Photos of Santiago de Chile

I have just posted the photos I took during my three days in Santiago -- to go with the latest posts.

Here's a preview:

 

All the photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meurer/sets/72157610292798332/

Enjoy!

SCL - GRU - FLN

Landed in São Paulo. I have been in the country for less than two hours and already it's driving me crazy. I keep being reminded of all the things that make me not want to come back to live here. That's ok, deep breath... count to ten... it's only for three weeks. At least I'll get to see my family in a few hours.

I miss New Zealand.

Santiago de Chile, day 3 - Wine and football

Woke up early this morning because I am heading to the Concha y Toro winery. Can't believe how excited I have been about this till now. First, because I will be heading out of Santiago for the first time, I will get to ride the train on my own, and I will get to visit one of the main wineries in the world (I didn't know this but Concha y Toro is amongst the top 10 wine producers in the planet)

The tour ended up being just ok  but at just NZ$15 I couldn't really ask for more. It included two wine tastings (you had to pay extra for more), plus a walk around the vineyards and got a visit to the famously grim Casillero del Diablo (the devil's cellar). Transportation to the winery is a breeze: catch a couple of trains south, then a quick taxi or bus ride to the winery.

Since I had seen pretty much all I wanted to see in Santiago, on the way back from Concha y Toro I decided to stop at a huge mall I had spotted on the way there. It's located right next to one of the trains stations south of Santiago. I did some window shopping (prices were actually quite low as compared to New Zealand but I just didn't have ANY space left in my luggage), had lunch, and went on to watch Blindness at the movies. I can't believe the ticket only cost me about NZ$5!! The movie, by the way, is incredible. I had read the book by José Saramago a few years ago and it was quite impressive, but the movie gives visual life to a chaotic world where people start to go blind. Most of the movie was shot in São Paulo which gives it a unique run down look that only adds to the mood.

After the movie I headed back to Santiago and I thought it was time for one last café con piernas. I loved the thing. Even better, when I walked out of the café it was rush hour and a multitude of people were gathered on the paseo (a street exclusive to pedestrians) looking up at a huge screen showing a football game Chile vs. Spain. It's like everyone just stopped on their way home to watch the game. I hadn't seen such a thing even in Brazil, where we are supposed to be crazy about soccer. I managed to get some good photos, and stuck around for a while watching the game amongst the crowd. In case you were wondering, Chile lost 3x0.

Then it was time to get ready to leave. I had dinner at a way below average Italian restaurant (which was surprisingly crowded) but at least managed to have some good Chilean wine. Tomorrow I am back in the motherland.

Santiago de Chile, day 2 - Strikes, legs, and coffee

Today I was planning to walk all day long so I thought I'd better start with some breakfast.

I headed to Café Haiti in the financial district for a typical Santiago breakfast: café con piernas. Yes, you heard it right: coffee with legs. You pay for your coffee at the door (cappuccino for me) and then hand the receipt at the counter to one of the waitresses who will bring you your coffee. What about the legs, you ask? Well, the thing is all waitresses are wearing high heels and incredibly short skirts! The environment is surprisingly conservative though, and most customers are businessmen on the way to or on a break from work.

As I walked out of Café Haiti I heard a very loud protest not too far away. Sensing some good photo opportunities I decided to run after the mob but I was too late and I couldn't track them down. Oh yes, half the population of Santiago seems to be on strike. In my three days here I saw at least a dozen different strikes around the city. Strikes are such a South American thing, I had completely forgotten about them. You'd think we are descendants of the French.

I then moved on to some of the common tourist destinations of Santiago, all nice enough but nothing special: Palacio de la Moneda (the presidential palace, which is quite compact when compared to its Brazilian and Argentinean counterparts), the Museo Precolombiano de Arte Chileno for some history lessons on the pre-Colombian civilizations in America, and the Plaza de Armas, Santiago's central square where the city was founded.

