Santiago, Chile

Santiago is just another big city.

Or maybe not...

 in Santiago, Chile

“Santiago is just another big city.”

That’s what everyone would tell me when they said they went for just a night or two before moving on or skipped it altogether. “It’s just another big city,” they’d say. “It’s boring,” they’d say.

But I had already decided that Santiago would be where I’d spend my last ten days in Chile, in South America. I was nervous. People made me nervous. Everyone had me thinking that I was making the wrong choice. Maybe I should have decided to spend more time in Valle de Elqui. Maybe I should have decided to go down south. Or cut over to Argentina.

But I stuck with my plan figuring that, if nothing else, I could spend my last week relaxing in bed with Netflix, going on day tours, or working.


When I got to Santiago, with ten days ahead of me I realized that yes, Santiago is just another big city…

 

Santiago is just another big city with markets.

Lots of markets. Markets full of fresh fish and meat and fruits and vegetables. Markets where you could stop at a restaurant for lunch or pick up something to make later, for dinner.

Central Market Fish market in Santiago, Chile

Central Market fish market in Santiago, Chile

Meat market in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where those who have passed are remembered.

Where a wife might leave her husband beer. Where a family might celebrate a child’s birthday, year after year, even if that child only lived a few days.

Cemetery in Santiago, Chile

Cemetery in Santiago, Chile

Cemetery in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city that hosts Lollapalooza.

Because we all know cities that host Lollapalooza are awful. Just awful.

 

Santiago is just another big city with a Plaza de Armas.

I don’t remember where I was or who I was with, but someone somewhere on this trip said at some point, “it’s not a city in South America without a Plaza de Armas.” And that is a pretty true statement.

Of course, I’m only guessing here that Santiago has a nice one. Because it was under construction. Along with the cathedral.

Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city with really good food.

One of the best things about Chile is that you’re never really that far from the coast. So seafood is everywhere and some of their best dishes revolve around seafood. And while most of the street food consisted of massive hot dogs topped with everything, the sopaipillas, fried pumpkin pastries topped with spicy salsa, are delicious snacks.

Ceviche in Santiago, Chile
Ceviche. Because, ceviche.

Pastel de Jaibas - crab casserole - in Santiago, Chile
Pastel de Jaibas — crab casserole.

Caldillo De Congrio - eel soup in Santiago, Chile
Caldillo De Congrio — eel soup.

Sushi in Santiago, Chile
Sushi. Which I know is not Chilean. But it’s all I’ve been craving lately. And, hello, fresh seafood.

Sopapilla in Santiago, Chile
Sopapilla topped with spicy salsa.


 

Santiago is just another big city where the national drink contains pineapple ice cream.

The Terremoto, so named because of Chile’s tendancy towards earthquakes, is a drink made of a white wine, grenadine, sometimes pisco, and a scoop of pineapple ice-cream. And it will fuck you up. It will fuck you up…

Terremotos in Santiago, Chile

Terremotos in Santiago, Chile

Terremotos in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city with a lot of street art.

Maybe not as much as nearby Valparaiso. But enough.

Street art in Santiago, Chile

Street art in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city filled with people with pink or purple or blue hair.

Not everyone. But I saw a lot of people with weird hair colors. And people with weird hair colors are awesome, right?

 

Santiago is just another big city where you can visit Paris and London in an afternoon.

At least on streets named after Paris and London…

London Street in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where you can easily take a wine tour.

There are plenty to choose from. But please note: a wine tour is not fun the day after you’ve had a couple of those terremotos…

Concha y Toro wine tour in Santiago, Chile

Concha y Toro wine tour in Santiago, Chile

Concha y Toro wine tour in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where you can climb to the top of two hills.

There’s Santa Lucía Hill…
Santa Lucía Hill in Santiago, Chile

Santa Lucía Hill in Santiago, Chile

…and San Cristóbal Hill.

San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile

San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile

San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where people stop you on the street and ask you to take their photo.

I could be all Humans of Santiago. Except my Spanish isn’t good enough to ask people what their saddest moment is.

Humans of Santiago, Chile

Humans of Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where you can go salsa dancing.

And salsa dancing is the best.

 in Santiago, Chile

 in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city where they block of the streets on Sunday mornings.

So cyclists can take over.

