Santiago, Chile
“One day you’ll leave this world behind. So live a life you will remember.”
Avicii
A Layover At Home
About half a year in advance, I made plans with my friend Haley to fly to Chile in June and July to see the solar eclipse. I booked this flight from Denver to Santiago a while ago, because I planned on coming home to surprise my family for a couple day layover.
But since I was recovering from a stomach infection and insomnia in Russia, I ended up complaining to my mom numerous times that I wasn’t well and we both decided I should come home not for just 3 days, but a week or so. So I left Russia early.
After we boarded the plane that would take us from Moscow to New York City, we were moved away from the runway, and the flight was delayed for 2 hours due to mechanical problems. This meant that when I finally got to New York, my three hour layover turned into less than one hour. And I booked a flight that involved me needing to get my checked bag from the baggage claim, and then re-check in with another airline.
Of course, my backpack was one of the last ones to show up in the carousel, and I had only 30 minutes left before my flight departure. Even though I could have physically ran and made that flight, they said my bag could not be checked in because it was too late, so I was forced to miss the flight. So frustrating, because the main reason I had to check a bag is that I brought home a bottle Russian moonshine as a souvenir!
At the counter, there were 7 of us that missed our flight, and one elderly woman who spoke very little English. I ended up helping her by translating some things, and later that night when we were given a hotel room and dinner, helped her get her food and settled in her room. Being bilingual came in handy; it’s not normal that knowing Russian helps me in the United States!
I was so excited to be back in America, even if for just a week. I excitedly tipped the man handling my luggage in the shuttle bus (no tipping in other parts of the world!), and teared up a bit when I saw the mountains come into view when we touched down in Denver. Nothing beats coming to a familiar airport, road, and home, after being gone for half a year.
I mostly relaxed at home and let my mom take care of me; this was much needed. I wanted to be at 100% health again before my upcoming adventures in South America, so I really focused on eating right and resting. Before I knew it, the week was up, and it was time to fly to Chile!
As it turns out, it takes a long time to get to Santiago, Chile. Two layovers, and about 18 hours of travel. Apart from that, I had a 9 hour layover in Panama City! Luckily I have lounge access with Priority Pass, so I took a nap in one of the large lounges. I pulled two sofa chairs next to each other, slipped on my eye mask, and put in my ear plugs. The wee hours of the morning meant the lounge was mostly empty.
I dozed off for a couple hours, before I was abruptly shaken awake by the workers yelling in Spanish. In my dazed state, I saw that the lounge was now packed with people.. staring at me. A woman who spoke English came over to me to tell me I was not allowed to sleep there, and had to go to the designated reclining chairs. Luckily they did not kick me out, and I got to stay there the rest of the time before my next flight.
I finally made it Santiago in the late hours of the night. The customs line seemed to take forever! But eventually I was out of the airport, taking a taxi to meet Haley who was already in our AirBnb in the city.
Wine, Walking, and Winter
The next morning, we had a busy day of touring. We were picked up in a van, and first taken to a vineyard. In the southern hemisphere, June is wintertime. So there isn’t a ton of greenery in this vineyard, but we saw so many cacti; like really tall cacti. They were so cool to look at! After touring the vineyard, we settled down to try some traditional empanadas and wine. Our guide had us taste each glass, swish it in our mouths, and call out which fruits we were detecting. The first time around, I raised my hand and asserted, “Grapes!”
After the wine tour, we were driven up to a ski resort. And it was a full-on snowstorm up there. We saw cars with no chains on their wheels just sliding around on the drive up the mountain.
When we arrived, we had the option to do some winter activities, such as riding the ski lifts and tubing, but the harsh cold winds were deterring us. Instead, we sat in the lodge, and enjoyed a “caliente” meal, while getting to know the other people on the tour. And honestly, we had more fun laughing with them than we would have in the bitter cold. Overall, a successful day of adventuring!
The next day in Santiago, we embarked on a mission to see the main city square, wander around parks, look at street art, eat delicious food, and visit Pablo Neruda’s home-turned-museum. We made our way to multiple viewpoints in the city, one of which was during the sunset so there we saw the orange-pink sky blanketing the city. With the snow-capped mountains in the background, it truly was a remarkable sight.
But I will say that I am obsessed with ceviche! For those of you who don’t know, ceviche is like Latino sushi. It is raw fish that has been marinated in lemon juice and other spices, and it is delicious. I had previously thought ceviche was only a Peruvian dish, but it is quite popular in Chile as well! And pisco sours, the alcoholic drink made from Pisco, lemon juice, and egg whites, is amazing. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks, so anything sour really makes me happy.
Whenever I visit a country, I try to indulge in the local staple food so much that I hate it by the end. When leaving Korea, I couldn’t even look at kimchi anymore. Although now I miss it! So I was trying to eat as much ceviche and drink as many pisco sours as possible while I traveled South America.
On our last day in Santiago, we visited a couple more vineyards in the surrounding areas of the city. Chile is known for their wines, so this was a must-do for us. The wine did not disappoint, and one of the vineyards even gave us a free wine glass to take home!
Our main reason for coming to Chile was not for Santiago, but to drive up north to see other cities and surreal phenomenons involving the sun and moon. While we saw many things and enjoyed Santiago, Haley and I both agree, we spent maybe one or two days too many there, and could have done less of that. It is an interesting city, but I think there are better things to see in Chile!
-Anastasia