My holiday had finally arrived. I voted early in the morning and it was interesting to see the election results at the airport. The airport, by the way, one of the dullest experiences ever. We ended up finding the Starbucks corner with free wi-fi and stayed there checking out the elections coverage and seeing drivers get confused by this absurd sign. Many, MANY drivers couldn’t tell which way to go.
We arrived very late in Santiago and were ready to do the city tour Monday afternoon, but decided to take the suggestion of doing it Wednesday morning. However, on Monday morning we got contacted by the travel agency saying that we WOULD go later in the afternoon, so we went for a little walk in Bella Vista and came back to wait for the tour, only to find out one our later that they WOULDN’T pick us up that day. Lunchless at 3.30pm, we went to one of the shopping malls (which I had planned to do that day, but in the evening.) We took the subway in rush hour on our way back to the hotel and it was almost like Tokyo, four to five rows of people waiting to get on the train but without the guards pushing people into the carriages.
The subway price system isn’t the best. There isn’t a weekly pass like London and NYC. EVERY TIME you ride the subway you have to buy a ticket, and the system is divided into three categories: peak, normal and low. Peak fare is 700 pesos, normal 640, and low 590. So you get to ride the subway paying a reasonable price ONLY after 20:45, when you pay 1,180 pesos assuming you are buying return. There is a card that you can top-up and it is the only accepted currency on the bus, but you can use it on the subway, too. As I didn’t want to pay for the card (I believe is a fare of 1,200 pesos, plus the amount of money you wish to spend) and I wouldn’t get the bus anyway (because why take the bus if there is subway?), we ended up having to get in line to buy the ticket every time.
First day is to get acquainted with the city, walk around the neighbourhood, learn where the supermarket is, see bars and restaurants nearby. First impression: good impression.
A little square (plazuela) near Pablo Neruda’s house in Santiago, barrio Bella Vista.
Plaza de la Aviación in Providencia, near the hotel. At night the fountain is all lit up in different colours, but I didn’t catch the show.
-- Never too many beers -- 