In and around Santiago

Finally, the day had arrived, and we were off to South America. We flew from our home airport in Wellington to Auckland, then on to Santiago, the capital of Chile. It would be our starting point for our travel up the north-western side of South America over the next few months, and we were really looking forward to it. 

View from our Santiago apartment with Andes Mountains at back

But first, we wanted to see Santiago. So, after arriving, we went straight to our central city AirBnB apartment to unpack. We were on the on the 27th floor, with great views over the city, but with a heavy mist hiding the surrounding Andes Mountains. After a few days the mist cleared and the Andes showed some beautiful snowy peaks.

Our first impressions of Santiago, were that it is a busy and rather tired city, with lots of grey buildings. 

However, we changed our thinking over the next few days as we got out and explored, finding it to be sophisticated and vibrant.

Stairs up the beautiful Santa Lucia Hill, Santiago, Chile

We particularly liked Santa Lucia Hill, the remains of a 15-million-year-old volcano that became the place where Santiago was founded in 1541. It's now a beautiful area of terraced gardens and historic memorials. 

Walking around, we were impressed with the grand buildings that give Santiago such a presence. There were museums, ornate theatres, colourful eating places, and restful gardens.

The architecture is an interesting mix of neoclassical, colonial, and contemporary styles.

Top: Marg in front of the Casa Colorada Museum of Santiago, and the Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia
Bottom: Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, and Cuartel General del Cuerpo de Bomberos 

Standouts for us were the Casa Colorada Museum of Santiago, Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, Cuartel General del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago, Teatro Municipal, Basilica de La Merced, Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. That's quite an eye-full of attractive buildings.

Later we found ourselves in the very interesting Barrio Lastarria quarter, where we had a good look around and a fabulous lunch. 

Top: Street stall, and cultural concert in the Plaza de Armas
Bottom: Changing of the Guard at the La Moneda Palace, and indigenous Mapuche women

In the Plaza de Armas, the central square of Santiago, we saw a cultural concert, and later, we just managed to get to the La Moneda Palace (Presidential Palace), in time to watch the Changing of the Guards.

We found lots of pedestrian-only streets, many trees and parks, stalls selling all kinds of stuff, and people everywhere. It is a very walkable and clean city, with an excellent bus and metro system.

After a few days of sightseeing in Santiago city, we caught a bus to Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage Town about 1.5 hours away on the coast. 

Historic ascensore in Valparaíso (UNESCO), Chile

Valparaiso is Chile's oldest port. The city is set on steep hills around the port and is known for its historic but tiny (6 person standing) ascensores - a sort of cable railway. They are used to transport people between the commercial areas around the port, and the residential areas in the hills. 

The streets lead out and up from the port via twisting, cobbled, and steep thoroughfares that are a challenge to walk, so the ascensores are well used. 

Graffiti art in Valparaíso (UNESCO), Chile

The town around the port area is old and looks a bit tired, with lots of ugly graffiti and rubbish. However, there is also a huge amount of interesting and colourful street graffiti painted by local artists, that certainly liven up the place.

Then when you get up into hills, the place takes on a different aspect.

We took a rickety ascensores up one of the hills and found some beautifully restored houses. One in particular dated back to the 1870's and was a restaurant, which we visited. 

Leigh at the restaurant at the top of the cable-car in Valparaíso (UNESCO), Chile

Hard to pass up the opportunity for a wine and tapas sitting in such a great location overlooking the water. 

We also found colourfully painted houses lining the steep narrow streets that added charm to the city. 

Overall, we had a really interesting day.

When we came back from Valparaiso, we ended up being slightly short of change for the metro, and a lovely man topped it up for us - such a generous person. The Chilean people seem to be very friendly and we have struck up several conversations with locals. Great fun, but it has tested our rudimentary Spanish. Thank goodness for Google translate!

Interesting and colourful houses in Valparaíso (UNESCO), Chile

We enjoyed Santiago and Valparaíso, and both felt very safe; even at night. 

But eventually it was time to move on, so we packed up and caught a local bus to the airport.  We were flying to Chile's far north to reach San Pedro de Atacama, near the border with Bolivia.

This is part of a blog series about our un-escorted travels through the north-eastern countries of South America. This blog is the first in the series