SANTIAGO DE CHILE 05.02.2023

Today I didn't feel like doing anything. The intense heat and the gaps in my blog made me stay at home and work from home. Franziska and Karin wanted to stroll through Providencia and take care of a few errands (looking for a mailbox, buying some groceries, restocking beer, etc.). While resting, I listened to Radioeins on the internet and still had problems with the changed broadcast times. Who listens to late night shows in the afternoon? But it was quite comforting to be alone for a while. And the guilty conscience calmed down a bit, knowing that I could catch up on the days I missed on the blog.

And since we didn't have an eventful day, here are a few thoughts on Santiago de Chile: I find it to be a completely new experience, we have experienced a lot on our travels around the world, but the essence of traveling gets completely lost here in the capital city! Just going to the city and visiting recommended places/buildings from the Lonely Planet is not possible without reservations! Spontaneously going to restaurants/cafés is not an option! Attending events that happen to take place during our stay without preparation is not possible! The criminal energy, the fear that something might happen, is so dominant that we decided to stay home. Here is our lookout point on the 29th floor, and down there, far away, is the hustle and bustle that I can't and don't want to enter without feeling stressed. Backpack in front of me, constantly observing who is walking next to or in front of me, never standing helpless or confused anywhere, always seeking sheltered corners to organize my belongings. This atmosphere is certainly not only caused by the attack on Franziska in Santiago or the robbery attempt in Calama. A new colleague of Franzi was also a victim of an attack on her way to work three days later: she was waiting for public transportation at a bus stop, together with another woman, when a car suddenly stopped and a man got out. The other woman ran in one direction, Franzi's colleague ran in the other. Unfortunately, she was followed, and the man tried to snatch her handbag. He dragged the woman along the ground because she refused to hand over her bag. Everything fell out of the bag, and the thief took her phone and wallet and disappeared. This woman blamed herself afterwards because she had always told her own children not to resist in such a situation, as valuables can always be replaced. I don't know if she reported the incident to the police!? Franzi felt that it was pointless to report her experiences as nothing would be done about it. Considering the alarmingly increasing statistics (murder, robbery, theft, organized crime, etc.), it is only natural that many tourism companies are reducing their offerings. Guided city tours, evening pub/bar tours, and even targeted visits are often canceled for security reasons.

Besides this alarming atmosphere when it comes to exploring a "new world," there are also the visual impressions you experience while wandering around. We have rarely seen such neglected neighborhoods with extremely run-down infrastructure as we have here in the center of Santiago. Of course, the poorest of the poor also live on the streets or in parks and green areas in other countries, but here, tourists perceive a much more aggressive manifestation of these "class differences". Through her exchange with various people, Franziska has also had to learn that an ego-driven behavior and pursuit has always prevailed in Chile, which has been further intensified by the pandemic. And as mentioned before, Chile is currently one of the states where the last election was narrowly decided. Two quite irreconcilable factions that hardly show any willingness to compromise. In addition, there are the refugee problems from other South American countries, the problems with indigenous populations, and the devastating forest fires in the south. There is no unified approach by the government like in Germany. Volunteer fire departments, self-procured firefighting airplanes, firefighting helicopters from Spain that are not provided with firefighting water by the residents, etc. Chile is really not easy to understand!

Dinner was simple today (potatoes with braised cucumbers) and ended again with a drink on the panoramic balcony!