my dexter moment ;)
finally, some time to continue with the travel stories…
The Aubrey is very close to Parque Metropoliano where you can see the entire city and ride on a vintage funicular. It’s definitely worth doing but Santiago is
not LA 😉
famous for smog so the view might not be as spectacular as you were hoping. If the view disappoints, you can still enjoy the spectacular religious statues. Latin America is a very Catholic place so there is lots of religious symbolism in unexpected places. The funicular is a great transport back in time. From the top of the hill, you can see the sprawl of increasingly modern Santiago. It’s also a park so pleasant to walk around for a little while before heading back down to the city streets.
the better view…
It’s always a bit odd celebrating your birthday alone, especially in a city where you don’t speak the language. It can feel lonely but I’ve learned to push myself and engage with strangers and try new things and every foreign birthday has turned into a magical experience full of serendipity and experiences I would never have had staying home where everything is easy and familiar. This one was no different 🙂
a fun way to get to the top
The day was fairly quiet. After I’d had my overview of the city, I went back to the Aubrey for the free afternoon tea. It wasn’t too elaborate but I did get a cup of tea and cake. Then I headed back to my old ‘hood, Lastarria, for the ice cream indulgence that had become part of my Santiago routine. It was my birthday – I could have cake AND ice cream 😉 The ice cream shop is called Sociedad Emporio La Rosa, The ice cream is sublime and it seems to be a Santiago institution so be prepared for a line – but it’s worth the wait!
There is also a sort of informal street market in Lastarria so added more quirky locally made costume jewelry to my collection. Santiago’s weather (in March at least) is interesting as it starts quite cool, the heat rises to a climax in late afternoon and then cools down for the evening. It’s a pretty great climate for tourists but I started showering before dinner as that made the most sense. Tonight I was going to be more adventurous and my plan was to get to the W Hotel in time for sunset.
The W Hotel is in the Las Condes neighborhood, in an area referred to as Sanhattan. It’s the kind of thing I normally avoid when I travel. I want to see a foreign culture, not a new approximation of my own culture. I do try to be open-minded as well. It’s easy as someone growing up in the very prosperous G7 to want other countries to stay quaint for my tourist photos but it’s not very fair so I am welcoming of development that improves the lives of local citizens in emerging economies. Of course, totally achieving that goal, especially for all the citizens, is inevitably a challenging endeavour.
I felt a bit guilty after my night hanging out with the Marxists but my guidebook said the W had a spectacular rooftop bar/restaurant where you could watch the sun set over the Andes from the most spectacular setting in Santiago. It seemed the right place to celebrate your birthday solo. The sunset could be my dinner companion.
Normally I try not to stray too far from my hotel in a foreign city where few people speak English. Ideally, I can walk back to the hotel if necessary. While my passport fiasco is still costing me money and grief (do not decide you have lost your passport when you have merely put it in a different place :)), it had unexpected benefits as unexpected events in life often do. Since I had to spend so much time going from Lastarria to the Canadian embassy and it was an expensive taxi ride, I bought a bip! card and learned how to use the metro. It works really well and I would highly recommend this to visitors.
According to the map, the W Hotel was not far from the Canadian embassy so I should be able to find it easily, which indeed was the case. Finding the W was easy. Finding the rooftop restaurant proved a lot more challenging but I finally asked for help and got seated in time for sunset.
If you are into sunsets, I would highly recommend a visit to Canada. I think it’s because the country is so far north. I am always up for a sunset but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one more spectacular than the ones I’ve seen in Canada. I am still thrilled when by accident I happen to look out the window at sunrise or sunset and see a particularly fantastic one. So, you SHOULD go to the W for the sunset but it may not thrill you 🙂
It is a spectacular setting though and the food and drink is of a high standard. You may want to avoid red wine though…
First, I need to set the scene. For some reason, the outdoor balcony of the W is filled with white plastic. Everything is white and most is plastic. Perhaps it’s because of the red wine glasses…
I am a bit of a klutz but I don’t spill things that often. I have great reflexes from so many almost tumbles so can normally compensate and impress others 🙂 I could tell there might be trouble as the glass was poorly engineered. When I held it, the top felt way too heavy for the thin stem. I’d finished my meal and was going to finish the red wine and then head back to Bellavista. But it was not to be. I felt the glass tipping over but the top was too heavy to stop it from gravity and seconds later there was red wine and shattered glass everywhere. Since everything was white and either plastic or concrete, the glass broke spectacularly and it was impossible to hide my clumsiness.
The staff were spectacular and moved me to another table away from the scene of the crime while they cleaned up my mess. It seemed rude after all their effort to leave so I ordered another glass of wine. This time I made sure to sip very carefully and secure it on the table between sips rather than holding it in my hand.
