Santiago, Chile


	R

South America

Santiago, Chile:
A Rare City In A Troubled World

By Mary Ashcraft

Santiago, Chile, is a rare find in this day and age. It is an inviting, thoroughly modern city whose citizens exhibit a natural old-world charm and courtesy. It is a country where elders are revered and gentlemen still tip their hats to ladies. The traveler can also count on Chilenos to be accommodating and refreshingly friendly to visitors. This includes the green-uniformed policeman on his beat where it is said that Chile has the safest streets of any large city. It has all the things one would expect of a modern, cosmopolitan city, theater, a very good symphony orchestra, an opera house that draws the worlds most well known artists, many museums, good restaurants, several parks and an active night life. As a nation, Chilenos have weathered the horror of earthquakes, severe floods, financial crisis, and the oppression of a dictatorship and emerged as a people of steadfast civil order with a thriving economy and an energetic and creative culture.

The Country of Chile

The ancient Andes Mountain Range, born in the Jurassic period, stretch the full 2,700 mile length of the country causing a natural border on one side. Chile, however, at its widest point, it is only 110 miles with its other border being the Pacific Ocean. Some say that in Chile, one has the option of swimming at the beach in the morning, and skiing on the mountains in the afternoon, and laughing at themselves, they say "We have to sleep in a vertical position so as not to get our toes wet." The Atacama Desert in the north of the country is dry and arid with interesting land formations, several impressive volcanoes and the highest geyser field in the world. One look could easily have inspired a painting by Salvador Dali. Patagonia, in the far south, has some of the youngest and craggiest peaks in the Andes with hundreds of glaciers and fjords, the outstanding Torres del Paine National Park, Punta Arenas, the southernmost city of its size on Earth, and very unpredictable weather. In addition, Rapa Nui, or Easter Island with its mysterious monolithic heads belongs to Chile.

The City

Santiago, with its broad tree lined avenues, is a very easy city in which to maneuver. All one needs are a good pair of comfortable walking shoes and a map of the city showing places of interest to discover. Taking a taxi is a good alternative to walking, however, because in the city taxies are cheap and efficient with amiable drivers who like to tell you about their city with a certain amount of pride.

City Center

A good place to begin one's journey might be in the heartbeat of the city, its historic center. It seems that every Latin American country has as its historic gathering place a central plaza called the Plaza De Armas, and Santiago is no exception. The Plaza de Armas is so named because weapons were stored here in the fort in colonial times to protect the first Spanish Settlers. There is no better place to see young and old Chilenos passing the day as they routinely do, for it has been the hub of activity since 1541 where the townsfolk gathered to throw vegetables and shout at those who were being taken to the scaffold to be hanged. These days it boasts gentler sights.

Time spent in the plaza can be restful sitting on a park bench under a giant old tree, and it is never boring with enough activity in the park to keep one entertained for hours. On one end of the plaza, stands the Catedral Metropolitana with its classic and baroque features. It is the fifth Catholic Church on the site, the others were burned by Indians, or toppled by earthquakes, or damaged by floods. It houses in its rather dimly lit, dignified interior, the Museo de Arte Sagrado, with a very good collection of sacred art crafted by Jesuits and it is open free to the public. In front of this sturdy old Catholic Church, there is almost always a circle of curious people listening to the latest evangelist in their midst shouting threats of hell and damnation. There are photographers with antique box cameras taking photos of children mounted on wooden ponies, mimes dressed like French Harlequins are interacting with passersby, and men are exhibiting their skills with soccer balls. Large numbers of artists have set up easels to paint, and stalls to sell their latest masterpiece. In one corner is an ornate and aging gazebo originally from New Orleans, U.S.A. The gazebo is always crowded with men playing chess and an even greater number of men watching the moves. These devotees are there at their chessboards everyday with the exception of Sunday mornings and Thursday afternoons when the police band uses it for its weekly concerts.

Across from the Plaza de Armas at Ahumada and Huerfanos Streets, is one of the many pedestrian walkways in the city with hundreds of small shops and restaurants of every variety. This is where you will find some of the city's renowned coffee with legs establishments, so called because the waitresses wear very mini-skirted uniforms and serve coffee to admiring patrons on lunch break. In another direction, not far from the plaza de Armas is the bustling, traditional Mercado Central. It is housed in an outstanding wrought iron building that was constructed in the French style typical of the 19th century. It was conceived and built as an exhibition hall for Chilean painters and craftsmen. It served that purpose well as it looked like a work of art itself, but its life as such was fairly short. The government felt the building would better serve the community by making it the central location for all the scattered venders and sellers on the streets and in the plazas throughout the city. Therefore, it is now a typical marketplace with lines of stalls filled with fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, herbs, medicinal remedies, and a great variety of seafood. The din of hawkers and fishmongers vying for attention can be annoying or not, but it is part of the atmosphere at the market. One may as well join in the fun, find something of interest and bargain for it. The morning hours are crowded with Chilenos shopping for the daily, fresh catch of fish and local produce. You will find here dozens of inexpensive small restaurants specializing in the catch of the day. There are also a few restaurants with typical Chilean food, and some that are more expensive if you feel the need to leave the crowd behind.

