There's a football club in Santiago called Santiago Morning. Football club names don't come much better than that.
I didn't go and watch a Santiago Morning game, but I ended up staying for five Santiago mornings after some big Santiago nights out.
En route south to Chile I'd met quite a few people who had been disparaging about the Chilean capital, many of them saying it was 'too European' and not typical of South America. Almost like it didn't deserve to sit in the continent, and that it wasn't worthy of a visit.
But I loved it.
The first reason why I loved it was my hostel. Some hostels I've stayed in have been a place to crash and not much else, but the Princesa Insolente was a great find.
It sits in the Barrio Brasil neighbourhood, home to a grungy student population and some fun restaurants. During my time there I met some great travellers with the usual fascinating stories to tell, and the staff were some of the friendliest of my trip so far.
On my first night, after spending the previous 23 hours on a bus, I felt like splurging on a good meal.
Following a recommendation from the Brighton couple I met in San Pedro I decided to give a Ocean's Pacific a try.
It's one of two themed restaurants just round the corner from the hostel on Avenida Cumming. The other is a meat restaurant staffed by men dressed as vikings, and Ocean's Pacific is a fish restaurant staffed by men dressed as sailors.
Looking at the massive menu was giving me a headache, so I asked the waiter to pick for me. Ten minutes later a tin foil package arrived at my table, and was then speared open to reveal a chunk of fish in a tomato and onion sauce:
That, plus a half-bottle of wine, came to almost twenty quid - but the taste and the surroundings were well worth it. Chile is a very expensive country, but after living live a king on not very much cash in Bolivia I'm happy to pay my way around here.
When I arrived back at the hostel that night I bumped into James and Sarah for the umpteenth time on this trip. We've been in and out of each others' pockets since Mancora, so it shouldn't have been a huge surprise.
They had done a free walking tour of the city that day, which they enjoyed, so the next day I did the same.
I met tour guide Felipe at the Plaza des Armas for our 3pm start, along with a big group of tourists (about 20 of us).
Felipe was a great guide - proud of his city and full of quirky facts. We spent a couple of hours walking through the colonial part of the city and then stopped for a pisco sour in one of Santiago's posher barrios (Santa Lucia).
He told us what it was like to live under the Pinochet regime, and also pointed out some buildings which saw some damage following last year's earthquake in the south of the country. These included the opera house, on which the cracks caused by the quake were clearly visible:
The final hour's walking took us through a park and into the Bellavista neighbourhood, home to Santiago's best nightlife and restaurants. It was a pretty place full of life, and somewhere I would come to know well over the next few days.
I took a load of pictures on the tour, and here are a few:
That night Sarah, James, Renee and I cooked chicken fajitas before heading out at 11pm-ish. Like with many countries in South America and Southern Europe, Chile's nightlife gets going at late o'clock.
We went to an Irish-themed bar (crap) before going to a karaoke bar (fun). James and I punctured everyone's eardrums with a painful rendition of Livin' On A Prayer, and that was our queue to get out of there.
The final stop of the night was to the Urban Club where we threw a few shapes on the dancefloor before heading home in a cab in the early light of the morning. Good times.
The day after, I took a walk through town with Corey (American), Emma and Matt (English). We got to the furnicular railway which takes people up a hill overlooking the city and got in the queue.
Unfortunately it was Mothers Day (well, not unfortunately for the mothers, but for people who are short of time and waiting for a furnicular railway behind lots of mothers and their kids...)
Corey and I had a football match to go to in the south of the city and time was running out before kick-off. We said our goodbyes to Emma and Matt, had a walk up the hill to get a pic...
...and then headed off on the metro to the ground.
Colo Colo (another good name for a club) were playing O'Higgins (ditto) in the Estadio Monumental - and it was an important match for both teams. The home team, traditionally one of Chile's top teams, were languishing in 12th. The away side were pushing for a play-off spot in fourth.
We went and bought a ticket at the turnstile (about 9 quid) and then had to walk for what seemed like forever to get a pre-match drink.
The stadium is fairly new and, like with many new grounds, has been plonked next to the side of a motorway junction. I think these architects and town planners sometimes deliberately put new grounds in the most unattractive, amenity-less parts of cities to annoy football fans.
