Sign in with Facebook"A little taste of South America" Santiago by Jefie
Santiago Travel Guide: 948 reviews and 2,197 photos
I hadn't exactly planned on travelling to South America in 2008; however, when my nephew Kevin became the new 15-year-old heavyweight Canadian karate champion, I quickly realized that I would have to keep the promise I had made to my sister of accompanying him to the Junior Pan-American Games in Santiago de Chile! So after a mad 6 weeks of planning and what seems like hundreds of e-mails from Team Canada, we were finally on our way to South America!
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I have to admit that our first reaction once we got to our hotel and took a look around was "It's a heck of a long flight to be back in downtown Montreal"!! Santiago is a very modern city that is geared towards business rather than tourism. Very few historic buildings have managed to survive the city's growing need for office space, and most have been destroyed and replaced by skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. McDonald's, Starbucks & co. are often easier to find than local restaurants, and although Santiago is beautifully surrounded by the Andes, the smog often makes it impossible to see them, especially in the winter time.
But despite our initial reaction, I have to say that I will forever cherish wonderful memories of my first trip to South America, most of all because I got to spend a wonderful week with my nephew Kevin. We had such a great time together, and we enjoyed every day we spent at the competition and every moment we spent discovering the city. We met plenty of people from Chile but also from all over the Americas, which only left us looking forward to the next competition - and if he keeps on performing like he did in Santiago, I wouldn't be surprised if we were to travel together again next year!!
- Pros:Very easy to get around on foot or by metro, people were nice and helpful
- Cons:The smog, a bit too modern for my taste, the lack of local flavor in some areas
- In a nutshell:I saw Santiago, now I want to see Chile!!
Reviews (32)
The Amazing Andes
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Rebeca Matte's "Icarus and Daedalus"
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Comments (16)
I'm glad you found some nice places in Santiago after all, even though your first impression wasn't very positive.
Want to see a lot of stray dogs? Go see my Odessa, Ukraine pages!
I've been Chile 3x and it's amazing country. Look forward to returning soon! Happy travels, Dawn
How nice that you had time to let Santiago grow on you and to discover there's more to the city that first appearances suggest. I've become quite a fan - and, when the skies are clear, those mountains truly are beautiful.
Thanks for the tour to Santiago - I like the restaurants especially!!
It is nice to discover with you Santiago de Chilli. I know Santiago de Compostela and it is funny to see that both cities have a park called Alameda.
Hola, espero que te guste mi página de Santiago
I was looking forward to one day eating at Mercado Central as I had seen in a travelogue. I love your description Isa
Fantastic Santiago page! Merci on showing us such beautiful photos and great descriptions. Well done! :)
Hi Isa, Nice photos, sorry about the smog but there is always next time. 12 hours in the plane, I think we have to at least double that from Australia.