We had a problem checking in online and trying to add our baggage with sky airline so that meant we were up at 3am to get to the airport early to try and get it sorted. Luckily, a screenshot of an online conversation meant we could pay the online price instead of $100 for two bags!! Bloody airlines are extorting money from people every chance they get. Still, it was a necessary evil in order to get to Santiago for our quick pit stop before heading to Argentina. We had originally planned to stay longer in Chile, but there is so much there we want to do, we figured we would spend some quality time there and visit Easter island, another time. So for a couple of days, we would be in Santiago.
Time fast forward two hours between leaving Lima and entering Santiago and by the time we left the airport, it was time for dinner and a small amount of exploration. We found an Irish bar and ordered a beer for nathan, glass of red for me and chicken curry on chips for dinner. Oh. My. God. It was delicious. Literally, such a beige dinner, but so unbelievably tasty. The downside? They had no glasses of wine!!! I mean seriously, Chile produces some seriously good wine, yet this bloody pub couldn’t pour me a glass!! What made it worse, was a) the last taste of wine I had was in Peru and it was rancid, b) I hadn’t had any wine since leaving America, c) I was so looking forward to a delicious glass of red and d) when we paid the bill, the bar was full of wine bottles!!!! Explain that one!
I had to settle for a coke. Still, we stopped by a shop, which sold ASDA products??? And I treated myself to a lovely bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Mmmm it was just what the doctor ordered. Even took my mind off of my insanely itchy legs for five minutes. Our hostel was a B&B and was in the university district, but within walking distance to where we wanted to go. Our host, Valerie (I think) was delightful. We had some great conversations…in Spanish. I mean I was so chuffed that I could actually understand everything she was saying. I have discovered, other than saying, hello, goodbye, sorry, thank you, excuse me, where is the…,the bill please, two beers please, red wine please, how much, numbers and a few other phrases, my understanding of Spanish is so much better than my ability to speak it. I must say, I am actually quite proud of myself. A delightful evening ensued, before the task of yet again trying to sort out luggage with sky airline awaited us Wednesday morning.
After of hours of online chat, trying to avoid having to phone the contact centre, resulted in no help whatsoever. Feeling slightly downbeat, we ventured out into the crisp cool air of Santiago. First stop on the agenda, coffee, followed by Hard Rock Cafe and the Constrena Centre, South America’s tallest building standing at 300m tall.
We went on the Wednesday because it was cheaper than the Tuesday! There were no queues, we got our tickets then went straight into the elevator and up to the observation deck. The sky was relatively clear and we went up one more floor to the open deck. The views around the tower were spectacular.
The beautiful Andean mountains filled the background. The streets you could see along for miles. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t really high up so the buildings and cars were still relatively clear. Around the top of the tower were markers displaying what you were looking at. It was a great view of the city of Santiago. As we descended the elevator we were dropped off at the food court. Jonny Rockets was on the agenda. For a burger and a hot dog. The food wasn’t bad. The waitress was just detestable. I mean, tipping should purely be optional right? Apologies if you don’t think so, but she shoved the card machine in Nathan’s face three times in disbelief that we said no tip and then she chucked it down for him to enter his pin, ripping the receipt out with some serious ferocity, I understand that in some places, people truly need tips and rely on them, but is t that for when you’ve received exceptional service? I mean she got the order wrong to begin with, brought my coke with ice in it, despite asking for it without and then her attitude just killed it. We won’t be returning to Jonny Rockets that’s for sure.
The tower was within a shopping complex, which had a delightful centrepiece.
Our next stop for the day was three miles in the opposite direction, near Plaza de Armas, where we would find sky airline in hope of sorting out this bloody luggage problem. We walked along one road pretty much the whole way. There were churches along the way and a park in the middle of the road which housed peculiar statues and art. As we reached plaza de areas, we located sky airline, took a ticket and had zero luck sorting the luggage out, still being told that we have to pay the ridiculous airline prices. So, we strolled round the plaza instead.
The buildings around the edge of the plaza, as with most we’ve seen through South America, were beautiful architectural structures, even the post office! The palm trees were a nice touch too. The walk back to the hostel took a while as we walked the same road we did to reach the plaza. The people in Santiago had a wacky dress sense. There were so many different hair colours. There were huge piercings and massive holes in people’s ears. The soles on shoes made people seem like they had platform shoes. Heels were very chunky! Everyone seemed to be dressed for warm weather, whilst also expecting cold and maybe even rain. It was quirky.
We even found the King’s Palace, where everyone was just casually driving in front off and a big marquee in the front garden. Even the judicial buildings were beautiful. The weather started to get much colder again as the evening encroached upon us. Thankfully, we managed to sort the luggage out once we got back to the hostel. We had to pack and then ‘passengers’ was on the Which I started watching only to grab about an hours sleep before the wretched alarm went off in the early hours of the morning, ready for us to catch a ride to the airport to fly onwards to Buenos Aires. Chile was just a pit stop for us as we want some proper time to explore it and visit Easter island.
Until next time…