Cafe con Piernas

While sightseeing Monday, the British backpacking crew and I were craving real coffee. Myself, I am suffering from a Starbucks withdrawal. I go from having one to two lattes a day to having none. Quite an improvement, I must say. So, when I saw Cafe Haiti on one of the pedestrian shopping streets, I got quite excited. I told my friends, "Let's go there. I heard it's a coffee chain in the city from my guidebook."

Upon entering, I noticed a couple of things. First, there were no seats to linger. Second, I noticed was that only well dressed men in business suits were patrons of this coffee joint. Thirdly, there was no women's washroom. I was told by Alex that there was only a men's urinal. Hmm. But, we were not put off as maybe it was just the timing that we caught all of the business men on their coffee break from work. Turns out these business men were craving more than just coffee. You see, Cafe Haiti is no place for a woman. Unless, you are the female barista wearing an outfit which rivals any Vegas casino girl.

All throughout Santiago, they have these coffee shops for men only called "cafe con piernas". For the price of a coffee, you get to ogle the barista's legs as all of the women wear very short skirts. Our barista was heavily made up wearing a short red dress of shiny jersey material and fishnet stockings with heels. A far cry from the khakis and polo shirts donned by the Starbucks baristas back home.

The plot thickens though, in addition to Cafe Haiti and the like, there are coffee shops that run even more into the strip club/massage parlor variety with blacked out windows. According to my Chilean friend, Marcelo, there is a place called Baron Roja or Red Knight, where you can see women serving coffee with tassels and underwear on. He told us for a little extra, you can pay for the feliz minuto for even more of a peep show. Marcelo also teased us by saying that cafe para mujers where scantily clad men serve coffee with something a little extra. A female Chilean friend, Faby, confirmed this but alas could not provide an address. Que lastima!

Just Another Manic Monday - May 29

Like the Bangles sing, "It's just another Manic Monday...wish it were a Sunday..." That sentiment is very true in Chile when most museums and attractions close on a Monday. As a traveler, you normally look forward to your Mondays with no work or obligations and all the free time in the world to explore. Luckily, my British friends, Alex, Betty, Janine, and I figured that we could still sightsee if we went to the things that might be open like libraries, churches, parks and markets. So, we planned to hit Biblioteca Nacional, Cerro Santa Lucia and the San Francisco Cathedral. With them all being within a three block radius of one another, we had quite a relaxing day.

We took the metro from Universidad de Santiago to the Santa Lucia stop. First attraction, the National Library of Chile. Ok, I admit that it sounds a little boring but it turned out to be quite a find. They had a display of beautiful artwork which was at one point part of an exhibition of art that was projected onto to their building. The most striking drawing was that of 11 de Septiembre. It represents the military coup on September 11, 1973 which overthrew Allende and installed Pinnochet. So many tragedies have occurred in history on September 11. It truly is an auspicious date. We wandered around the library taking funny pictures of us reading encyclopedias, checking out books at circulation and relaxing in the posh cafe. The security guards were more amused than concerned by our activities. Me pienso.



Second attraction of the day was the Cerro Santa Lucia, the hill from where Santiago was founded. At this attraction, we were a little bit concerned about our security so, we locked all our packs. Our fears were put aside when we were greeted by security guards at every level of the trek up the hill. I walked up the palatial yellow and white stairs to a plaza with a statute of ? and a beautiful water fountain. Next plaza, had a small church which was closed. Continuing up the steep hill was like working out on a natural stairmaster. Again, the view of Santiago was marred by not only the smog but also a large billboard for El Codigo Da Vinci.

Third attraction was the San Francisco Cathedral but it was closed. Yes, even God takes Monday off in Santiago. We continued our walk through downtown and saw many of the closed sites like the museums and the Municipal Theatre. Finally, we hit the main plaza in town, Plaza de Armas. Men playing chess, pigeons snacking off of the chilenos leftover lunches, and again young couples embracing. The Plaza is surrounded by many impressive buildings including a large Cathedral. My favourite site in the Plaza was the Indian face. It is a statue which looks like the Rapa Nui in Easter Island.

Finally, we found another site to see. In fact, God does not have the day off in this predominantly Catholic country. Instead, he is at the Cathedral in the Plaza. It was an impressive church. It appears plainer than most grand cathedrals but it was one cathedral in all of my travels where I felt people were actually serious about their faith. All of the Catholics who entered took the holy water and made the sign of the cross. Even more surprising was that the confessional. The priest was taking them publicly in the sense that there was no traditional box. He just took them face-to-face.

We ended the day by shopping in the malls close to Plaza de Armas and then wandering over to the markets in Bellavista. They were more food markets than handicraft markets and were buzzing with activity. The first one was under tarps and then other was in a large building. I think the locals frequent this one as opposed to the slightly more touristy Mercado Central according to the insider info courtesy of my N.Z. friend, Jade.

At times, I feel like I am recreating the Amazing Race episodes in Santiago where they went to the Cerro San Cristobal, the National Library, Cerro Santa Lucia, and to the Mercado Central. I managed to see them all in two days. And as in the Amazing Race, I also plan to go through the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina on Thursday. On Tuesday, I plan to take a day trip out to Vina del Mar.

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.

Reciprocal Welcome

Ahh, Chile. I hope I like you because you've charged me and all other Canadian visitors, $132.00 (US I might add) to enter your beautiful country. Alas, it is not just Canadians who have to pay the reciprocity tax. It is also charged to our NAFTA family and Australia but it is Canadians who pay the most.

This was the most shocking revelation of the trip thus far and in keeping with my mad existence mentality, I only learned of this charge a couple of days ago. It registered but I brushed it off, hoping that the charge would magically disappear.

Anyways, more to come from smoggy Santiago.