Santiago & Valparaíso.
We absolutely loved exploring the colourful streets of Valparaíso, and were lucky to celebrate Chilean Independence Day in Santiago!
- Chilean Independence Day.
We met someone who said Independence Day is bigger than Christmas in Chile. Chileans certainly seemed very patriotic. For the week leading up to Independence Day there was Chilean flag bunting in shops, stickers on cars and flags outside everyone’s homes. (Apparently government buildings get fined if they don’t have their flags flying!).
For the days surrounding Independence Day, parties called ‘fondas’ are held across the country to celebrate. We went to one of Santiago’s biggest fondas in Parque O’Higgins with live bands in music tents and lots of food and drink stalls.
First things first, we had to get hold of a ‘Terremoto’ – the famous Independence Day drink that translates to earthquake. Stalls shouted out its name as people queued to get the concoction of sweet wine, pineapple ice-cream and grenadine for a cool £2. It was very, very sweet. I couldn’t quite finish mine and am slightly baffled at anyone who can have more than one!
There were large tents with live music which were my favourite. We watched Chileans of all ages dance their national dance the ‘Cueca’, where couples hold eye contact and flick white handkerchiefs all over the place. It was brilliant. Slightly less brilliant was the live band that played later on in the night. An interesting mix of rap and singing (in aggressive Spanish) – I’ve never heard live music so out of tune(!). I’m clearly missing a trick though as everyone surrounding us jumped around and recited the words.
2. Valparaíso.
Valparaíso is a harbour town filled with brightly coloured buildings. We stayed at the top of Cerro Concepción which was a beautiful area with winding cobbled streets and very impressive graffiti. You can jump on one of the many (rickety) funiculars for less than £1 to avoid walking up the hills.
One of the first things we noticed was how different the people were. Full of creative types – artists, musicians, street performers, it was a stark contrast to the relatively dull experience we had in Santiago and reminded me a little of Brighton. (Sorry Santiago!).
The viewpoints Plaza Joaquín Edwards Bello and Mirador Paseo Atkinson have amazing panoramic views of the harbour and are worth visiting at sunset. The well-named Hotel Brighton has a lovely terrace for drinks with a view.
Amor Porteño. A banging ice-cream and pudding cafe. We joined the growing queue and Tom finally got hold of some mint choc chip ice-cream. We loved it so much we went for round 2 and sat in the next day for an affrogato and sundae.
Restaurant El Peral. With its lovely outside patio surrounded by wisteria and potted plants I felt very grown up eating at El Peral. The lunch menu was a steal (2 courses CLP8,000/£9) and the atmosphere was on point with a little clarinet duo playing in the corner.
The food in Chile was the most expensive of our trip so far, which meant a few empanada dinners and eating in a lot (helped by everything being closed for Independence Day!). Delicias Express had an amazing range of empanadas with fillings from stewed meat to a salmon filet to a chunk of camembert, highly recommend.
3. Santiago.
Visiting a city when it’s Independence Day (slash week) is a little strange as literally everything is shut. We ventured into town to find a scattering of places open but it felt like a ghost town and I don’t feel like we got a grasp of the city. There was a lot of graffiti – not in the Valparaíso arty sense but more like a bunch of teenage kids have got hold of spray paint and tagged well, everywhere. My highlight was stumbling across a female protest marching around the square and stopping to moony the government office.
Emporio La Rosa. Not sure if it’s because I’m travelling with Tom or South Americans love their ice-cream, but we seem to have gone to a Heladería in almost every city we’ve been to! To be fair they’ve all been exceptional, this one included.
We visited Santiago and Valparaíso in September 2018.