Cerro Santa Lucia

On the eastern edge of the city is the historically important Cerro Santa Lucia. On this great tumble of rocks is where the history of Chile began on December 13, 1541. Led by the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia, with 150 Spanish soldiers encamped on its summit to secure the area for Spain. In 1872, a Chilean historian and Renaissance man named Benjamin Vicuna Mackenna, began to transform the imposing and unkempt hill into an impressive garden of shaded pathways, plazas, and fountains. At the top of the Cerro Santa Lucia is the little chapel, La Ermita, with the possibility of a good view of the city if it is a clear day. Be aware if you happen to be there at midday, for that is when a loud blast from the cannon is fired off in the direction of the Plaza de Armas. The Cerro and the Parque Forestal below, skirting the River Mapocho share over a thousand different species of trees. The two mile path along the Parque Forestal is dotted with more fountains and a variety of sculptures. All this beauty is a lovers paradise, for it seems to beckon the young people of Santiago into its midst, as they are everywhere holding hands and exchanging kisses.

Bellavista, the Bohemian Barrio

In order to see another face of Santiago, one has to travel downtown to the Bohemian Barrio, Bellavista with its many trees shading quaint and interesting homes from the turn of the century, and rambling sidewalks and alleyways. Here are many art galleries, museums, handcraft shops, cafes, and bars with buildings painted in bright cheerful colors. There are also reputable jewelry stores with the best buys of Lapis Lazuli in Santiago. By contrast to the center, the pace is slower and no one appears to be in a hurry as they pass the time chatting with friends.

The standout attraction of Bellavista is La Chascona, the home of Chile's Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda. Tucked away in a side street behind a simple whitewashed wall with a handcrafted metal sign to identify it, is the colorful and very personal home of Pablo Neruda and his lover Matilde Urrutia. No architect could have planned this whimsical house. The combination of several buildings in a garden of flowers and hanging vines, connected by pathways, stair-steps and terraces could only have grown from the mind of this brilliant poet---and it did. It is an inviting home with an eclectic mix of gifts and treasures collected by the poet on his many travels. There are portraits and paintings by his close friends, Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros, the great Mexican painters. The tranquility of Bellavista in the daytime changes in the evening to its nightlife of throbbing disco beats, the softer sound of Chilean folk music, crowded cafes and bars and venders along the street selling every kind of trinket imaginable.

Pablo Neruda owned several houses. If time permits, another one of his treasured homes worth visiting is La Sebastiana, a five-story house located in Valparaiso, about 100 miles from Santiago. Neruda's instructions in 1961 to architect Sebastian Collado were to find him, "a little house in Valparaiso in which to live and write quietly." His requirements included that the house should be, "not too high, but not too low; it should be secluded but not too much so; neighbors should be invisible--they should neither be seen nor heard; it should be original but not uncomfortable; it should soar but be firmly grounded; not too large nor too small; far from everything but close to activity; independent but near commerce; and besides, it should be inexpensive." All conditions were met by the architect.

Maipo Valley and the Vineyards

Just twenty minutes away to the bucolic countryside in the Maipo valley below Santiago are many of Chile's best vineyards and they are now open for visitors. One especially inviting vineyard next to a one hundred and ten acre park is the 625-acre estate of the Cousino Macul where grapes have been harvested since 1546 on the site of an old Incan village called Macul. Wine tasting tours include a visit through the vaulted brick cellar with a storage capacity of over a million bottles. The cellar is lighted only by candles burning in sconces on the walls so as not to disturb the natural cool temperatures of the cellar. There is also a small museum that takes one through the history of the winery and, of course, there is an opportunity for wine tasting at the end of the tour. Testament to the success of this endeavor, the Palacio Cousino mansion in Santiago is open to the visiting public.

Los Dominicos Handicraft Village

Ten minutes away by car to the Iglesia San Vincente, is the los Dominicos handcraft village with the largest selection of handcrafts to be found in one place. The Dominicos village is laid out to look like a typical country village with winding dirt streets and alleyways. It is authentic down to the presence of chickens running here and there and a couple of friendly dogs asking for handouts. Small thatched roof buildings along the streets looking like village houses serve as the stores. The wonderful aroma of empanadas cooking in outdoor adobe ovens by ladies preparing meals fills the air. Colorful awnings cover the streets to provide shade as you visit some of the artisans at work painting, woodworking or making jewelry. There are stores with copperware, furniture, leather tack gear, pottery, wicker ware, wood sculpture, Alpaca clothing, and jewelry stores with plenty of reasonably priced Lapis Lazuli. Amateur dance groups perform typical dances from different part of Chile in authentic costumes of the period.

Skiing Valle Nevado

Weather you are a skier or not, visiting the Valle Nevado ski resort is a good excursion. This major South American destination located in the heart of the Andes is only 1-1/2 hours drive from Santiago. It has a skiable area of nine thousand acres, of which there are 130 maintained runs for all levels of skiing from beginner to expert. Valle Nevado is a self-contained resort with three lodges each with its own hallmark with enough comforts to help you relax from a day of active skiing. The resort has several boutiques, mini-market, bank, medical center, massage service, exercise room, child care service, and an outdoor heated soaking pool. The pool is situated so that you may soak or sun with a great view of the slopes. Instructors give lessons in Alpine skiing, carving and snowboarding at all levels. For that extra thrill, they also offer Heliskiing and Heliboarding where a Bell 407 flies the client to remote locations to ski on virgin snow, and Valle Nevado was the only South American country to host the Nokia World Cup of Snowboard. Even you don't ski the trip up the magnificent Andes is worth the trip. When you reach the resort, there are restaurants and a bar waiting for the weary traveler.

Finally, Chilenos, Chile and Santiago, their capital city, have succeeded in blending an old-world courtliness with a successful economy that has moved quietly but firmly into the twenty-first century, they are a welcoming and warm people, their country is outstandingly beautiful, and, as this is written, all of it is far from so many of the disputes and fears that trouble the Northern Hemisphere.

PHOTO CREDITS: Mary Ashcraft, Rod Lopez-Fabrega, Valle Nevado Resort, Monica Henriquez Fashons, Contributed.


© 2003 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES