Santiago de Chile

Santiago

As announced in the last blog, we had the most beautiful bus ride of our lives. 

We arrived in Santiago and once again realized how beautiful the Andes are. When we arrived at the hostel, we realized that we ended up in the party district of Santiago. There was a huge university across the street, so naturally, it was all about partying. No matter where you walk down the street, it's always happy hour. In the evening, we met Marco, a good friend from Switzerland who is also traveling in South America for about 2 months. We had a beer together, exchanged travel experiences, and he gave us some tips as he had previously spent 1 year in South America with my sister. He was now traveling with a friend from Chile and they spontaneously invited us to have a BBQ, or as they say here, "Asado".

The next day, we went up a small mountain where we had an apparently panoramic view of Santiago. As an old train enthusiast, I wanted to take the cogwheel train. Muriel, on the other hand, was not very enthusiastic about hiking. We went up and had an amazing view of Santiago and the city is huge. You can see houses as far as you can look. Surrounded by the Andes, it is an incredible sight.

In the evening, we went to a BBQ hosted by our friends. I didn't even think about taking the subway, as we were in a big city. Unfortunately, my wallet was stolen. I didn't lose much, luckily, it was just my driver's license and about 90 francs. I was a little crazy about it.. On the other hand, I learned from it, it could have been worse. We arrived at the high-rise building where the BBQ was held. It was on the rooftop terrace. Sunset, Latino music, good food, beer, a view of Santiago, and good company, what more could you ask for? We had a very nice evening and had to say goodbye to Marco at the same time, as he was heading to Patagonia. A big thank you to Marco for the great evening.

The next day, we wanted to do a tour and the meeting point was at the Cathedral. Well, we walked around Santiago and after about 1-2 hours, we finally reached the Cathedral. We had taken a completely wrong turn in a stupid little street that led to nowhere. Typical, on the way back, we bought a wallet for me, with a chain that can be attached to my pants. In the evening, we met our friend from Buenos Aires. We went somewhere and he invited us again to a BBQ at his place dehai.

On the last full day, we went with Carlos to explore the city. 

And he showed us 2-3 places in the city. 

In the evening, we went to his place. In addition, his co-workers came over and they brought a puppy, as if they knew that we are dog lovers. A little crazy dog. The whole evening he was running around and biting with his sharp teeth. 

I got my hiking shoes back and we went back to the hostel. Thank you Carlos for the great time and for my hiking shoes.

On the last day, we checked out in the morning and prepared ourselves for hitchhiking. 

What is that? You ride with truck drivers as far as you want. We made a sign that said "A La Norte". We are already in a new place, but you will find out more details about our spectacular journey from Santiago to here in the next blog. And there is a lot to tell, so stay tuned.

Next Stop: La Serena - Observatory area of Chile.