The City of Fumes

see all photos »

Before reaching Santiago we had already formed an opinion about the city. Most travelers which we have met in Peru and Bolivia were headed towards Buenos Aires for Christmas and New Years instead of Santiago. When asking why most of them made a face, as if to say isn`t it obvious, an answered simply that Buenos Aires is better in every way, like we should know this. It is more European, developed, tourist adapted, fun, richer in culture, known for its famous Argentinean steaks, and so on. Santiago on the other hand was described as gloomy, dreary and depressing, dark and was playing second fiddle to BA only because of the lack of competition. According to the Lonely Planet book Santiago is known for its infamous smog. Apparently when the smog reaches its peak children are sent home from school or stay at home all together, the elderly are recommended to not go outside and people wear masks to cover their mouth and noses.

see all photos »

As you might now realize, our expectations of Santiago weren`t very high. However, we decided to go against the crowds and continue on as planned. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised. Chile`s capital may not be the most wonderful place in the worlds, and although it may lack in charm, it does boast a variety of exciting neighborhoods, museums, cultural history, and of course when you can find several gigantic malls who can go wrong. There was also a great variety of gourmet cousin, an overall feeling of being back in big city life and a sense of internationalism. The best part was that there were no fumes in sight or to be sensed.

Aleks and I on the top of Santa Lucia
see all photos »

Our home town for New Years did manage to surprise us in other ways. Arriving only the day before which happened to be a Sunday, all the restaurants were closed. This is usually the case in South America, but you would think that in such a big city there would be a clientele for even this day of the week. This forced us to wait with booking our New Years dinner until the day of celebration. Since the restaurants furthermore didn`t open until the evening time Aleks and I decided to shop up to the very last minute to get the perfect outfit, accessories and shoes.

see all photos »

To our amazement, carrying a handful of bags, stressed, out of breath and sweaty after a long and crazy bus ride, we scoured to find the perfect restaurant only to find out that on New Year`s Eve in Chile people celebrate with their families at home and all of the places worthy of serving food were closed. Obviously the mood was spoiled quite a bit, especially after shopping for more money than the entire amount of what we spent in Bolivia.

Aleks and I, determined to pick ourselves up off the floor and make the most of it, went to the supermarket now in search for finding the perfect ingredients to make a perfect gourmet dinner. We found cerano ham, Hungarian sausages, jumbo shrimps, basil, fine wines, delicious cheeses, and the list goes on. The evening turned out great. The hostel was buzzing with people who were forced to celebrate together, but who undeniably enjoyed the diverse company and the consumption of alcohol. At the stoke of midnight all of Santiago emerged from their homes and gathered on the streets. In our section of the city, the place to be was on the main street. Together with thousands of people, we enjoyed champagne and fireworks. After that we returned to our hostel and the party continued on for hours. All in all it turned out to be a great New Year`s!