in India. Anyway, we arrived to Santiago and quickly made our way to the hostel where we are staying. As far as the hostel is concerned: so far so good. It is called Hostel Bellavista and is located in a very artsy, eclectic area known as Bario Bellavista. The area very much matches the hostel which has an alternative feel with multicolored walls, a mixture of art and posters and a lively atmosphere. We definitely picked well and owe it all to www.HostelWorld.com - a great reference guide for travellers on a budget.

Being a sunday, the streets of Barrio Bellavista were relatively tranquilo; however, you can tell by the multitude of bars, restaurants, and dance clubs that this is a great place for young people and there is a vibrant nightlife. Also, the streets are alive with color: every building is brighly painted (pictures to come). The color provides a nice juxtaposition to the currently dreary winter weather and fog. That said, the area is a bit rough around the edges, don't get me wrong its very clean and well-kept but the people and atmosphere seems a bit shoddy at times (especially at night).

A few quick observations and first impressions about Chile:

1. The people here are very friendly, receptive to our questions and seem to find us interesting
2. Santiago is very clean and easy to get around (the Metro system is simple and efficient)
3. There is a nice park (Parque Forestal) and river (Rio Mapucho) running through the city.
4. Its cold, very cold (but bareable). It was foggy all day as well.
5. I have seen very few attractive people.
6. But the people do dress well.
7. Chile feels more like Europe than say Mexico or Central America

Food:
After checking into our hostel, we were starving having not eaten since breakfast. Luckily, Barrio Bellavista, where our hostel is located, is full of great restaurants. We had lunch at a crowded local dive bar that served up great grilled meats. We sat next to an older Chilean couple who happily advised us about the city and even shared some of their fruity wine drink with us (similar to Sangria but better!). Our lunch was very Chilean, consisting of grilled chicken, pumpkin, potatoes, corn and mixed vegetables with a spicy salsa all served in a hot bowl with chicken broth.

A Chilean cuisine mainstay is the empanada - which is a stuffed filo type dough either baked or fried to make a quick snack. The fried ones are typically filled with ham or cheese while the Empanada Pino is baked and stuffed with beef, onions, olives, egg, etc.