This morning it was off to the airport to catch our 11:10am flight to Santiago. We got to the airport and checked in. We had to wait for Immigration officials to arrive before we could get into our departure gate. We only had 1 night left on our trip and I have to admit that at this point I was a little tired of speaking Spanish. That was unfortunate because the Immigration Official was tired of speaking English. She got irritated with me when I did not understand her and I was hoping she would just speak some English. She sent me off to fill out some paperwork and then complained bitterly to the other Immigration Official about people not speaking Spanish. Oh well, I filled out the paperwork, handed it to her with my passport and boarding pass. I spoke a little Spanish and then I was pleasantly told I could proceed to the gate.
On the flight I sat next to a guy from LA who had just attempted to summit Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America at 22,841 feet. He was unable to make it to the summit. He was a very experienced mountaineer and sometimes you just don't get the right weather to make it to the top. As we were flying over the Andes, we saw Mt. Aconcagua immediately to the right side of the plane.
Upon arrival in Santiago we caught a cab to our hotel. Santiago it seems has very good infrastructure. Nice roads and most things seem fairly well maintained. As we were to learn, Chile has the highest per capita income in Latin America, and they know it. They seem to look down on the other Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Argentina. However, Chile only has a population of about 15 million, much less than the major South American countries.
Avenue Just Outside the Hotel
This guy selling ice cream really wanted his picture taken.
Pedestrian Mall
We stayed at the Hotel Plaza San Francisco, a very well appointed older hotel, that had an international clientele. This was a big hotel, but the excellent service was very personable. We first had lunch at the hotel as our room was not immediately available. When our room was available we refreshed ourselves and then ventured out onto the streets of Santiago.
World Traveler Outside the Hotel
Hotel Room
We were staying in the Centro district of the city. It was Friday, later afternoon, so there were huge crowds out on the street. We went to go visit the Plaza de Armas. If you are ever in a Latin American city and want to find the central area of activity, go to the Plaza de Armas. It is the main plaza in the city, usually the main government buildings are on the plaza. To get to the Plaza de Armas, we walked through a pedestrian mall, where many retail shops and eateries are found. It is always interesting to watch the local people in this type of setting. We made it to the Plaza de Armas. It was quite warm and all the benches and seating with shade were taken. We wandered around to take some pictures. It was definitely a lively place with musicians, preachers, and soapbox speakers. There we a number of people playing checkers. We made our way back to the hotel but not before stopping for some ice cream on the pedestrian mall.
Plaza De Armas
Checker Games on the Plaza
Buildings Lining Plaza De Armas
We needed to figure out what we were going to do the next day as our flight was not until the late evening. The choice was really between going to Valapraiso on the coast (Santiago actually sits in an inland valley) or going out to the wine country. We chose more wine tasting. The trip to the coast was going to be a little long. Wine tasting isn't necessarily all about wine, it is about getting out of the city and spending some time in the rural areas. The wine and the people you meet, make it that much more interesting. So we booked a full day tour of the nearby Maipo Valley through the hotel.
For our evening meal we took the hotel's recommendation and had seafood. We ate at a fairly well-known restaurant called, Azul Profundo. The restaurant was in an area of the city known as Bellavista. Bellavista is known for its nightlife. Our taxi driver let us know the safest streets we should keep to. The restaurant had a nice seaside character to it and we enjoyed the food.
After we finished our dinner, we got ripped off by a taxi driver. Here is how it happened. I asked the waitress to get us a cab. She called for the cab and told us we could wait at our table until it arrived. I decided to go out front and look for the cab. There was a cab waving to us so I thought it was our cab. In hindsight this was my major mistake, as this was probably not our cab, just some cabbie looking for a fare. Anyway we got in the cab and told him to take us to the hotel. He was not very friendly and kept joking around with his friends over the 2-way radio. Anyway when we got to the hotel, he did not park in the front entrance where the doorman would have greeted us, he parked on the side of the road. The fare came to just under 10,000 Pesos. I gave him a 10,000 peso bill, he took it and then showed me that I had only given him a 1,000 peso bill. I gave him another 10,000 peso bill which is equivalent to about $20 US. As soon as we got out of the car, I knew he had pulled a fast one. He had run our fare up to just under 10,000 pesos, the fare should have been about 4,000-5,000. He then knew I would give him a 10,000 peso bill. I gave him the bill and he quickly exchanged it for a 1,000 peso bill and told me I gave him the wrong bill.
Frankly, I had let my guard down. I had become too comfortable, Santiago is supposed to be a safe city with a healthy respect for the law. I had been told that police corruption was not a worry. However, the same could be said for many cities in the US, and you know that there are still people who will take advantage of you. I should have waited for the taxi that had been called by the restaurant. Then someone else knows which taxi you are riding. That keeps the driver honest. The driver also knew we were staying at a nice hotel (he knew we had money), we did not know the language, and we were not familiar with the currency. The vast majority of taxi drivers we have met, are extremely helpful, honest, and friendly. They are generally a great resource. As a traveler it is your responsibility to take proper precautions, I did not do that. I learned my lesson.
