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Home arrow 5. The City

Travel to Santiago, Chile

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Chile has in recent years become an outdoorsman's paradise, boasting an impressive array of adventure sports. Many international travelers who visit Chile come in order to take advantage of the hiking, fishing, kayaking, geyser-watching, volcano-scaling, and particularly the spectacular skiing in the Andes. Spanning the coastline of South America, the country covers climates ranging from arctic to desert. Santiago, the capital city, sits halfway between the Andes and the Pacific coast, providing easy access to both beautiful beach resorts and ski centers high in the mountains. A modern city with a moderate climate, Santiago has excellent shopping and nightlife, first-rate sports facilities, museums, malls, a modern subway system, and a generally high standard of living.


Things to do on a visit to Santiago:

  • Go skiing in Chile at the mountain resorts in the Andes surrounding Santiago.
  • Visit La Chascona, poet Pablo Neruda's eclectic Santiago home. Then complete the triad by seeing his gorgeous homes in Valparaiso and Isla Negra.
  • Troll the clothing bargains in Patronato; follow up shopping with a cold beer in Bella Vista.
  • Take a day trip to the village of Pomaire, famous for specializing in pottery.
  • Stroll in the Parque Metropolitano (Metropolitan Park) and check out the nearby zoo and Japanese gardens.
  • Ride the cable cars up to the top of the San Cristóbal hill for amazing views of the city.
  • Go to the stadium for a soccer/football game between la Católica and la Universidad de Chile; the stadium is also a historical monument for its history as a torture center during the regime of the infamous dictator Pinochet, where notable poet and musician Victor Jara was held captive.
  • Visit the famous port of Valparaíso just a few hours away, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the National Congress, or dive into the crisp Pacific Ocean at the resort beaches of Viña del Mar, just across from Valparaiso. 
     


Daily Life in Santiago


santiago_de_chile.jpgChileans call their country País de Poetas (country of poets), and take great pride in their literary tradition. Respect for ones' fellow citizen and a strong work ethic are common denominators among Chileans, however chilenos are still famous for their "gift" of enjoying life to its fullest! Great food accompanied by authentic Chilean wine, nights with friends sipping the traditional Pisco Sour, Sunday afternoons at heated soccer matches, and getaway weekends at the many beautiful beaches of this coastal country are just some of the outward expressions of the Chilean zest for life. The chileno day generally begins early with work, and is broken up by a long lunch and siesta. Although this practice is going out of fashion, lunch is generally taken between 1-3PM, and in smaller Chilean towns, all shops close between 1-4PM. A snack is oftentimes eaten at 6PM, and dinner comes around 10PM and a bit later on weekends, enjoyed with the aforementioned Chilean vino. Traditional foods include empanadas with meat, raisin and egg fillings as well as pastel de choclo (similar to a chicken pot pie with a sugared corn crust and ground beef). On the weekends, partiers head out until about 5-6AM, particularly in areas of the city such as the Bellavista district.

catedral_en_santiago.jpgHistory of Santiago

Santiago was founded in the mid-1500s by the Spanish, yet was quickly destroyed by native forces indigenous to the area. However members of the Picunche tribe helped rebuild the town soon after, and it was named capital of Chile. Santiago, however, did not turn into the sleek metropolis it now is until the early 1900s, due to an economic boom in the northern half of the country. Growing immigration from rural areas helped the population grow, helping Santiago turn into the booming Latin American financial center it is today. Chile, similar to its neighbor Argentina, has overcome tumultuous political events in its recent history to become a democratic success-story. The democratically-elected Marxist government of Dr. Salvador Allende preceded the right-wing dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, which seized power with assistance from the United States Central Intelligence Agency in 1973. Pinochet's government maintained power for the next decade and a half, sometimes resorting to terror to stifle discontent. Democracy was restored in 1990, and Chile's political climate has remained stable, providing a foundation for significant recent economic growth in recent years.

 

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