Saturday, 21 May 2011

Sightseeing and Seafood in Santiago

Next Stop: Santiago, Chile (April 26-28, 2011). A short half hour flight from Mendoza and we arrived on the other side of the Andes mountain range. Santiago is a bustling, lively metropolis, but in my opinion, it pales in comparison to other large cities like Buenos Aires and Rio. Nonetheless, its charm quickly grew on us and we quite enjoyed our time in Chile's capital city. 








Saw: Our short stay in Santiago was spent wandering the city, visiting some sights and shopping. 


Plaza de Armas












We stopped in at the Museo de Bellas Artes where we saw a very interesting photography exhibit.
Museo de Bellas Artes
We also stumbled upon this guy outside the museum (he was hard to miss). We called him Meaty...or was it Beefy? Regardless, we were both very fond of him. 
 


We had lunch at the Mercado Central, home to Santiago's fish market. (see "Ate" section for some foodie pics). The historic wrought-iron building took 10 years to construct because the metalwork was made in England and then shipped to Chile. 
Just before sunset, we made our way to Cerro Santa Lucia for a view of the city. It's a quirky park with random trails and steep stone stairs leading up through terraces to the Torre Mirador at the top. It's also a place (like most parks in South America) that is frequented by PDA loving couples. 




                    

We spent our last day at the Pueblito Los Dominicos artesian market where artists make and sell their handcrafts in workshops on site. Our credit cards were smoking by the time we left.



Stayed: Andes Hostel, Santiago. This hostel was one of the best hostels we stayed in in South America. It was in the perfect location in a trendy part of Santiago, right across the street from a metro stop and it was incredibly good value for the cost (cheap). The dorms were roomy and clean, the beds comfy and the atmosphere was fun and welcoming. The staff were fantastic and the hostel provides a free dinner and wine tasting on Wednesday nights. It doesn't get much better than this. 




Ate: Food was not scarce in Santiago. We ate a lot. 
Lomo a la pobre (poor man's steak)
Pisco sour - Chile's
national drink
Lomo saltado




Salmon covered in a shrimp sauce
(the best seafood I've ever had)




Erin's dish - Congrio covered in a mussel sauce.
It was ridiculous how many mussels there were.



Lastly, no visit to Santiago is complete without a stop in at La Piojera. It's an eclectic place that's frequented by all walks of life, from thieves and students to the working class and your everyday drunks. The big draw for tourists is the house specialty terremoto, which literally translates to “earthquake”. It is a potent mix of sweet fermented white wine, fernet (a spirit from Argentina) and a large scoop of pineapple ice cream. The drink gets better as the ice cream melts but don't be tempted, one is enough! We mistakenly went for two...and let me tell you, the earth was definitely quaking as we stumbled out of the bar. (Since I didn't have a photo of the drink myself, I borrowed this one from google images).


Travel Tip: Cross the border by bus!! We thought we were getting a super great deal on our flight from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. A half hour flight for $84 or a 6 hour bus ride? We took the flight option. THEN we landed in Santiago and got dinged a reciprocity fee of $136! Concha de su madre! (Thanks S.P. for teaching me this very useful Spanish expletive). If you cross by land you won´t get charged.

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