Santiago: Freebies in Chile :)
Trip Start
Jan 18, 2011
1
20
74
Trip End
Dec 01, 2011
Where I stayed
Santiago, Chile
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Well kind of freebies...
We had already stayed in Santiago for one night before going to Mendoza and now returned to have a bit of a mosey about.
I had discovered a hostel that gave free dinners when you stayed with them so we promptly booked in and expected the worst. Luckily we were pleasantly surprised - good quality food (breakfast also included), rooms were good and the price the same as everywhere else - happy days!
So that's freebie number one. We then did a 'free' walking tour that is based on tips - if you can't afford to pay anything you don't have to! Of course we did pay the going rate in tips but it still felt like a bit of a freebie... This was excellent as the guide spoke perfect English (a rarity in S America) and was really interesting.
He pointed out lots of eateries (yes I'm talking about food again) and pointed out one place where the locals allegedly fight over a specialty 'pastel de choclo'. We went to said restaurant the next day and I would gladly have given it to a local who even looked at it let alone raised a fist for it. I should have guessed from the description that something was amiss - chicken, onions, boiled egg, raisins and mashed corn form the basis of the dish .As if that wasn't enough they top the whole thing off with sugar and stick it under the grill. YUCK!
They are also mad on hot dogs here and are crazy for toppings. The average consists of 20% dog, 20% bun and the rest tomato, avocado and mayo!
Santiago is a cool city though..it has reminded us of Buenos Aires. People are very laid back and seems so organised in comparison to Bolivia and Peru.
We also visited the home of Pablo Neruda who was a lefty eccentric poet who wrode things like an ode to the tomato and an ode to my socks. Through his life he collected things from his travels (he obviously didn't have to carry it himself in a rucksack like us!) plus was obsessed with the sea, despite not being able to swim. The whole house was designed to be like a ship - creaky floorboards, small doors, portholes and compasses everywhere - was great!
We also caught a funicular up the San Cristobal mountain and the views were immense - Santiago is a huge city (same population as London - 7 million). Unfortunately it's always covered in smog so we couldn't see the horizon with the Andes mountains in the background.
From here we shall head to Vina Del Mar to hopefully catch some sun and see the Pacific for the first time on our trip. We're getting very excited about going to New Zealand in just over a week!
Lisa x
