I’ve been teasing about my “trip of a lifetime” for a while now, so I thought it was about time that I disclose the adventures of my 9-day trip to 2 countries, 4 cities, and 1 Wonder of the World. 

The end goal was Machu Picchu, but the flights were cheaper if we stopped in Santiago along the way, so my two traveling companions and I decided to seize the opportunity to see another country. We booked hostels in Santiago and Viña del Mar and embarked on this fast-paced first leg of the journey.

We arrived in Santiago around noon after a very early flight and crashed at our hostel. It was very strange, though: Santiago was a ghost town. Every single business was closed, boarded up for the weekend (except McDonald’s, of course). Never in my life have I seen a city so barren, especially on a Friday! We asked the hostel staff what the deal was, and they informed us that it was Chile’s independence day weekend, so everyone was celebrating at the multiple fondas throughout the city. Fondas are basically big out-door carnivals with live music and local street food. Since there was nothing else to do, we rested up and headed out to one called O’Higgins. It was a blast! We tried their typical empanada, choripan, chicken and steak kabob, and the infamous Chilean terremoto (the local drink of choice). We ended the night mingling with the locals at a free out-door concert. It felt so good to celebrate the end of midterms and this important day for Chile. It ended up being lucky that we arrived when we did!

After the fonda, we recharged and caught an early bus to Viña del Mar, one of Chile’s beach towns. Oh, to just breathe that crisp, ocean-y air. This was finally vacation. We walked along the coast, trying to convince ourselves that we weren’t dreaming. While we were walking along, gazing at the skyline, we stumbled upon a local market where they were selling everything from Viña del Mar key chains to the “drug rug” pants we’d been seeing around the city. We cruised along looking for souvenirs, mingling with the enthusiastic vendors. Along the way, we stopped to listen to a man sitting on the rocks, playing his guitar, and singing some American and British classics. It was nice to have a little piece of home even when we were so far away. It never ceases to amaze me how music seems to be the one language that transcends every boundary around the world. That night, we headed out to unwind and ended up in an interesting little place called Café Journal. While everyone else was enjoying their pints of beers, we ordered some hot chocolates (it gets cold at night!) and watched the DJ jam out to his strange playlist of 80s music videos. Besides one other woman dancing the night away, I think we were the only ones that took such enjoyment out of seeing Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston on the screen. It was very amusing.  

After a sound sleep, we headed to the vibrant Valparaiso. For once, we were grateful to be accosted by tour guides looking for patrons for their tips-only tours. Two extremely friendly Chileans guided us around the atypical tourist spots, giving us incredible views of the port city. The town is best known for its array of colorful houses lining the iconic hills. Our tour guide told us that these residential rainbows emerged as a makeshift address system. Since the town was mainly used as a trading center, there wasn’t an official government system until later on. Thus, everyone would identify one another’s houses by saying, “I live in the purple house with the yellow windows on Cerro (hill) Concepción.” This method became so engrained into the culture of Valpo that the idea stuck even when an address system was established. Now, we tourists have the privilege of climbing to the tops of the hills to enjoy the beautiful view. Well, to be clear, the privilege is the view, not the climb. There are two ways to make the trip: HUNDREDS of steep stairs or an ascensor, which is basically an outdoor elevator. We tried both ways, and I have to say: I prefer the ascensor. You get an unparalleled view of the city on the way up, and you don’t end up a sweaty mess by the time you reach your destination, which is how we arrived at Pablo Neruda’s house, La Sebastiana. Wow, his house was incredible. It was amazing to see this famous Chilean writer’s poems placed throughout the house, showing us the direct influences on his creative genius. I’ve read many of his poems in my Spanish classes, so it was surreal to have the same vantage point that inspired some of his greatest pieces.

The only low point of the day was our traditional Chilean lunch that made us all queasy. It’s always a risk to order mystery meals, and this time, it backfired. I ordered “Chupe de Locos.” I had no idea what it was, but I wanted seafood, and the waitress recommended it. What arrived at my place was a bubbling cauldron of doughy mush filled with OCTOPUS and blanketed in cheese. AHH. I was expecting “locos” to be lobster, so as I chewed the rubbery pieces of fish, it was quite an unpleasant shock to discover that I was eating tentacles, not delicate lobster meat. I stopped after only a few bites and rushed out of there as soon as we got the check–it was a very uncomfortable situation. With bellies full of who knows what, we headed back to our hostel in Viña.

After our stay in Cusco, we returned to Santiago for one day and took the time to explore the now-awakened city. After a failed attempt to find a guided tour, we decided to be our own tour guides for the day. First, we stumbled upon a changing of the guards led by a female soldier–very neat! Then, we headed to an indigenous persons museum, which was really modern and interesting. It always amazes me to see the incredible things people could create with such limited resources. After the museum, we climbed to the top of a castle on a hill in the middle of the city to admire the smog-filled skyline. What an interesting juxtaposition of snow-covered Andes and towering skyscrapers! After our self-guided excursion, we begrudgingly headed to the airport and hopped on our flights home to Buenos Aires.

I loved Chile, but it can’t quite compare to Cusco and Machu Picchu, so look out for my post about my new favorite place in the entire world. Coming to you within the week!

Location: Chile: Santiago, Viña del Mar, Valparaiso