New Year's Eve in Chile with Chileans

I just wanted to apologize for not hearing from me for so long, but I'm currently on Easter Island. And you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to get a good internet connection in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That's why there won't be as many photos as I would like to upload. But now let's talk about my New Year's Eve experiences...

After more sightseeing days in Santiago and a lot of "family time", the last day of the year had arrived. In November, while hiking, I had already met Aunt Carmen, who lives 2 hours east of Santiago in Valparaiso. That's where the only fireworks in Chile this year take place. The fireworks here are organized by the state, there are no fireworks to buy. But because of the protests, all other fireworks were canceled.

Valparaiso is a coastal city that is built like a bowl. So you can see every other house, the sea from every house. The city is especially known for its street art culture. It's also not the cleanest city I've ever seen, which somehow creates a very special atmosphere. There are also many historical elevators throughout the city.

Today, one city follows another on the coast, so Valpo transitions directly into Vina del Mar, which is known for its miles-long beach. Then there are more.

We started the day with breakfast with my friend Julia and her Chilean boyfriend Alvaro. I had invited them to celebrate with us because "casi todas son familia" (everyone is family). Alvaro brought homegrown avocados, which are simply heavenly. Then we took a mini "Tacco" (which means traffic jam here) to Valpo. When we arrived, we had an untypically light lunch. Pasta salad with tuna, which reminded me a lot of Germany. Immediately after lunch, the preparations for dinner began. Aunt Carmen has a very strong personality with a penchant for perfectionism and love for decoration. So the food looked!

Before dinner, everyone got really dressed up and more and more people arrived. I think in the end we were about 20 people. We had the "Cena" at 10 in the evening with lots of wine. Then there were the usual mountains of desserts.

Because dinner is so late, it felt like New Year came right after that. There was no time to review everything or have a conversation with people. We toasted with a bowl of prosecco, pineapple, and lemon ice cream and watched the fireworks over the sea. Unfortunately, it wasn't as spectacular as expected because it was very smoky these days. Then there was the usual round of congratulations, which takes quite a while with this number of people.

What other Chilean traditions are there? I bought a bright yellow underwear so that I still have money next year. Lentils and grapes are eaten. In addition, the whole family moves around the house with a suitcase to have good luck with traveling. My family is not particularly superstitious, so I didn't experience much of that.

I spent the night at a party in the neighboring town that Felipe took me to. We rested for 3 hours at 8 a.m., and then we had a joint breakfast with his friends at 12 p.m. To make the most of the day, we went to the beach. I jumped into the cold Pacific for the first time in 2020 and ate at a mega-famous Empanada place.

Felipe also invited his friends to a "Once" (cold dinner). His other aunt also celebrated her birthday there. Things in Chile are always a bit confusing, who is related to whom and what we are actually celebrating. But hey, there's always a reason for a happy get-together.

Nevertheless, I was more dead than alive when we finally returned to Santiago at 2 a.m., there was another huge traffic jam.

Frieda (04.01.2020)