Backpacking South America

We had a great stay in Santiago. There are so many things to see and do. As we previously noted, we had a great time visiting with our new friend Stephen and wandering Parque Metropolitano and the Botanical Gardens, and sharing a delicious meal with him two days later.

After our day with Stephen, we spent the next day walking through the old city.  We started by hiking to the top of Cerro Santa Lucia for panoramic views of the city and to explore the hilltop fortress.

We then made our way to the Mapoche train station, which is now a cultural center. Walking around the empty, immense train station was a peculiar feeling – somewhere between a museum and a feeling like you’re the last person on earth.

From there, we wandered to the central market (mostly fish and restaurants) where we had a positively disappointing, overpriced ceviche. Even though everybody says “You don’t want to miss this place”; it’s possible to pass through just for the experience of what they have, but I would definitely recommend passing over the restaurant selection.

The second leg of the trip was a success! We got to the airport at the advised 2 hours before our flight. We were in an international terminal and ours was the only flight for a few hours, so it was dead except for the short check-in line for our flight. Unfortunately, it seemed that everybody in front of us was packing their entire life into the suitcases (in a way very different from us), so it took about 15- 20 minutes per person to check in – so it was the longest short line in an empty terminal that I have ever been in.

Our flight to Mexico City was rather uneventful. We watched a movie (Fast and the Furious 3), obeyed the stewardesses when they instructed us to put down our window shades for the movie, put them up when we were landing, and then shut them again once we reached the gate. (Thought that to be a little strange that we must put down our window shades for all to enjoy the movie, even though not everyone was watching the movie, but that worked for us.) Fortunately, our bags were checked through to Buenos Aires, so once we landed, we didn’t need to bother with our luggage – just clear immigrations and customs, which wasn’t a problem.