Packing for southern South America needed more thought. Asking around, I was told to pack for autumn in Milan. The fact is, it's winter in Santiago. Not like NYC, but still winter.
I glided into town on the surfboard of a major storm with below-zero temperatures, 6 inches (20 cm) of snow, a 48-hour blackout and a little earthquake. Add to that just about NO apartment in Santiago has heat, and I developed a major attitude problem. I almost left.
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| Santiago hadn't seen snow in 20 years. Waiting for me, I guess. |
I glided into town on the surfboard of a major storm with below-zero temperatures, 6 inches (20 cm) of snow, a 48-hour blackout and a little earthquake. Add to that just about NO apartment in Santiago has heat, and I developed a major attitude problem. I almost left.
With the tiny bit of resolve I had, I layered my congealed ass with everything in my suitcase and took to the streets. Many spots my centenarian told me to look up are gone, devastated by various earthquakes over the last 80 years. Others are in tact, existing quietly alongside their neighbors, in varying states of graceful age since the Pinochet years.
Most industry has been privatized since, so the price of everything but wine is high. To meet costs, everyone--who owns a property or not--has to take in a boarder. Santiago is city of roommates and everything that comes along with it--some 70's furniture, fingerprints around light switches and doorknobs, and refrigerators with unspeakable contents.
Clear on the other side of the bohemian-neighborhood-perched-on-hip-gentrification where I'm staying, is the financial/commercial area, a sprawling collection of glass towers and conspicuous spending similar to Battery Park City pre-9/11. The backdrop for the city is the snow-capped mountain range, which most Santiaguinos say is the reason they vow never to leave--though they weekend in Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, Rio, etc, etc, etc.
Clear on the other side of the bohemian-neighborhood-perched-on-hip-gentrification where I'm staying, is the financial/commercial area, a sprawling collection of glass towers and conspicuous spending similar to Battery Park City pre-9/11. The backdrop for the city is the snow-capped mountain range, which most Santiaguinos say is the reason they vow never to leave--though they weekend in Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, Rio, etc, etc, etc.
Also remarkable is a weak sign of indigenous people--a chief reason to suffer seasonal jet lag. After coming from the diversity overload of Colombia, this was a jolt. Looks like you're in downtown Madrid.
And, while the street signs are amusing, I noticed a scarcity of federal buildings, compared to other capital cities. Every man for himself. Maybe this is what the US will become.
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