Santiago is in a beautiful location surrounded by the Andes, filled with almost 5 million lovely people (not to mention half as many stray dogs) and is unfathomably smoggy.
There are actually massive snow capped mountains in the distance of these photos, taken from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, you just can't see them through the haze.
On the good side of the city: you can visit one of Pablo Neruda's ecclectic homes built in the fashion of a ship for his third wife Matilde,
it has one of the best fruit and veg markets we've seen (where we could gorge ourselves on one kilogram baskets of raspberries for 1000pesos),
and an old sprawling cemetery that houses the remains of the first democratically elected Marxist president, Salvador Allende.
On the darker side, it also contains questionable meat products for sale,
as well as one of the most hideous major rivers to flow through the middle of any city. It's ugly. And it stinks.
And depending on how you view the world as to whether you think it falls on the light or dark side, it has Cafe con Piernas (or coffee with legs) bars. The photo explains all.
We spent a couple days in Valparaiso to wander in its labyrinth-like streets, full of twisting staircases, rickety asencors, and better than average graffitti .
We were traveling with our lovely friend Monica who worked her magic on a young Chilean who invited her/us(the chaperones) to stay with him in Vina del Mar. His hospitality was graciously given. He took us on a tour of Valparaiso, showed us the best views, the best places to drink and eat ridiculous amounts of non-translatable seafood.
Pablo Neruda collected glass bottles, seashells, and ships-in-a-bottle. Among other ocean-themed knick knacks. He kept many of these at his other house in Isla Negra where you can now take a somewhat pretentious tour to see them. Also his large metal fish collection, close to where he and Matilde are now buried.
Then headed up and over the Andes back to Argentina and the sweet vineyards of Mendoza.
Love d&j
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