Santiago is a riot! No it really is.

Trip Start Jan 06, 2006
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Trip End Jan 06, 2009


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Flag of Chile  ,
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Well we finally have a chance to getaway and pop over to the mainland for a change of scenery. We're in Santiago for a couple of days now just gettingused to the hustle and bustle of city life again. One thing that really strikes us is the pollution - coming from a place like the Falklands where there is virtually no pollution it really is a jolt to the system being immersed in the smog of this city. Also jarring is the just the noise of the traffic and the many buses hammering along.

We're staying at the Hostel Amazonas which is quite a nice little place.

Spent lots of time just walking around rubbernecking and being turistos. Food here is ok but nothing great, Chile not known for its cuisine that's for sure. The most popular food here is hotdogs covered in technicolour sauces accompanied by fries and a big glass of Schopp beer to wash it all down Viva Che!
Viva Che!
 . It's called a 'completo' and you can get it everywhere. We also had to get our KFC and MacDonalds fixes after many months cold turkey in the fast-food free Falklands!

We're booking seats on one of the international bus lines for a ride across the Andes to Mendoza in Argentina. Looking forward to some of those famous Argentine steaks!

We also seem to have arrived in Santiago on the anniversary of some revolution (not sure what it is now) but the streets are full of demonstrators and soldiers everywhere. We joined in one demonstration marching along behind the Che Guevarra flags. Later in the evening we saw it had become quite serious in parts with cars burning and teargas, all your standard demonstration type stuff.

Also we can't understand Chilean Spanish - they just speak so fast and lots of slang!
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