Santiago

Thursday morning we took a bus from Mendoza back to Santiago to meet up with Bryan Rees (everyones favorite Chilano). The bus ride is really dramatic. As you drive out of Mendoza you pass vineyard after vineyard then through the foothills of the Andes and up and over. The only unpleasant part is the border between Argentina and Chile. This time it took us 2 hours to cross and there were only 8 people on the bus. Ah, memories of the BG-Greece border! You basically have to unload with all of your gear, go through immigration and have all of your bags scanned for food mostly. Some kids just can't play nicely in the sandbox together.

After arriving at Hostel de Sammy, which was recommended by a girl we met in Mendoza, we took the underground to meet up with Bryan. The Metro de Santiago is quite extensive and very easy. We did some sightseeing and took the funicular to the top of Cerro San Cristobal hill for a sweeping view of the city. We wandered through Bellavista area before stopping for dinner at a trendy resto lounge. On Friday we all met up again for more city touring which started out with a café con piernas, or "coffee with legs". Apparently this is a type of cafe that is only in Santiago. Bryan explained it to us as Hooter's for coffee, but as he had never been prior, his description was a bit off. It's closer to the Gold Club with coffee. Sorry, no pictures were allowed. We should mention, these things are legit coffee shops, only operating during daytime and serve no alcohol, only coffee. We spent the day wandering around the plazas of Santiago and climbing some of the scenic hills such as St. Lucia for beautiful views (where the smog allows). The inversion issues of the Santiago vally are pretty bad, but the excellent subway systems seems to be improving the situation. There were some excellent items for sale on the street; we just couldn't decide btw the new TV attena or the nail clippers (pic att.)

After taking a brief seista, we met back up over a Rebecca's house (Backroad friend of Bry's) for a taste of the suburb life. She and her boyfriend had a lovely place with a huge backyard and parrilla (built in BBQ). We went to a crazy Thai restaurant for dinner and then took in some club scenery. Wish the photos of Bryan leading the entire dancefloor in his lipsync/dance routine had come out, but it was too dark in there.

Off to BA, hasta pronto!