So for all of us living abroad, life is all about visas and visas renewals. I myself am on a visa that needs to be renewed every few months as well. I was up for renewal in mid October, and had contemplated for weeks whether to return to the US or to cross the border for a weekend. The latter option seemed much more appealing (and economical).
Originally, the plan was to fly to Tacna in the south of Perú, then take a taxi (colectivo) for like s./14 (granted at least 5 people are in the taxi) and drive 1.5 hours across the border into Chile and the surf-town of Arica. The advantages are that you don’t have to pay the $160USD reciprocity fee that you would need to do if you flew into Chile, and it really only costs about $100 USD to fly roundtrip from Lima to Tacna.
However, after much thought and the realization that October 8th (Tues) was a national holiday celebrating the Battle of Angamos, and October 7th (Mon) was a holiday for the public sector (including Universidad de San Marcos), it just didn’t make sense for me to go to Arica. I mean, I wanted to go to Santiago really badly. Arica? Not so much…and not sure about safety for a single female traveler going solo.
So it was off to Santiago! I left on an 10:30pm flight (for some reason, all the flights leave really late a night) and arrived in Santiago about 3:55am local time. Santiago is 2 hours ahead of Lima time; don’t ask me why, I didn’t realize that either until I did more reading.
Reciprocity Fee
Yes, you pay this at the airport in Santiago or any Chilean airport that you fly into. There’s a counter right before you line up to cross customs. They take cash or credit card, and I highly recommend cash. And they like fresh new, undamaged bills. They wouldn’t take 3 of my bills because they were slightly creased. But very lovely people, and the reciprocity fee lasts for the life of the passport! My passport expires in 2019, and I am definitely coming back to Chile. This is what you get stapled into your passport, whoopee!
Whoo hoo, I’m in Santiago!
I took a shared van shuttle from the airport to my hostel called Don Santiago (Av. Cumming 95 in Barrio Brasil). I highly recommend this hostel. It is a shared housing format, although I think you can get private rooms for about $24/person and you have to get the whole room if you are going solo. But the staff were super nice! My reservation didn’t start till the next day, but they let me crash there for the evening just the same. They even offered me breakfast in the morning, but I felt bad that I hadn’t paid for it, so left to venture for food on my own. The place was clean, breakfast included, the staff went out of their way to be helpful, and all the guests were fantastic. Very laid back folks, and not a party hostel for sure (although we did share a lot of good laughs, good guitar playing, good food and some delicious cocktails).
Getting around
What I loooved about Santiago was how clean and efficient the city was. People were really nice, and I felt perfectly safe walking everywhere, even at night. The two biggest differences was the presence of a very efficient and fast metro and the absence of honking drivers! Traffic wasn’t as bad as Lima, and the pedestrians actually have the right of way in Santiago! It costs 670 Chilean pesos (about $1.10) for one trip during rush hour, regardless of how far you go , and 610 CLP for off-peak hours. Weekends and holidays are always off-peak.
I love metros. The metro was clean, albeit crowded during rush hour, but no more crowded than anywhere else. And most people were really considerate and kind about letting you on and off the train.
There are plenty of cars in Chile, but I have to say they were the most organized and civil traffic I have seen, in North or South America. Rarely any horns honking, people let pedestrians walk through. Very very pleasant to walk around, and the environment only adds to the beauty of the walk. Let’s go through the neighborhoods!
Walking around
Santiago is broken up into several neighborhoods, and the three most touristy neighborhoods include Centro Santiago and Bellavista. The Plaza de Armas is the place to be. Right in the center of town, you’ll find people performing music, clowns entertaining the clown, magic acts, dancers, vendors, everything! Even people playing chess, which apparently is a huge thing in Chile. You’ll see people gathered in the gazebo watching multiple games going on simultaneously.
Look, they also have a streeted called Miraflores in Bellavista!
Walking around, beautiful statue near Central Santiago
THE FOOD, OH THE FOOD
Ironically, Peruvian food is becoming really popular in Chile. I got many a recommendation to go try food at the Peruvian restaurants in Chile (Astrid y Gaston, a very famous Peruvian restaurant that was named one of the top 10 restaurants in the world, is now open in Santiago too!)
The hostel I stayed at made a round of Chilean pisco sours. I have to admit, I preferred the Peruvian pisco sour, only because it is more sour. Even my Chilean hosts admitted that Peruvian pisco sours were better…I think it has to do with the limones (limes); they weren’t as sour in Chile, so the drink was just too sweet for my taste. But still delish!
