Santiago

We were collected just after 6.00 am by Alejandro who drove us the 20 minute journey to Cusco airport. He was super efficient having printed off boarding cards and luggage labels. He helped us into the airport and checked in bags before leaving.

The flight to Santiago was just over 3 hours and the landscape was quite extraordinary. A mix of barren, desolate and amazing over the Andes. We were warned that entry into Chile can be a bit daunting and to beware of taxi drivers but we got through immigration very quickly and were met by our driver Carolina and guide Tania. The drive to our hotel in central Santiago took about 30 minutes.

We are staying at a small hotel named Le Reve in a quiet side street in the Providencia area of the city and it is quite delightful. Very French in style. You feel like you are staying in someone’s home. There is an attractive garden, honesty bar and snacks/tea/coffee available until midnight. We are staying here for 3 nights so this is a good opportunity to catch up on washing. The hotel prices for laundry are as usual exorbitant so we enquired of a local laundry. Albert, a young Venezuelan working at the hotel offered to walk us 3 blocks down the road to a laundry. This was a very shabby area but the man at laundry assured us that our big bag of socks, pants etc would be ready next day for just £7, and it was.

Having had an early start this morning we had an early dinner and early to bed. There is a 2 hour time difference between Peru and Chile. We are now only 4 hours behind the UK.

This morning, Thursday, Tania and Carolina met us in reception at 9.00am for a full day tour of Santiago. Our first impression of Chile yesterday were that it is a much wealthier country than Peru. There are many European cars which weren’t in evidence in Peru. The volume of traffic and driving style are still as bad. Tania was very keen to stress that street crime is rife in Santiago so be very careful.

We did a lot of walking through markets, parks and various districts which are called Parillas and all have their own uniqueness. We also went on the metro which seems easy, just like London. Carolina would drop us off at various points and then Tania would call her to collect us.

We visited the National Stadium which is hosting the Pan-American games for the first time in Chile. It is the same stadium that held the 1962 World Cup Final.

We visited the Sky Tower which is the tallest building in South America at 62 storeys high or 980 feet. The views were incredible. It is amazing to see the snow capped Andes as the backdrop to the city.

The past 50 years in Santiago and Chile have been challenging. In 1973 a military coup led by the airforce and General Pinochet seized power. There were tanks on the streets and over 2000 people were detained at the national stadium. Democracy was not restored until 1990. In 2010 an 8.5 earthquake hit the city.

Overall Santiago is not a city we would rush back to. It is a capital city with a strong American influence.Read more