Anyway, we eventually found a bar and necked a quick beer before heading all the way back to the ground for kick-off.
The stadium wasn't the most attractive I've been to out here, but we got a good view from what turned out to be the family stand:
Soon after kick-off O'Higgins went ahead. Their fans on the far side of the ground looked a happy bunch, pogo-ing around and singing songs.
The Colo Colo fans near us looked a miserable bunch, probably fearing they were about to get a pasting from a team eight places higher than them in the league.
But they needn't have worried. Five minutes later they were level after a bullet header from one of their strikers. By half time they had scored two more, one a pearler into the top corner from outside the box.
The Colo Colo fans to our left, secured into an area behind the goal that was fortified by massive barbed wire-topped fences, were loving it.
At half time we joined the kids sitting around us in making paper aeroplanes out of sheets of Colo Colo cardboard and newspapers that we'd been given on the way in.
In the second half we chucked said paper aeroplanes (and watched lots of kids doing the same), while keeping half an eye on the game. Colo Colo got another goal towards the end, which is when we left to beat the rush.
On the walk back to the metro we heard two more cheers coming from the stadium. An unsteady man pushing a shopping cart was listening to the match commentary on radio and told us the two cheers were the awarding of a penalty, and the penalty finding the net.
Final score: Colo Colo 5-1 O'Higgins.
That night, a Sunday, was supposed to be a quiet one. But you've always got to watch the quiet ones.
Back at the hostel a solitary drink turned into a couple of drinks. A couple became a few, and so on. With my iPod as the kitchen jukebox and Matt & Emma's rum in plentiful supply, we ended up staying up til the early hours.
On Monday I had planned to head to Valparaiso but re-adjusted my plans as I was enjoying the capital, the sun was out and why rush somewhere else when you're having fun? I had actually packed my bag, gone downstairs with the sheets from my bed and was about to walk out the door when I changed my mind.
The day was fairly uneventful (buying a pair of jeans after a rip appeared in my solitary pair of trousers), as was Tuesday, but it was fun to hang out in a good hostel.
In between was my last big night in Santiago. It was a guy called Tom's birthday, so we had some drinks and laughs in the courtyard before hitting Bellavista.
Monday nights aren't the biggest nights round here, but we soon found a dive bar with a video jukebox playing Def Leppard and other '80s chart-friendly rock.
Greg (Canadian) and Nicolas (Austrian) bought completos to go with their beers:
Completos are served in hot dog rolls, and sometimes contain a hot dog and sometimes don't. I had a tasty one the following day which had strips of beef smothered in mayonnaise, tomatoes, onions, and other bits and bobs.
It was so laden that the bottom fell out of it straight away and I had to eat with a knife and fork. Probably the messiest dish in South America, but one of the best.
At the dive bar we met three guys who almost immediately announced in a grand manner that they were gay. They were accompanied by what seemed to be a much older woman, but by the end of the night we thought she may be a he.
Let's not go there.
They were a fun group, were from the city, and once the bar had closed we left with them to go and find somewhere else. A long walk along deserted streets later and we found a place full of locals.
We asked the barman if they sold beer. 'No', he said, and we turned on our heels to walk out. 'Only rum and pisco', he continued, and we turned back and sat down.
A final drink was drunk and we got home as the birds were singing.
The following day I needed to get out of the city, for my liver's sake as much as anything. I packed up my stuff, said a final goodbye to the NZ-bound James and Sarah, and checked out.
A final ride on the city's excellent metro system and I was on a bus to Valparaiso.
For a city that had been pilloried by several people I'd met, Santiago really surprised me. Fascinating history, good football, cool students with even cooler haircuts (and tattoos) and some of the best nightlife in South America.
And yes, I know this post is laced with alcohol - but that's how things turn out sometimes. Santiago contained some of my best nights out in a while. So sue me.
Here are some final pics:
I didn't go and watch a Santiago Morning game, but I ended up staying for five Santiago mornings after some big Santiago nights out.
En route south to Chile I'd met quite a few people who had been disparaging about the Chilean capital, many of them saying it was 'too European' and not typical of South America. Almost like it didn't deserve to sit in the continent, and that it wasn't worthy of a visit.
