F: Santiago

We spent only two days in Santiago, mainly to rent a car that we can return in Puerto Montt. Our accommodation was in the heart of Santiago's hipster neighborhood. Like Zurich's Kreis 4 would be jealous! On the sidewalks, conscious people spread out their towels and sell their one-of-a-kind self-sewn trendy clothes or homemade jewelry on them. Without hippie smell, absolutely hipster. Everywhere you can get "artisanal beers" (handmade beers from microbreweries). In the alleys, there are also real market stalls with art and crafts, but also Chinese stuff and perfume. We sat for hours in a pub and simply watched the colorful birds walking by, with their fixies, rainbow-colored hair, pineapple socks, braless, high-waist, suspenders, oversized glasses. Santiago, as we saw it, exudes a cozy and very peaceful atmosphere.

And just for being able to eat a fresh salad again, I enjoyed my stay in the city. Even a proper, large shopping center was a good experience again. We even found something like cheese with flavor!

Of course, we also took a ride around the roundabout, where the largest demonstration took place a few weeks ago and still happens every Friday, so we were told. The flower arrangements on the roundabout are completely trampled, an armored military vehicle is parked at the edge, everything is sprayed (all over the neighborhood), and the shops around are boarded up with wooden planks. Barrier fences are everywhere. Once we saw a small, harmless demonstration, there were no more than 30 people, but a water cannon wanted to disperse them. Apparently, the government is very nervous...