Week 8

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Chile for a week: time has literally flown by, and I can’t fathom where it all went! However, I’m still having a wonderful time, and look forward to many more weeks of culture and new experiences.

This past Monday I had the privilege of going on a tour INSIDE the ‘White House’ of Chile, which is called “El Palacio de La Moneda”. Chile is very focused on keeping politics an integrative part of society and allowing people to participate, it is not very heavily guarded, and getting in was extremely easy, despite the fact that the Chilean president and Canadian Prime Minister were both there at the same time as us. La Moneda was originally constructed as a mint for the government, and over time became the workplace as well as living quarters for the Chilean president. These days it’s only a place of work, but relics still exist from the time when it was a home, including a small door that was installed for informal entrance, and was later used to carry out the body of Allende.

 

Friday a few friends and I took a trip to Isla Negra, about 3 hours south of Santiago, and on the coast. It’s a quaint little town whose main (and only) attraction is one of Pablo Neruda’s three houses. Though small, the area was gorgeous and right on the water, with bright blue waves crashing over black rocks. It was fun to tour the house as well as bring some empanadas to the beach to enjoy as lunch!

Saturday I spent in Valparaiso, exploring more of what the city has to offer. Our first destination was a jail that had been converted into a haven for artists of all kinds (visual, musical, dancing, etc). Unfortunately we were denied entry due to the fact that there are no guided tours on weekends, but it was a cool area. From there we commenced a destination-less trek up the steep hillside that constitutes the city of Valpo.

After about 2 hours of walking uphill, we reached that which could be considered the summit, and were rewarded with amazing views, although a bit foggy. Very few tourists go this high, and the difference in lifestyle was stark: close to the harbor houses are nice and roads are paved: the higher you go the shabbier the houses get, and the more it seems that erosion has taken a toll. Although we saw garbage trucks at the higher altitude, people tend to just dump their trash onto the hillsides, and the steep incline makes it virtually impossible to clean up. It was like a different city altogether, but a unique sight to see.

 

Saturday afternoon we went on a boat tour of the harbor, getting to see the complete opposite view of the city than we had had that morning. It was breathtaking, the sprawling massiveness of it all. We also got to see some sea lions up close!

That night I was invited out dancing with some Chilean friends, who taught me how to dance more ‘suave’, especially to reggaeton music, where moving ‘las caderas’ is the key! It was a lot of fun, and I hope to have a repeat experience in the future!