But I loved it.
The first reason why I loved it was my hostel. Some hostels I've stayed in have been a place to crash and not much else, but the Princesa Insolente was a great find.
It sits in the Barrio Brasil neighbourhood, home to a grungy student population and some fun restaurants. During my time there I met some great travellers with the usual fascinating stories to tell, and the staff were some of the friendliest of my trip so far.
On my first night, after spending the previous 23 hours on a bus, I felt like splurging on a good meal.
Following a recommendation from the Brighton couple I met in San Pedro I decided to give a Ocean's Pacific a try.
It's one of two themed restaurants just round the corner from the hostel on Avenida Cumming. The other is a meat restaurant staffed by men dressed as vikings, and Ocean's Pacific is a fish restaurant staffed by men dressed as sailors.
Looking at the massive menu was giving me a headache, so I asked the waiter to pick for me. Ten minutes later a tin foil package arrived at my table, and was then speared open to reveal a chunk of fish in a tomato and onion sauce:
That, plus a half-bottle of wine, came to almost twenty quid - but the taste and the surroundings were well worth it. Chile is a very expensive country, but after living live a king on not very much cash in Bolivia I'm happy to pay my way around here.
When I arrived back at the hostel that night I bumped into James and Sarah for the umpteenth time on this trip. We've been in and out of each others' pockets since Mancora, so it shouldn't have been a huge surprise.
They had done a free walking tour of the city that day, which they enjoyed, so the next day I did the same.
I met tour guide Felipe at the Plaza des Armas for our 3pm start, along with a big group of tourists (about 20 of us).
Felipe was a great guide - proud of his city and full of quirky facts. We spent a couple of hours walking through the colonial part of the city and then stopped for a pisco sour in one of Santiago's posher barrios (Santa Lucia).
He told us what it was like to live under the Pinochet regime, and also pointed out some buildings which saw some damage following last year's earthquake in the south of the country. These included the opera house, on which the cracks caused by the quake were clearly visible:
The final hour's walking took us through a park and into the Bellavista neighbourhood, home to Santiago's best nightlife and restaurants. It was a pretty place full of life, and somewhere I would come to know well over the next few days.
I took a load of pictures on the tour, and here are a few:
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| Waiting for the tour to begin in the Plaza des Armas |
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| Statue in the Plaza des Armas |
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| Mural as seen through museum roof |
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| Flags |
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| In front of the biggest flag in Chile |
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| Ballet dancers entertain drivers at traffic lights in Bellavista |
That night Sarah, James, Renee and I cooked chicken fajitas before heading out at 11pm-ish. Like with many countries in South America and Southern Europe, Chile's nightlife gets going at late o'clock.
We went to an Irish-themed bar (crap) before going to a karaoke bar (fun). James and I punctured everyone's eardrums with a painful rendition of Livin' On A Prayer, and that was our queue to get out of there.
The final stop of the night was to the Urban Club where we threw a few shapes on the dancefloor before heading home in a cab in the early light of the morning. Good times.
The day after, I took a walk through town with Corey (American), Emma and Matt (English). We got to the furnicular railway which takes people up a hill overlooking the city and got in the queue.
Unfortunately it was Mothers Day (well, not unfortunately for the mothers, but for people who are short of time and waiting for a furnicular railway behind lots of mothers and their kids...)
Corey and I had a football match to go to in the south of the city and time was running out before kick-off. We said our goodbyes to Emma and Matt, had a walk up the hill to get a pic...
...and then headed off on the metro to the ground.
Colo Colo (another good name for a club) were playing O'Higgins (ditto) in the Estadio Monumental - and it was an important match for both teams. The home team, traditionally one of Chile's top teams, were languishing in 12th. The away side were pushing for a play-off spot in fourth.
We went and bought a ticket at the turnstile (about 9 quid) and then had to walk for what seemed like forever to get a pre-match drink.
The stadium is fairly new and, like with many new grounds, has been plonked next to the side of a motorway junction. I think these architects and town planners sometimes deliberately put new grounds in the most unattractive, amenity-less parts of cities to annoy football fans.