I decided to go on a bit of a longer walk north as I was determined to visit the Mercado Central, where you can buy (very cheap) a wide variety of fish and all kinds of seafood imaginable. In the market there are also countless restaurants (not so cheap) where you can try some of the food. While Santiago's Mercado Central is very nice, it is getting a bit too touristy for my taste, and I think the central market in Florianópolis is nicer both inside and outside, and you can walk around without being hassled by waiters trying to get you to eat at their restaurant. Plus, the food in Florianópolis is better as well.

After lunch at the market I was so tired that I walked back to the hotel for a siesta. When in Rome...

Some sleep was all I needed to recharge the batteries as by 3 pm I was ready to head out to Cerro Santa Lucia, a park built on and around a small mount sprouting right in the middle of the city centre. This was the highlight of the day, maybe because I wasn't expecting much. But the park is definitely worth a visit. It is full of plazas, viewpoints, statues, love seats, narrow stairways, and hidden corners to explore. If you climb all the way to the top (quite a hike!) you get a 360 view of Santiago, and a nice view of the Andes as far as your eyesight will stretch (or as far as the smog will allow). You also get a privileged view of Cerro San Cristóbal, Cerro Santa Lucia's big brother where Santiago's Zoo is located. I walked about 25 minutes all the way to Cerro San Cristóbal but unfortunately it was closed due to a strike. Later when I got to the hotel I learned that the walk to San Cristóbal didn't have to be a complete waste as I was a short stroll from Pablo Neruda's house-turned-museum but missed it. Doh!

Then it was time for a quick dinner at the Barrio Bellavista with a couple of other tourists I met at random and take the subway back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Tomorrow I've got some wine tasting to do!

Santiago de Chile, day 1 - Smog, stray dogs, and pisco sour

I have just arrived in Santiago and frankly I am a bit lost. It always happens. The first couple of hours in a foreign land are always the hardest. You have no idea where you are. You don't trust anyone. You look at the city map, it doesn't mean a thing to you and you don't know how to get from A to B. My first impulse is to stay locked in the hotel room. It's a comfortable place where I know I am safe. Part of me is saying "you could just stay in here for all three days and watch TV" but a few minutes later I come to my senses and push myself out the door.

It's past 4 pm so I decide to just go on a recon mission. No maps, no camera, no backpack. I try not to dress like a tourist so I can just walk around unnoticed and get a feel for the city and the people. It's so hot I decide to buy a bottle of fresh water (sin gas!) There's a tourist alert right there. But then I notice that many locals are also walking around holding a bottle of water. It's all good.

I hadn't noticed on the way from the airport but from lots of places in Santiago you can actually see the Andes. Well, barely. The smog which covers city makes everything very hazy. But they're there. And you can tell the mountains are incredibly high, like a huge wall protecting Chile from the rest of South America. it's hot as hell down here (30+ degrees) but the mountains in the distance are still covered in snow.

I turn away from the Andes and continue walking along Av. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, which seems to be Santiago's main street and borders the city centre to the south.

It strikes me how tiny Santiago's city centre is. In my short stroll I walked past several of the places I will be returning to tomorrow with a little more time and (more importantly) my Canon SLR. Cerro Santa Lucia, Palacio de la Moneda, Biblioteca Nacional, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombiano, Plaza de Armas, Catedral de Santiago, Mercado Central: they are all within 5-10 minutes walking distance from one another. Santiago is going to be a walk in the park.

Then I noticed something: stray dogs. They are everywhere. But they are not like the stray dogs I've seen in other countries. For one thing, most of these are big, the size of German Shepherds, and look well-fed and healthy apart from their badly kept coat. But the most bizarre thing is how they are strategically stationed at the traffic lights, one or two dogs per set of lights. It's like that is their territory. When pedestrians are crossing, they sit calmly at the kerb, just watching everyone walk by. But as the lights turn green, they go postal and start attacking the cars going by at 60km/h!! I am surprised I didn't see any of them get run over.

As it was getting close to 7 pm I decided it was time to find a place to eat. Luckily enough I was just next to Cerro Santa Lucia when I saw a sign saying Barrio Historico so I decided to see what that was all about. It turns out I was walking into Calle J. V. Lastarria which sports a nice collection of al fresco cafés and restaurants. After walking around a bit I chose to go back to the first one I saw, called Patagonia (which I can recommend) and had the most amazingly cooked steak with quail eggs and potatoes, preceded of course by a delicious Pisco Sour, one of Chile's signature cocktails (it tastes much like a caipirinha!)