Blocked off streets for cyclists in Santiago, Chile

 

Santiago is just another big city with a rich, interesting, sometimes horrifying recent history.

On September 11, 1973, a coup d’état in Santiago left president Salvador Allende Gossens dead (of apparent, and contested, suicide), leading way for Army General Augusto Pinochet to take over. His dictatorship lasted for many years until a plebiscite in 1988, in which citizens could vote “yes” to allowing him another term or “no” for him to be rejected. The “no” vote won with 56% of the vote, and Chile was free to find a new president.

I’d heard the story many times over my days in Santiago. But it wasn’t until I was sitting in the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, Santiago’s Human Rights Museum, watching a video of their 1988 national election that it hit me how recent this all was. The political commercials that played on repeat were very much 80s, very much on television, and very much in color. Something about that triggered something in me. Like you’re so used to reading things in text books, seeing all these old photos in black and white. But seeing those commercials made it all seem so recent, just like seeing videos of victims of the dictatorship’s detention centers speak out made it all too real.

 in Santiago, Chile

 in Santiago, Chile

 

If I had arrived in Santiago first I would have probably stuck to my original plan to stay somewhere for three months. Unfortunately, I arrived there last, just ten days before my flight out of South America. It was a place so many people skipped and so many people didn’t like. It was, maybe, just another big city. But it was a city I could see myself in.

I cried walking through a park my last night. Because there are so many places I see myself living. I want to live in Santiago. I want to live in New York. I want to study salsa in Cali. Flamenco in Spain. Tango in Argentina. I want to go back to Chiang Mai. I want to go to Africa, Australia, Japan. I cried because I want to fall in love. I want to get married. But I fear I will never find a man who wants the same things in life that I want. Because I want too many things. Because I want everything. Because I don’t know what I want. I cried because my life is about to take a drastic turn. And while I’m still not sure if it’s what I want. I know it’s what I need. And so, as I left South America I just had to keep reminding myself of my mantra:

I can have it all. Just not all at once. Just not all right now.

 

 

Hi, I'm Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the kitten. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and traveled for three years. Now I'm back in Chicago, decorating my apartment in all the teal, petting my cats, and planning my next adventure.

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4 Comments
  • Steph
    October 22, 2014at8:24 am

    Santiago was our last stop in South America too! I didn’t fall in love with it, but it is a pretty neat place. And they have amazing sushi. Some of the best.

  • Lisa | LLworldtour
    October 22, 2014at5:45 pm

    Wow. Now I really want to visit Santiago. Thanks for opening my eyes to this city! The food looks like just what I like. I only went south straight to Patagonia.
    AND I hear you on the “I want everything AND I don’t know what I want.” I’ve been ‘back’ 4 years and I still don’t know. Sometimes I think the traveling has forever made it harder for me to be comfy in the everyday life.

  • Ali
    October 23, 2014at8:04 am

    I was only in Santiago for about a day but I’d like to go back and see more of the city. I’m glad you enjoyed your time there. And you’re totally right, you can have it all, just not all at once. I was actually just saying something similar to Andy the other day. It’s tough to remember that sometimes!

  • Alfred Bueno
    May 19, 2015at8:47 am

    Great to see you had a great experience in Santiago. If ever you think of visiting again, there are some gems hidden behind the modern city blocks – Barrio Concha Y Toro, Universitario, Brasil, Republica, Lastarria, Italia and Bella Vista. These are all Barrios you should visit. They are what remains of the Old Neo Classical City, you’ll think you’re in Barcelona at times. There are plenty more of the Paris Y Londres that you visited. Barrio Lastarria, Brasil and Bella Vista are quite bohemian. They have a great youthful vibe. You would have loved it. You need to find them though and they’re not easy to find. If you go to Cerro San Cristobal through the North Entrance around Providencia and Estacion Vitacura, rather than the Tourist Friendly main gate, you’ll see some gorgeous French Styled architecture and some very exclusive suburbs. I’ve traveled throughout South America and I completely fell in love with 2 cities – Buenos Aires and Santiago. Santiago is no longer a stop over, it is a destination in its own right.

    I know you did this blog a while ago but only discovered them recently and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

    All the best to you. Give me a message if you ever need a guide around Sydney, Australia.

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