Anyway, we eventually found a bar and necked a quick beer before heading all the way back to the ground for kick-off.
The stadium wasn't the most attractive I've been to out here, but we got a good view from what turned out to be the family stand:
Soon after kick-off O'Higgins went ahead. Their fans on the far side of the ground looked a happy bunch, pogo-ing around and singing songs.
The Colo Colo fans near us looked a miserable bunch, probably fearing they were about to get a pasting from a team eight places higher than them in the league.
But they needn't have worried. Five minutes later they were level after a bullet header from one of their strikers. By half time they had scored two more, one a pearler into the top corner from outside the box.
The Colo Colo fans to our left, secured into an area behind the goal that was fortified by massive barbed wire-topped fences, were loving it.
At half time we joined the kids sitting around us in making paper aeroplanes out of sheets of Colo Colo cardboard and newspapers that we'd been given on the way in.
In the second half we chucked said paper aeroplanes (and watched lots of kids doing the same), while keeping half an eye on the game. Colo Colo got another goal towards the end, which is when we left to beat the rush.
On the walk back to the metro we heard two more cheers coming from the stadium. An unsteady man pushing a shopping cart was listening to the match commentary on radio and told us the two cheers were the awarding of a penalty, and the penalty finding the net.
Final score: Colo Colo 5-1 O'Higgins.
That night, a Sunday, was supposed to be a quiet one. But you've always got to watch the quiet ones.
Back at the hostel a solitary drink turned into a couple of drinks. A couple became a few, and so on. With my iPod as the kitchen jukebox and Matt & Emma's rum in plentiful supply, we ended up staying up til the early hours.
On Monday I had planned to head to Valparaiso but re-adjusted my plans as I was enjoying the capital, the sun was out and why rush somewhere else when you're having fun? I had actually packed my bag, gone downstairs with the sheets from my bed and was about to walk out the door when I changed my mind.
The day was fairly uneventful (buying a pair of jeans after a rip appeared in my solitary pair of trousers), as was Tuesday, but it was fun to hang out in a good hostel.
In between was my last big night in Santiago. It was a guy called Tom's birthday, so we had some drinks and laughs in the courtyard before hitting Bellavista.
Monday nights aren't the biggest nights round here, but we soon found a dive bar with a video jukebox playing Def Leppard and other '80s chart-friendly rock.
Greg (Canadian) and Nicolas (Austrian) bought completos to go with their beers:
Completos are served in hot dog rolls, and sometimes contain a hot dog and sometimes don't. I had a tasty one the following day which had strips of beef smothered in mayonnaise, tomatoes, onions, and other bits and bobs.
It was so laden that the bottom fell out of it straight away and I had to eat with a knife and fork. Probably the messiest dish in South America, but one of the best.
At the dive bar we met three guys who almost immediately announced in a grand manner that they were gay. They were accompanied by what seemed to be a much older woman, but by the end of the night we thought she may be a he.
Let's not go there.
They were a fun group, were from the city, and once the bar had closed we left with them to go and find somewhere else. A long walk along deserted streets later and we found a place full of locals.
We asked the barman if they sold beer. 'No', he said, and we turned on our heels to walk out. 'Only rum and pisco', he continued, and we turned back and sat down.
A final drink was drunk and we got home as the birds were singing.
The following day I needed to get out of the city, for my liver's sake as much as anything. I packed up my stuff, said a final goodbye to the NZ-bound James and Sarah, and checked out.
A final ride on the city's excellent metro system and I was on a bus to Valparaiso.
For a city that had been pilloried by several people I'd met, Santiago really surprised me. Fascinating history, good football, cool students with even cooler haircuts (and tattoos) and some of the best nightlife in South America.
And yes, I know this post is laced with alcohol - but that's how things turn out sometimes. Santiago contained some of my best nights out in a while. So sue me.
Here are some final pics:
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| Sharks in Ocean's Pacific |
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| James and I tuck into lasagne, chips and peas. Home comforts. |
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| Would you like heart disease with your burger, sir? |
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| Restaurants in Bellavista |
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| Making his Colo Colo debut at right-back: Harry Foges |
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| Santiago: one of the stars of South America |