It is hard to wrap our arms around this giant trip. It already seems like we were in Santiago months ago. So much has happened in just 2 weeks, perhaps our brains just have a hard time processing so much information. We are glad to be home. I’m looking forward to planning our next trip south, there is so much more I want to see. I’m glad we stuck to the cities this time for the history lessons and architecture. Next trip, I want to escape the city life and see more of the country.
Highlights:
- The Metro in Santiago. Travel within this city was easy, fast, and very affordable. Get a BIP! card at a machine or kiosk, and ride away. The train stations are underground, clean, and full of art. Trains come about every 2 minutes. Efficient, clean, beautiful, and affordable public transit? Why yes! Never once did we feel unsafe, intimidated, or uncomfortable.
- The people in Santiago give up their Metro seat to the elderly, particularly older women. It was very heartwarming to witness, day in and day out, people offering their seats to others, even on a crowded train.
- The Green Bicycle Tour of Santiago was worth it. It was called Parks and Politics – we visited parks and learned some political history of Chile. We were joined by two men from Brazil (one a huge NFL fan), our tour was in English, and we learned so much. The conclusion of our trip was riding through Santiago rush hour traffic – pedestrian and automobile. Because we survived, I can say I’m glad we did it. Next time, we pick an earlier tour time.
- The GAM in Santiago, was Devlin’s favorite place of our entire trip. The Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (aka GAM) has significant historical and cultural play in this city. It was built by the people of the city by significant volunteer labor for a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 1972, was overtaken by Pinochet during his brutal ruling and used as an “interrogation” center, and is now a community cultural center that is frequented day and night by local people, young and old.
- Spanish varies, depending on where you are. There is no right or wrong dialect. Some areas are easy to get along with knowing the basics and others are not. And the next time someone tells me that Spanish from Madrid is the “correct” Spanish, I will ask them to go to Santiago, take a bus out of town, and see how far their “correct” Spanish gets them!
- Food. The food everywhere was amazing. Empanadas! Steak (Bife de chroizo, bife de lomo)! Pastel de Choclo! Helado! Parrillada! We were adventurous (blood sausage anyone?) and open minded. We strictly ordered off the Spanish menu, except in one restaurant where they gave us an English one, and we were entirely confused because nothing translated to what we were used to seeing.
- Pastel de Choclo is something I need to learn how to make. Oh my! Creamy corn atop of a mixture of ground beef, chicken pieces, olives, raisins, hard boiled eggs, onions.
- Pedestrians in Santiago expect the right of way ALWAYS – to cars, bicycles, and other pedestrians. No one yields. You must be bold.
- Watching NFL games in Spanish is more fun than you think! Watching Marshawn Lynch score a touchdown and hearing the Spanish commentary was a highlight of the game for us.
- Bus travel in Chile is cheap and very nice. Think Greyhound, but better.
- Taxis were cheap in Buenos Aires, provided they were ordered through “secure” channels. It is not recommended for a tourist to hail them off the street.
- The city of Buenos Aires could save millions of pesos a year by not painting lane lines on the roads. No one uses them. A single left turn lane will be 3 cars wide.
- Mr Hugo Bikes in Maipu, outside of Mendoza, is all that plus more. If you want a family friendly, family run business to support, rent your bike here and enjoy the wine country. He and his family will entertain you with wine after your ride while you wait for the bus or taxi back to your lodging.
- Buenos Aires is beautiful. The Feria de San Telmo (San Telmo market) on Sunday is a must. Buy or not, it’s worth the walk through the entire thing. And do it twice, just in case you missed something on the way down. You might want to pack an empty bag just for this experience. Buy some fresh pressed orange juice and some churros while you browse the tens of thousands of vendors.
- LAN Airlines knows how to efficiently move passengers via air. The US-based airlines need to re-look at their boarding procedures. LAN gets it done faster and with less chaos and stress. Oh, and they still give free snack boxes!
- Non-native children who speak Spanish (or try) are much appreciated and respected. They bring extra patience, smiles, and many compliments from the locals.
And for some media entertainment – Live music at a Metro station in Santiago:
Electric guitar in Buenos Aires:
Street music at the San Telmo Sunday market:
United by Language 