If you're going to pay ridiculous dollars for a trip from Sydney to Buenos Aires, you might as well have a 14-hour layover in Santiago. My return flight on LATAM Airlines is 34 hours. I leave Buenos Aires Monday at 6am, arriving at 8am in Santiago. I will fly out at 1am on Tuesday. I have a solid chunk of time in Santiago to spread my wings.
I make my base in an adorable cheap apartment in Bellavista, in the northern part of the city of more than 6 million people. If the traffic is good, it's a 20-minute drive from the airport. The Andes Mountains are just visible through the haze. As the sun climbs, they will become more striking.
Bellavista overflows with street art, cafes and huge trees. It reminds me a bit of Buenos Aires, but the air is dryer and the ambience is calmer. As I leave the airport, my driver tells me he's lived all over South America. He jokes that a day is all I really need in Santiago and warns me to be careful when I get my phone out. Santiago is mostly safe, but motorcycle riders will snatch your phone. My driver prefers Buenos Aires to Santiago. He describes Chile as the older, more responsible brother to Argentina. The banks don't fail here, the country is more stable. Buenos Aires is more chaotic, with more parties, and cheaper.
This may be the case, but on Monday morning the Lastarria neighbourhood is beginning to bustle as I begin to explore. I cross the muddy, rushing Mapocho River and walk through a luscious green park. I have lunch at La Barrita Sanguchera, and they serve me violet-coloured treats: vegan truffle fries and a Purple Peruvian chicha morada. A dreaded accordion player named Axel Noms serenades the customers. I could be in the rich part of Buenos Aires; I could also be in Sydney.
I return to my apartment to do a final batch of laundry, and then set out in a different direction, amused to find how quickly the neighbourhood can change. Suddenly I'm in crowded markets full of cheap, overflowing stalls. They sell clothes, gadgets and street food. It feels less affluent, but no less safe. I keep wandering until I find myself at the base of the famous San Cristobal Hill, the third highest mountain in the city and the most travelled as they built a "funicular", a cable railway, which takes me to the top where an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary awaits me with open arms. The views are sensational, the vibe, immaculate.
It's just before sunset. I look over Santiago and try not to think about the 20-plus hours of travel that I must endure to return to Newcastle. On the stroll back home I stop for a pisco sour or two, trying desperately to sweeten the ending.
Unique to Santiago
The Chilean poet, communist and diplomat Pablo Neruda is well known around the world. He spent much of his life in Santiago.
