After a surprisingly comfortable 22 hours (!) bus ride, we join Pepe (who travelled first class ahead :) in Santiago. Having more than one month of exploring inland Andes and desert territory behind us, we are back on the good old PanAm - a decent four-lane divided highway in Chile - and get a new glimpse of the majestic Pacific along the way.
Santiago pleasantly surprises. If it weren't for the two great Berkeley Bear friends (Rodrigo and Manuel) who call this city home, we would probably not have deemed it worthy of more than an overnight stay. Yet, spring is sizzling in leafy Santiago, and so is its cultural, artistic and entrepreneurial scene. Add to that a vibrant nightlife (shared with good friends and their friends!), and a fascinating (be it tragic) political history, and you have all the ingredients for a captivating capital cocktail.
Our "own" brand new (annex) apartment in the trendy city center as well as regular visits to Pepe's "doctor" Don Alberto, make us feel like (expat) locals right away, and it takes a couple of days (and loads of encouragement from our friends! :) before we slowly start working our way down the list of essential "Santiago sights". We combine escapes to the city's green hills and parks and relax walks through the bohemian Barrio Bellavista with hard-on-the-stomach human rights museums and memorials, duly digested with local specialty beers and ice cream.
"You can stay as long as you want!", Rodrigo enthusiastically welcomed us upon arrival. Our lovely Lima days with Gustavo and Julie still freshly in mind, I jokingly responded "Be careful what you wish for, 'cause we might!" And here we are, ten days later, and irrespective of Pepe's lengthy recovery, there is not the slightest sign of us leaving anytime soon... :)
“He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.”
“Someday, somewhere - anywhere, unfailingly, you’ll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.”
