The Adventure Begins

We left a chilly Dallas for a hot Chile at 9:00 Tuesday night. It's a ten hour flight, but only a three hour time difference and we felt more travel lag than jet lag. We learned the hard way that it's best to carry on your luggage when flying into Santiago. Our checked bags were held for a decontamination spraying that took over an hour. We've been told that not every flight has this delay, but to be safe, carry on if you can. We were met by Christian The Van Man in his bright yellow t shirt. After a short drive to the LaStarria Boutique Hotel in the funky, trendy LaStarria section, he immediately became Christian The Walking Tour Man and led us on a walking/driving tour down the avenues and through the markets of Santiago.

No matter that we'd been fed plenty on the flight down to Chile, we were all demanding food. Our delicious lunch was at Galindo in the artsy Bellavista neighborhood. At Christian's suggestion, we tried the Pisco Sours and the Pastel de Choclo, a mix of ground beef, chicken, onions, olives, raisins, topped with caramelized creamed corn.

Santiago in January is bustling, beautiful and can be beastly hot. A walk around the Plaza de Armas had us looking for shade. The square holds various public buildings, City Hall and the Cathedral. The enormous Catedral Metropolitana, rebuilt many times after earthquakes, dominates the plaza.

We toured the local markets-filled with beautiful produce, fish, and flea market fare at great prices, and the tourist market in its beautiful building. There are lots of places in the markets to eat-again some for locals and some for gringos. If you go, try the local places, they look interesting and smell wonderful.

A much needed nap left us ready for a walk over the bridge and back into the Bellavista section where we dined at Epicureo Providencia. Their Chilean specialities include sea bass, ceviche, and avalon--all delicious. It was a wonderful evening with great wine and lovely service.