It seemed a spectacularly bad end to my Chilean birthday but making a scene got me noticed by a couple of gentlemen at another table who told the server they wanted to buy me another glass of wine. I ended up joining them and having another conversation involving broken English and mobile phone translation apps. They were businessmen from the gorgeous city of Valencia in Spain and came to Santiago regularly. They were quite excited that it was my birthday and creating a scene ended up meaning another memorable birthday in a foreign city.
p.s. Also wanted to include a shout-out to Barrica 94 if you are interested in Chilean wine. There aren’t many wine bars yet in Chile so it’s hard to try a lot of things if you are only ordering a glass but here it is different as the owner has some American influence. It’s in a complex that I initially wrote off as too commercial but my visit here on my last day in Chile proved that you shouldn’t be a snob 🙂
hipster heaven
p.p.s. It’s also good to explore new neighborhoods. Brasil was full of friendly people who didn’t speak English and Barrio Italia would satisfy any hipster seeking quirky artisanal goods and services 😉
life on planetm 
the beauty at the end of the world
Patagonia is not a land for wimps. I had been drawn to visit by a travel article that made the trip to Cape Horn sound like an adventure. The Australis team is very
professional and you feel that you are in safe hands. It will be an adventure but draped in first world safety standards. Quite different to being trapped on a runaway elephant sans driver in the Thai jungle…
It was my first time on a zodiac though and I had seen enough of the Strait of Magellan by then to know I did NOT want to be in that water! First you are suited up in lifejackets. You then go through detailed instructions, which are repeated every time. It isn’t particularly difficult but you do need to follow the procedures to avoid tipping the raft. It’s an adventure for small-a adventure people. People who likely don’t swim with sharks, climb Mt Everest or paraglide over the Grand Canyon.
We all got on the zodiac without incident but everyone was pretty quiet and there wasn’t even a lot of photos being taken. No one wanted to tilt us into the Pacific Ocean. The zodiac driver employed only modest speed and tried not to scare us. I am always fascinated watching pampered first world travellers morph into greater adventurers. Even by the return trip to the ship, you could see people were relaxing on the zodiac and the driver gunned it once he knew we could handle it.
That was probably because the harder hike was indeed harder. By Navy Seal standards, a walk in a particularly pleasant park but we had been expecting something more 60+ friendly. Everyone made it but our tour leader just quickly led the way without paying too much attention if everyone was right behind her. There was enough elevation for heavy breathing and. in some places, you had to pull yourself up by grabbing a rope and making your way along its length, frequently through enough mud to destroy your footwear for any other future purpose.
There is a lot of time on the ship to chill out – or be brave and take photos in the frosty air. I did a lot of the latter. Luckily, I grew up in one of the coldest places on the planet so freezing my fingers off for a photo seems a fair trade-off.
In the afternoon, we got to put our zodiac skills to use a second time. This time we just cruised around a couple of islands admiring cormorants and penguins. It’s always amazing to see wildlife in abundance IN THE WILD in our over processed modern world. Patagonia has done a good job of maintaining its natural splendor.
cormorants posing for tourists 😉
Part of the credit goes to Doug Tompkins, one of those rare local hero types who can actually turn money made from being a good businessman to money spent actually doing something good for the entire world. He was the guy who created, along with his first wife, The North Face and Esprit. He first travelled to Patagonia in the 1960s and in 1968 did a famous trip with Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia Inc.) where they put up a new route on Mount Fitzroy. Growing disillusioned of the environmental impact of the fashion industry, he channelled his Esprit profits into conservation.
yes I know I’m cute 😉
He moved to Chilean Patagonia. At first, he explored the wilderness of the region, eventually setting up the Foundation for Deep Ecology, The Conservation Land Trust and Conservacion Patagonia. He also married Kristine McDivitt Wear who had been the CEO of Patagonia Inc. North Face meets Patagonia… quite the love story.
Not surprisingly, they both shared the same retirement goals – land conservation, environmental activism and biodiversity. Tompkins used his retail riches to buy up land in Patagonia to save it from mercantile uses. This land grab by a foreigner was regarded with suspicion by locals. He was at various points accused of being a spy, of buying up land to create a Zionist enclave, and of planning to ship Chile’s fresh water to parched lands overseas.
Instead, his goal was to turn the land into national parks working with the national governments of Chile and Argentina. It appears he has made great progress in convincing everyone that there is benefit for everyone in creating national parks in Patagonia along with wildlife protection, biodiversity and sustainable organic farming practices. It all sounds a little too good to be true but go to Patagonia and see for yourself. The end of the world is a stunningly beautiful place full of fresh air and star-studded skies.
Sadly Doug Tompkins died in 2015 while on what he thought was an easy kayaking trip with a bunch of old friends. No doubt it was probably a manner of death he would have chosen for himself. Kristine continues on their legacy and the future looks promising. According to The Guardian, the Chilean government announced the day after Tompkin’s death that Pumalín Park, one of Tompkins’ earliest acquisitions, would become a national park in March 2017 but the website suggests that it is already open.
Writing about Doug and Kristine is a great antidote to thinking about the US election and how most of the rich people spend their money. I am incredibly hard to impress but Doug Tompkins goes on the hero board. What a wonderful world it would be if this is what all billionaires did with their riches…
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life philosophy, shining examples, social commentary, travel stories
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