Santiago de Chile
- Susanne
- Apr 29
- 8 min read
Updated: May 3
Three months is a long time to travel. But, when we finally reached our last 7 days, it had seemed as though we were only away for a few weeks. Up to this point, we had seen amazing things from 5 other countries and we had experienced things that we never dreamed of. In some cases, if we were told exactly how much adventure we would encounter, we may not have participated. Thankfully, that was not the case, and we were satisfied that we had seen and done as much as we possibly could and we were ready to wrap up our trip. We did this by staying in the capital city, Santiago de Chile.
We chose the oldest part of the city, Providencia, to call home for our last week. We stayed at the Hotel Plaza San Francisco, which was located next door to a Franciscan church of the same name. Iglesia San Francisco was consecrated in 1622 and is somewhat famous because it has survived numerous earthquakes with magnitudes over 7.0. The original bell tower collapsed as a result of an earthquake in 1647 but the current tower, with a clock, is a beautiful feature of this stucture. The convent that was formerly part of the church was partially sold in the early 1900's to build the neighbourhood called Barrio Paris-Londres. The remaining portion is now a museum.
Iglesia San Francisco
When we arrived in Santiago, we did not have any ideas about what we would do while we were there so, we did what we always do...we started walking. Our feet took us about a kilometer away to the Plaza de Armas, the original part of the city. As per Spanish tradition, the plaza was built first. It would have been the place where all the artillery and arms were stored. If there was an invasion, all of the people would gather in the plaza for protection and to defend their settlement. Today, the Plaza is the historic centre of the city and is surrounded by the Municipal Building, the National History Museum, the Post Office, the Cathedral, and the Courts of Justice. The architecture alone was worth the walk but we soon discovered that the Plaza had a lot more to offer.
Our first visit to the Plaza de Armas was a great introduction to city life in Santiago. A large orchestra playing big band music was entertaining people standing around the large gazebo and the chess club was in the midst of a great tournament, occupying at least 10 of the permanent chess boards set up in the park. Across the plaza, there were several Samba dancers dressed in bright colours energetically keeping up with the drumming squad. In another quadrant, we watched an evangelist yelling out his message to a half dozen followers. The place was full of life and sounds and being used by anyone and everyone for any number of reasons.
Views from the Plaza de Armas
A couple of days after arriving, we came across an article written by Jody Hanson, published in a travel forum called BootsnAll. Ms. Hanson wrote a very lengthy yet extremely detailed account of the Plaza de Armas. Her observations prompted us to go back several more times to see if we could share her experiences. Like Ms. Hanson, we saw the evangelist but, unlike her, we did not see him from 10:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. We did note him waving his bible in the air and screaming at passersby. We agreed with Jody that a person did not have to understand Spanish to know that if they did not follow him, they would certainly end up in Hell. We also did not witness a local celebrity named Pricilla who set up her sound system on the weekends from 2:00pm to 8:00pm. Apparently, her singing is something to behold and then perhaps run from. She may be an untrained singer, but her perseverance has made her quite popular with some of her peers.
It took until our last day in the city to witness the chincieraros, a Chilean street performance group. This trio were quite talented and their act was worth the wait. They have mastered the skills necessary to beat a drum that is strapped to their backs and bang symbols together all while dancing feverishly in fast circles. Ms. Hanson described it as a spectacle, but I have to admit I was quite impressed. I was one among many who willingly placed coins in their hat to pay for the privilege of seeing them perform.
Chincieraros
Providencia neighbourhood is a great place for people who like shopping. The walking malls stretch for many kilometers and in all directions. Aside from the shops, the middle of the pedestrian malls is full of vendors selling everything from toys to socks to crafts. We encountered buskers every 100 feet or so. Our favourite was a very good looking young man with a microphone hooked up to a bluetooth speaker singing what is now our favourite song. His English was weak, but his emotions soared as he sang "Juss the Chew of Us," the hit song written by Bill Withers and Grover Washington. It was a certain ear worm that continues its effect on us. Whenever we hear the song, we enthusiastically sing the chorus,
"Juss the chew of us
We can make it if we try
Juss the chew of us
Building castles in la sky
Juss the chew of us...you and I!"