The food didn’t have the ají and salsa flare that is common to Peruvian cuisine, but there were definitely some delicacies not to pass up. First up: empanadas. Little thicker pastry compared to the more crescent-shaped cousins in Argentina and Peru, but also delicious. A very popular type was filled with Beef stew with onions, dates and thick chunks of beef in gravy.
Of course, we cannot forget Chilean Wine. omg…! Not only did I have some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted, they were dirt cheap! You could find bottles for about $3-4 USD that would easily cost $40 in the US. (Such is importation!)
There are basically 3 major wine-producing valleys in Chile to visit:
Casablanca Valley, about 40 minutes drive to the West of Santiago, famous for white wines and dessert wines. There is a famous organic winery there called Emiliano Vineyards that I recommend. Also Indomita Vineyard is a great vineyard, the only one set atop a beautiful hill with a gorgeous restaurant. Get their Chardonnay with lunch…omg…to die for!
Driving through Casablanca Valley
Salmon lunch at Indomita Winery…mmm…
Recommendation is to rent a car to visit all of the wineries at your leisure, because it’s not easy to get there via taxi or bus (believe me, I’ve tried! You can do it, but the bus drops you off at a stop and it’s not a fun walk between the wineries.)
Aconcagua Valley, about an hour north of Santiago. I did not myself visit this valley, but have heard great things. I also heard that Argentinian varieties are also available here.
Maipo Valley, just 40 minutes or so by Metro (subway) outside of Santiago! My favorite, famous for reds, especially Syrahs and Carmenere. I took the Bicicleta Verde (Green Bicycle) tours, which you can choose from a full-day (8 hr) bike ride + wine tasting throughout the winery, or a half-day (~2.5 hr) tour (about 1.5 hr bike ride, about 1 hr tour of the winery). I went to on the half-day tour through Cousino y Macul. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! They have delicious reds and whites! They have a mixed version (3 wines) under the Finis Terra label, which was priced around $25 USD…so delicious! Also, they sell these awesome wine bubble carriers that prevent your wine bottles being broken during transport for $3 USD!
Btw, this ride is not for the easily-intoxicatable: you ride and stop at several points, and you taste various wines along stops. Got a little tipsy, but was all in good fun!
The road through the winery…so fun
“Salud! Cheers!”
Wine to go! All protected!
My vehicle for the day!
Another delicacy is the Pailas Mariscos or Seafood Soup. Basically just a broth of delicious and fresh seafood served with a side of fresh bread with marinera sauce. Look at this brothy goodness!
You can find it at many restaurants, but I recommend going to the Central Market (Mercado Central), where they sell the seafood as well. Avoid the tourist traps who try to pull you into their restaurant. Keep walking to the back and look for a smaller restaurant called “Pailas Blanco”, I think it was stall #127.
Big bowl of Pailas Mariscos…yum!
Find it at the Mercado Central
Culture, heritage, fun!
Chile was home to the great poet, writer, political activist, diplomat Pablo Neruda (who wasn’t really named Pablo Neruda, of course). One of his homes is right in the heart of Santiago by the Cerro San Cristobal. You can visit his home and walk in his gorgeous house. The other is further out on Islas Negras, which is closer to Valparaíso/Viña del Mar (*note, I am purposefully leaving out description of Valparaíso, which was my favorite town. A UNESCO heritage site as a port city, the houses are painted so beautifully and uniquely colorful that I cannot do it justice with my description. I urge you to go look it up and go visit!)
One thing I will say: if you don’t have time to go to Easter Island to see the statues of Moai, you can still see them in Santiago or in Viña del Mar. I saw a few in Santiago in some parks, and there was one at the museum in Viña del Mar:
On the walkway down from Pablo Neruda’s House, “La Chascona”, which was a house he bought for his then-mistress Matilde. The inside was built to look like a boat, and has lots of beautiful rooms, items, artwork, etc. Totally worth it to go!
Right next door is Cerro San Cristobal, which you take a gondola or a “Funicular” to the top. The top boasts a beautiful view and a gorgeous statue of the Virgen Mary at the top.
Here’s a view from the top down, including a lovely paper ornament given to me by a group of school children!
The Funicular to the top! If you stop at the first stop, you can go visit the zoo, or wait till the top to hike up to the statue.
Finally, would like to end this post with a piece of art from the free contemporary art exhibit from the Palacio de la Moneda. So sweet!
All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime. In 4 days, I had the best time, met some amazing people, saw some incredible sites, and renewed my visa! WIN! I encourage anyone to go visit Santiago and Chile!
Buen viaje!
"Almost 1 year" in Peru 