Santiago budget
I’ve spent 21 days in Santiago. As usual, accommodation comes in first. But I also paid the side trip to Valparaíso and paid double for those days. Santiago was a bit more expensive than expected, for going out, especially. And I ate out more, I did not use my kitchen as often as in Buenos […] Read More
Cajón del Maipo
On my very last day in Santiago, Sebastián picked me up and took me on a ride out of town. We were heading into the Andes mountains, to the Cajón del Maipo, a canyon carved by the Maipo river. The landscape is super dry, the higher you get. It’s clear it does not rain much […] Read More
Riding the Metro
First thing I thought when coming into the Santiago Metro was: Paris! This smells like the Paris Metro. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but I feel every city has a distinct smell in its public transport system – and I don’t refer to a potential pee problem. The smells are hard, or impossible […] Read More
Merry Christmas from Santiago
My last day in Santiago was Navidad. The city was much more quiet – a lot of coffee shops and restaurants already closed during the day. Yesterday I did some last minutes Xmas shopping with Sebastian, he took me to an area full of old warehouses or markets, with little stalls where people were looking […] Read More
La Jardin
A friend told me about La Jardin. I had passed it already once, looked into the courtyard, found it curious but hadn’t bothered to look closer. Epic Fail! I have to be more curious. La Jardin is a vagabond restaurant. It started in London as a private project called The Pale Blue Door, and has […] Read More
Night out
Last night I met up with Hannah and her friends for some drinks in a cute bar and restaurant Ciudadano in Barrio Italia. We had beers and ate something, the night was really mild… Santiago is hot during the day, but the nights can see temperatures drop quite sharply. It’s always good to have something […] Read More
Humita
Finally I got to try the Chilean specialty called Humita. I had eaten empanadas in Argentina filled with something called Humita, but this was different. Humita is a Native American dish from pre‑Hispanic times, and a traditional food in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. It consists of masa harina and corn, slowly steamed or […] Read More
Social life (Part II)
After all the excitement of the trip to Valparaíso, quiet days ahead in Santiago. Friday saw me doing my laundry, having breakfast in a café, spending time at a pool, sorting pics, flickr-ing and blogging, having another (iced) coffee… And in the evening I was set to go out for dinner or drinks with a […] Read More