Hayley in Wanderlust: Santiago and Valparaiso

Usually, I'm a fan of taking the night bus. Since South America is so big, the journey's all tend to be at least 8 hours and it saves on paying for a hostel. However, I'd been told to do the journey from Mendoza to Santiago during the day, because the crossing through the Andes was not to be missed. It's advice I'm so glad I listened to. The entire journey is winding roads through the mountains, with the ragged terrain and snowy peaks... Not exactly what I see as I drive to work along the M40, I must admit.

 

Santiago is easily one of the most underrated cities I've ever been to. The place is amazing, with so much to do and see, and because it doesn't have the same pull as Rio or Buenos Aires, it didn't really feel like I was paying capital city prices, which I liked.

 

 

My hostel was very quiet, which I found frustrating as I use hostel to meet people and as some of you will know, I generally like being able to talk to people at all times. To begin with I was worried that I wouldn't be meeting anyone during this leg of my trip. It wouldn't have been an issue so to speak, I just would have driven myself mad having conversations with myself (in my head, and don't look at me like I'm mad, you all do it too). Turns out, I shouldn't have stressed. City walking tours are also great ways to meet other travellers and the one in Santiago is so much fun. Lead by a 'Wally' (of the 'Where's Wally fame.. Also note how you're not met by a 'Waldo', here's looking at you, USA...) there are two tours in Santiago each day.

I took the afternoon tour, which walks you around the main attractions in the city. Our guide was amazing, super knowledgeable and handled our group of 30 like a pro. The tour itself is free, and then you tip at the end (the name is Tours 4 Tips after all). Obviously, you don't have to tip if you don't want to, but the guides are so fantastic you can't help yourself. I did the walking tour in Valparaiso with the same company and it was equally as fab.

 

That evening was a fairly quiet one, although I did try my first ever Pisco based cocktail, which for someone who drinks as much as I so, was pretty special.

Santiago has some of the most beautiful parks I've seen so far, which is yet another reason I loved it so much. In the centre of the city is Santa Lucia, a park created on top of a big rock. It's free to enter, all you have to do is sign up, and walking to the top gives you beautiful views of the city's rooftops from the middle of the action. There was a protest going on whilst I was there, so it was amazing watching hundreds of people swarm the streets from higher up. 'Parque Metropolitana' is one of the largest parks in a city, three times the size of Central Park in New York. It's where you find 'San Cristobol' hill and the statue of the Virgin Mary. I took the funicular up, which cost me CP$1500 (approx. £2) and then decided to walk down. The views from the top are absolutely unreal, and thankfully I was thereon a relatively clear day. Santiago is prone to smog and it can really affect how far you can see if it's a bad day. I thought walking down would be easy, but ended up walking the wrong way and doing a 5k hike to the bottom. It was a blessing though, because walking down I met these two amazing South American women, both in their 70s who live in Brazil and were grovelling together. We chatted the entire way down, which was very good practise for my Spanish (after struggling through my A Level, I'm still so impressed at how well I can actually speak it. Felt like I was never going to get there) and it was just so nice to speak to women from an entirely different generation who seemed so interested in my journey, and so pleased I was taking the time to see the world. I got a slightly different reaction from my Nona...

That evening I met up with a few of the girls from the walking tour and we went for drinks. One nice drink turned into us drinking in a student bar that only served beer or rum (perfect) and ending up in a reggae themed club called 'Jammin'. It was a really, really good night but meant that the next day we headed to Valparaiso severely hungover. I never learn.

Valparaiso (Valpo) stole my heart a little bit, and I ended up staying for six days, when the plan had been to stay for three. I stayed in a hostel called 'Muffin' which was close to bus station and far from everything else, and then at one called 'The Licananty' which was close to the centre of town, but run in organised chaos (or just chaos), I would however, stay at both again. Valpo is a bright, colourful city with street art in every corner. Again, the walking tour with the Wally's here is fantastic and it was fascinating to learn about the city's history, and the meaning behind some of the murals that paint the city's streets. Twice we ate at a resturant called 'El Domino', which is great if you eat meat as it does the best in a local Chilean specialty of a dish containing chips (French fries), fried meat, egg, cheese and fried onion. It was less great if you're a veggie as the only thing on the menu for you was a portion of chips. Please, no one mention how much weight I've gained when I get home, 'rolling back to UK' is my new motto *sigh*.

There's always something happening at night here too, there's a bar called 'El Gatos en la Ventana' (The Cat in the Window), which sells a jug of 'Terremotto' (a Chilean cocktail made with sweet white wine, grenadine, Pisco and pineapple ice cream) for £4 and hosts live bands playing local music. On the Saturday night, we went to a club called 'Metro' (I think...) which was a lot of fun, and gringo friendly. We'd been warned that certain areas might mot be the safest for js after dark, but encountered no problems and danced with the locals all night. Even when it came to going home and I got on the wrong bus and ended up in the next town over, people were more than hap to help me find a taxi and get back to the right place. Admittedly, not my smartest move, and I can't say that I would have been so cool about it had I mot been able to speak Spanish well, but thankfully I got myself home in one piece.
As well as nightlife, Valparaiso's hills are littered with loads of cute cafés and restaurants, that aren't overly expensive, selling delicious food and good drinks. Orange and strawberry juice was my personal favourite.

I could have stayed in Valparaiso. It's big, arty, fun and only a short bus ride from the beach, but sadly, I was starting to run out of time. Mid June, and my flight to Central America was fast approaching, and I needed to get a move on.

Time to head north and hit La Serena and San Pedro de Atacama before entering Bolivia.

- xo