Adios Chile

Following the Habitat build, I returned to Santiago with my teammates and met up with Sa & Ed, who have now traveled from Brazil to Chile. The last few days in the city was a blur as I tried to cram in as much sightseeing as possible.

The Habitat group ended the build with a R&R day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, the coastal cities near the Greater Santiago area. Again, we hired La Bicycletta Verde for the tour and spent the morning wandering through the meandering streets of Valparaiso. The city has a long history and was once the most important seaport in South America, prior to the construction of Panama Canal. There are 2 distinct features in Valparaiso, graffiti and hills. The city has up to 45 cerros or hills that are accessible by short-haul gondolas. Colourful graffiti and adorable stray cats are at every corner. However, we were also told that certain parts of the city can be sketchy and dangerous at nighttime.

One of the cerros in Valparaiso

A cat chilling on the ledge

Leaping with my teammates in Vina del Mar

 The next day, I said my farewell to the Habitat team and moved in with Sa & Ed to a 2-bedroom apartment in Santiago. As always, we greeted one another with a big hug. It is always nice to see good friends in a different city.  We visited the trendy neighbourhood of Bella Vista, celebrated Theo's birthday at a local bar, joined a free tour around Centro, and went up Cerro San Cristobal. An interesting observation I had was the lack of information at the Museo Historical Nacional. The exhibit abruptly ended at 1980s, and I don't recall any mentioning of Pinochet or the military coup. According to our tour guide, this is likely still a controversial issue among Chileans.

Catedral of Santiago

View from Cerro San Cristobal

Traditional Chilean meal + jugo in Bella Vista