After we got our bags (always a relief to see everything in tact) we made our way through the fog of jetlag and the vulture-like cab drivers to take a pre-paid ride into the capital. As far as aesthetics go, Santiago has a lot lacking. I hope I’m not putting too much pressure on Buenos Aires to be phenomenal, but Santiago left us in want. It turns out that a lot of cities in South America are like this; rather than remodeling neighborhoods once they start getting decrepit, they just expand their borders and build new things elsewhere. There were some nice areas (Barrios Bella
Vista, Providencia, y Las Condes), but over all, we weren’t too impressed.
Our hotel (Galerias, which we liked) was close to the Central Mercado, and we took a quick walk through an area where people go to buy certain foods or goods. Standing at a bar with about 40 locals, we bought $1 cheese empanadas, which were hot off the press. That was a fun first food experience.
After walking around for 2 hours, and exploring a market Joel recognized from the tv show The Amazing Race, we stopped in the colorful neighborhood Bellavista to get some gelato. When we turned around, we were surrounded by 5, then 15, then 25 8th graders from a local private school (dressed alike in uniforms). Their ringleader, Jorge (a short and chubby, boisterous cutie-pie) began firing off questions and trying to engage us in conversation. We felt simultaneously inadequate in our comprehension of the language (man, can 14 year-olds talk fast!) and like movie stars for how we held their rapt attention (a tough feat with 14 year-olds!)
No comments:
Post a Comment