Santiago

The whole of Santiago was draped in fog, though I was assured that the city was surrounded by mountains which were normally visible. Fortunately the family I was staying with lived further out and higher up, slightly out of the cloud and on the second day, everything was much clearer.

Unbelievable.

After managing to sort out my phone, skyping dad, showering, and some coffee and cake I felt a lot more human and set off with Natalia, their daughter of my age, to explore the city.
The last two days have made me glad to have had my shoes reheeled before leaving. They would certainly be needing it now otherwise given the amount of walking I've done!

In the 37 hours I spent in Santiago, I think I managed to fit in as much as was realistically possible, including 2 museums, 2 lunch meetings (of which one with a uni friend), several more parks, city sights, and a lot of coffee.

The feel of the city reminds me of Buenos Aires, making it seem vaguely familiar, yet it's more open, building are lower and there seems to be more green spaces. Not to mention the ever present mountain range surrounding the city. It's smaller too - a lot of it is easily walkable which makes things easier and there are several hills (cerros) dotted around which make for nice vantage points and help with finding your way about. 

There's something vaguely surreal about casually meeting someone for lunch in a city thousands of miles away from the last place you met... But I guess that just goes to show the kind of world our generation lives in these days!

Me, Natalia & Lucile