Our first stop was the capital, Santiago. We flew over part of the Andes on our way there, which was absolutely breathtaking. Santiago was a pleasant surprise because we had zero expectations. Our trip was so spontaneous that we didn't have time to research the cities we planned to visit, we didn't even choose our hostel until we got there. We also decided not to buy a guide book, but to make up our own stories about the city's history. So to all the santinguino historians out there, I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure Liz's and my creative fabrications are more interesting than yours (Note: I have no idea if a Santiago resident is called a santinguino, but it seemed like a great guess.)
Anyway...if you know Liz and me, you know that if you point us in the direction of a cafe, we will find it, spend an entire day there doing absolutely nothing, and be perfectly content. We got to Santiago, found a hotel, walked around the main streets, and found our first cafe, where we insisted on receiving Spanish menus but annoyed the waiters with thousands of vocabulary questions. The Chileans were much friendlier than the Argentines. They let us annoy them for 
15 minutes before they brought out a menu in English, and when we wanted to know what "arvejas" were this cute old man brought out a bowl of them to show us and we learned that they were green peas! After our delicious lunch we walked through this fairy-tale like park that took us to the top of a hill to get a better view of the city. Obviously, we came up with a very interesting story to explain the presence of this park in the middle of the city and for some reason it involved Rapunzel. The view of the city was really impressive, we could make out the outline of the Andes in the background, but the smog made it hard to see the actual mountains. Afterwards, we found a traditional, local fruit market and wandered around there for a while.
15 minutes before they brought out a menu in English, and when we wanted to know what "arvejas" were this cute old man brought out a bowl of them to show us and we learned that they were green peas! After our delicious lunch we walked through this fairy-tale like park that took us to the top of a hill to get a better view of the city. Obviously, we came up with a very interesting story to explain the presence of this park in the middle of the city and for some reason it involved Rapunzel. The view of the city was really impressive, we could make out the outline of the Andes in the background, but the smog made it hard to see the actual mountains. Afterwards, we found a traditional, local fruit market and wandered around there for a while.Then,we made a new discovery! Mote con huesillo. Chile's famous drink
that we didn't know existed, but a woman on the street informed us that we had to try it. Here is wikipedia's description....
that we didn't know existed, but a woman on the street informed us that we had to try it. Here is wikipedia's description...."It is made from husked wheat (mote), mixed with sun-dried peaches (huesillo) that have been rehydrated in water for hours. The water in which the peaches were rehypdrated is mixed with some sugar, and the wheat is mixed in a glass with the peaches and the peach-flavored sweetened water. The drink is usually sold on streets, from carts and stands, during the summertime. The industrial preparation of this drink has had only partial success in Chile."
If you're thinking "what???" that would be a pretty similar reaction to ours. We sat on the side of the street eating/drinking this strange concoction of chunky peach ice-tea with a bulgur wheat, corn-like substance sinking to the bottom feeling both intrigued and confused. We're still not sure if we enjoyed it, even though we finished the whole glass. We decided some nut-job accidentally poured rice into his ice-tea, called it mote and brainwashed his neighbors into thinking it was a delicious refreshment - that's the best we could come up with.
Our only night in Santiago began and ended with a vat, oh sorry I meant pitcher, of Sangria, and Liz and I giggling until an early 3 am. ;)
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