Santiago Central Market is a short distance away from the Plaza de Armas. Its entrance is almost hidden at the street level and, if it wasn’t for a street vendor trying to sell us watches inside the doorway, we may have missed it altogether. When you first go in, you are met with the distinct aroma of raw seafood. The fish stalls have impressive displays of the day’s catch. If the smell doesn’t get your attention, the dead eyed stares of fish lying on ice will. It’s fascinating and somewhat like a train wreck where you simply can’t stop looking. I will say that if we had an apartment and were cooking for ourselves that week, we would most likely have bought our food at this market. Fresh produce stalls and spices were also available along with a few on-site restaurants and a food court. However, we were there at 10:00 in the morning and a spicy fish stew wasn’t quite right for the time of day. We had a couple of fun conversations and were warned about pickpockets outside of the market. One restaurant owner even acted as a tour guide and gave us suggestions for a “safe” walk to the art museum. We took his advice and were pleasantly surprised at all the things we saw along the way.
Central Market in Providencia
One night, we had a frustrating experience dining at our hotel. There was a lounge in the lobby, a small private area off to the side whose tables were set with table cloths, and a full dining room. We sat in the lounge but the menu items were not what we were looking for. We asked to see the menu for the private dining area. Our waiter brought one over and we decided that it was more suitable. We asked if we could move over and were promptly told, "No! You cannot eat there." We asked why and he said that it was reserved. Ok. Can we make a reservation to eat there another day? Again, "No!" It took a bit of English/Spanish translation skills to find out that that section was only for local hospital staff. They could go there any time and get their meals without waiting a long time. Finally, we asked if we could see a menu for the dining room. Again, we thought it had better choices but again, we were told we could not eat there. I have to say that up until this very moment, we had been doing very well dealing in Spanish but our waiter had us scratching our heads. A few more attempts had us understanding that the dining room did not open until 7:00pm. Had he told us that from the outset, we could have avoided the Who's on First dining decision-making routine. Ultimately, we could not wait another 2 hours to eat so we ordered off the first menu.
We learned about the Changing of the Guard ceremony that is held every 2 days in Santiago. Lucky for us, it was only a few blocks down the road so we made our way down to the palace and waited. This ceremony is quite spectacular. The new guard marches a few blocks down the road until they reach the palace. Both guards position themselves across from each other and the band splits into 2 sections; the drums and the brass. We were enjoying the ceremony, listlening to the music and watching the horses, soldiers and band members. Suddenly, a dog appeared in the square and, like the chincieraros, he began to chase his tail, twirling around and around in front of the band. When the music stopped, the dog stopped. He walked over to the drums, sat down and waited. When the drum started, the dog began his crazy circle dance, barking all the while. I don't know a lot about playing music but I have to say that the dog had good rythm. He twirled and barked in time to the music until the ceremony was over and then, he just walked away. We were very impressed with the soldiers and the band but I think the horses deserve the most credit for not blinking an eye or reacting to the dog’s antics.
Changing of the Guard Ceremony
Our week was filled with visiting art galleries, museums, and going up the funicular to the top of the 300 meter high hill, Cerro San Cristobal, in the center of the city. We started out in a colourful neighbourhood well known for its street art and walked to the bottom of the hill. The funicular goes up a very steep route and, at the top, you can get a view of the city in all directions. We decided to take the cable car back down on the other side but, when we got to the bottom, the restaurants were all full and we could not get a cold drink. We decided to go back to where we started and grabbed a taxi to return to a popular group of restaurants. The driver was having trouble with his credit card pay terminals and, what was supposed to be a $5 ride after the exchange, turned into a nightmarish $624. In spite of calling the credit card emergency line the next day and disputing the transaction, I was held liable for the full amount because I did not have a receipt. It was one of those travel experiences you are warned about. Our hotel concierge told us later to always use cash for taxis but it was too late for that. We had gone a full 3 months and did not have one hiccup in terms of being pickpocketed or taken advantage of. It was a real bummer for this to happen at the end of the trip and it was a painful learning experience.
Views from Santa Lucia Hill in Providencia
One of the most popular drinks in Chile is the Pisco Sour, a lovely drink made with Pisco, lime juice and whipped egg white. On our last night, we walked back to our hotel and decided to have a nightcap. We didn't want the sour and simply ordered Pisco on the rocks. Apparently, this was not a common request and we had another round of Who's on First before the bartender understood we only wanted the liqueur, not the whole mixed drink. Again, Spanglish came to the rescue!
Providencia was a great choice for us. The area is completely walkable and, if we needed to go further, we typically used Uber. Places like Santa Lucia Hill, the National Library, and the Presidential Palace at Constitutional Square were all a short walk away. We appreciated small restaurants giving take out dinners to people down on their luck. We witnessed amazing talents such as dancers, painters, and singers. We were also reminded that empathy and humanity are so badly needed in this world and we are truly grateful that we were able to travel to see all of these amazing things. Our 3 months in Central and South America had come to an end and we were ready to go home.
Sunset on the National Flag in front of the Presidential Palace
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