Fun on the Funicular and other Bohemian adventures - May 28

Despite the long flight and lack of sleep on board, I was pretty eager to explore Santiago. Armed with my new British best friend/roommate, Janine, we navigated the metro and made it to the bohemian Bellavista neighbourhood. Bright rainbow colours and lots of street vendors marked this area on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Our original plan was to go up Cerro San Cristobal and then grab a bite. However, my stomach was rumbling and it's never a good idea to sightsee hungry. We stopped a quaint Turkish cafe on Av.Pio Nono fittingly called Istanbul and I had some sis kepabs con berenjenas. I was happy to relax and chat with Janine. She's been traveling by herself since August and is also obsessed with all things Argentine. Seems Argentina and Buenos Aires have a good reputation amongst the South American backpack set. A sign of good things to come.



Llamas and their owners offering pictures with their "pets" greet you at the entrance to the Cerro San Cristobal. Despite the tempting opportunity, I passed on the llama pic and saved my pesos for the funicular ride. Who knew how much fun it could be to ride up the side of a mountain in a wooden tiered box that rattles and shakes? Well, it's tonnes of fun and I highly recommend it. The best part of the ride is when the funicular cars switch rail lines and you pass the other cars passengers within inches. My travelmate was a little skittish about the ride but it's a short one. If you are so inclined, you can stop off at the zoo but it looked a little run-down and the screeching birds and monkeys were none too inviting. The pay off of this wild ride is the view of the city from the top, plus the church and of course the statute to the Virgin Mary.



Santiago is nestled in a valley between Les Cordilleras and Los Andes. Because of it's locale and the amount of pollution, it is often smoggy here; blocking what must be a gorgeous view when both mountain ranges are visible. Still, it was worth the trip to get a feel for the expansive city. A large Chilean flag graces the first plaza and climbing up the next flight of stairs, I came to a beautiful church. It was small but had nice white statues and simple stone carvings on the inside. On the third plaza is the piece de resistance, the large statute of the Virgin Mary carved in white marble. She's looking peacefully over the city and the young couples cuddling below.

I arrived on a fantastic day in this city since all of the museums were free! It was a Dia del Patriomono Cultural (loosely translated as a Day to Patronize Culture). I only made it to one museum as most close at about 3 pm. Luckily it was a good one and Janine and I made a Chilean friend, Luisa, while waiting in line to see the first of Pablo Neruda's homes, La Chascona, in Bellavista. Since it was free, the line to enter was long and we struck up a conversation with Luisa. She was offering up suggestions and we chatted for a while in spanglish. La Chascona is a beautiful house made up of many small buildings. Pablo Neruda had quite an eccentric flare to his decorating. He is a well-traveled man who collected many souvenirs throughout his travels. In addition, it appears that loved bric-a-brac and he had many "dust collectors" albeit very cool ones on display. The house is now a museum run by the Universidad de Chile's Foundation for Pablo Neruda and the curators have chosen to keep the house as it was when lived there. He had a great view from his place which and a lovely patio from which I'm sure he was inspired to write many of his beautiful poems. At the end of the tour a young chileno was reading poems. If only I was that fluent so I could appreciate the poems in their original language.

Luisa who has three kids, one of whom is living in Edmonton, took Janine and I under her wing. She told us about a free Chilean folk music concert and offered to take us there by car. I couldn't believe how friendly she was but she told us that we are like her own children. I was quite taken aback by her kindness and Janine and I followed her in good faith. Her car was downtown so we went with her on the metro. On the way to the metro, we saw more of the Bellavista area. There were some really funky murals on the streets and I really got a good vibe in that neighbourhood. We passed by the Plaza Italia where all of the major political protests occur and eventually we made it via the metro to Santa Lucia station. Luisa showed us the National Library, the San Francisco Cathedral and the entrance to Cerro Santa Lucia, foreshadowing future sightseeing. Luisa has worked for 32 years at Chilectra. Such a cute name for the national electric company. After collecting her car, she dropped as the concert. Unfortunately, it was full but not all was lost as we had made a new friend. If I ever have a Chilean host mother, I hope she's just like Luisa.

Janine and I were not really sure at that point how to make it back to the hostel. Luckily, I had my trusty Footprint guide with me. With their map and a foggy recollection of her walk in that area the night before, we found our way back to a subway station and then home. A funny thing happened in the Quinta Normal subway station. We saw a nun cheat the system. She held open the exit doors and went through them without paying. We couldn't stop laughing. Happily, we found our way back to Cumming station which is the closest stop to the Happy House Hostel.

Later on the night, Janine and her friend Betty who had recently recovered from a hangover joined me for a meal at the funky resto-bar below our hostel. I indulged in my welcome drink, the traditional pisco sour, and they downed a couple of the local brew called Capital. Afterwards, we went onto Av. Brasil for some more drinks at the only pub open on a sleepy Sunday night called BAIRES. It was a pretty basic place but more groups came in around 1 am. At that time, I was ready to fall asleep on the table so I called it a night and headed back to the hostel.