Now I made it back to the hotel. I am very tired and very jet-lagged. Will talk again tomorrrow.

AKL - SCL

Today is the day I leave New Zealand. Been feeling a little funny all day, a bit like getting butterflies.

The last few days have been incredibly busy. Friday was my last day at work, and a night Olympic threw a huge farewell party. Then I had my own farewell party the next day which went on till early Sunday morning. Yesterday (Sunday) was a day of shopping and generally sorting things out the last few things. Thiago and Karla took me out for breakfast, and Ivy and Ken took me out for a delicious Japanese dinner at the viaduct. And this morning Sheba picked me up and took me out for breakfast in Remuera (I chose the location, strategically opposite Dick Smith because I still had some last minute shopping to do!)

Warner, Sheba, and Sunny came to see me off at the airport which was great as I would hate to be waiting there by myself. We had a coffee and took some funny photos of them trying to keep me from boarding (which I'll expect to see in the next edition of the ASD magazine!) but I am sure I must have seemed a little "out" since all I could think about was that in a couple of hours I was going to be leaving New Zealand for what may be a very long time.

Board the plane. Thirteen hours later and I am in Santiago de Chile. Just in case I had any doubts as to where I was, the chaos at the arrival area and all the yelling and pushing and taxi drivers hassling me confirmed that this was indeed South American soil.

So let's see what Santiago is all about, shall we.

Leaving New Zealand

I've been wanting to write this for such a long time but haven't been able to find the time or the inspiration. I have always found that with me, inspiration comes when I am away from home. Sitting here on the deck of a bach twenty meters away from the Pukehina Beach sands with a glass of wine and what would be complete silence were it not for the waves breaking before me as they are lit up by the low afternoon sun, I suddenly feel the urge to write.

After I am done thanking the god of laptops and cordless devices (alas, no power points in sight out on the deck) I begin to think that I couldn't have asked for a better setting to write this article. A weekend away with friends in a quiet place by the beach, good wine, good food, good chats and good laughs. And I am thinking this is exactly why I fell in love with New Zealand in the first place: the quiet, laid back life style, the beautiful scenery, and how easy it is to just get away from city life whenever you feel the need to.

Now I am leaving New Zealand and it makes me sad despite all the new adventures waiting for me abroad. It's more of a mix of wanting to go but not wanting to leave. Five years ago when I was preparing to leave Brazil for a new life half way around the world I couldn't have pictured, in my wildest dreams, that things would have turned out the way they did.

New Zealand has been good to me.

Here I found a job that I truly enjoy, where I have friends, peers, heroes, and followers. Aside from the professional growth and all the opportunities given to me, Olympic has been key in supporting all other aspects in my life in New Zealand, from friendships to travels to personal development.

Here I found true friends. People I deeply care about, and who also care about me. Friends who I'll keep in touch for years and years to come, and will certainly get to catch up with many times in our travels around the world.

Here I found places to go. It goes without saying that New Zealand has wonderful scenery. But it's a funny thing, living abroad. You get to spend the first year or so living as a tourist and end up seeing more of the country than most locals. Then you start to settle, routine kicks in, and you experience the life of a local.

Here I found a new take on life. My short stay here couldn't have been further from my original plan. And it could hardly have been any better. Now I am finding it much harder to leave New Zealand than it was to leave Brazil. Which only goes to show how much more at home I feel here, amongst this myriad of cultures, religions, and ethnic food. My roots are in Brazil, and so is my family. But a good chunk of my heart is here.

Pause here. I just went over the text again and realised I am struggling to find the right words. I suppose all that I am trying to say is that I am very grateful for all that's happened in the last five years. And I already miss everyone and everything about New Zealand.

I need to be going now. The sun has set and it's getting cold out here. In the distance I can see a storm coming. But mostly, the laptop battery is running out and inside the house everyone is gathering around the table because Sheba's home made curry is about to be served. I couldn't have thought of a better ending myself.

I will so miss you all.