Santiago, Chile

Several days are considered holidays for "semaña santa" leading up to Easter, so I decided to visit my Peruvian friend Jorge in Santiago, Chile. Jorge is a dentist studying for his specialization in dental implants, but he was able to take some time to hang out and travel with me. We met some of his dental friends and made an effort to discover the nightlife in Santiago. We explored areas like Las Condes, Barrio Bellavista and Calle Suecia in pursuit of making new friends. Since Peru and Chile have had a few conflicts in the recent past, Jorge preferred to introduce himself as Mexican to Chileans to avoid awkwardness.

While he studied, I explored the city, including visits to a contemporary art gallery, the Plaza de Armas, La Moneda and the natural history museum. The art gallery was a production of the University of Chile and I was struck by the extensive use of video media. I thought the city was very clean and pleasant, with architecture similar to what I noticed in Buenos Aires.

Throughout the trip, however, my dominant impression of Santiago became two things: cold and expensive. Being quite further south than Lima, Santiago has a much more temperate climate. I wore my only sweater nearly everyday. Also, Chile made itself expensive from the beginning. All citizens of the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia must pay $100 reciprocity upon arrival in the airport before immigration. Taxis and food were not cheap either.

We had something of an adventure in our trip to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. We decided to go for two days to these beautiful seaside towns without making sleeping arrangements. We ended up meeting some of Jorge's friends and both managed to find places to sleep, but we were quite exhausted the next day when we had a tour planned.

I am very grateful for Jorge's hospitality and I hope I can join him for a trip to Brazil in late July.