Santiago, Chile

This was my third attempt at Santiago.

 

My first occurred in 2004 after spending a year in Brazil and Argentina. I had definitive plans to visit the country of Chile but my wanderlust had dissipated and I was beginning to feel the guilt of a societal outcast. Ultimately, I decided it was time reembrace the matrix and return to the working world. The second attempt occurred in 2021 during the peak of Covid while I was exploring the fascinating city of Arequipa, Peru, a short flight away from the Chilean capital. In fact, I had already purchased the ticket and was set to fly south when Chile through up a wall to all non-residents. Unfortunately, this terminated my chance at seeing Santiago. But 2023 was different. The country had opened up to visitors and I was staying two hours east with multiple flights daily. As the saying goes, third times a charm!

 

Santiago lies in the middle of Chile, a country that occupies the long narrow stretch of land along the western shores of South Americas lower half. The capital city is home to 8 million showcasing dramatic views of the Andes to the East and easy access to the Pacific driving west. Admittedly, I was a little reluctant to leave Buenos Aires after spending many weeks with Aurelie and friends so it took a little time to embrace my new city. Fortunately, I discovered a treasure trove of graffiti and wall art while canvassing the gritty streets of Santiagos historic center and this became a daily focus for the length of my visit. Unfortunately, most of the images were in very poor condition but at days end, I was able to capture one or two gems for potential application.

 

Overall, this was not a particularly memorable month of travel. Santiago is a fine city to visit with plenty of history, dramatic views and indigenous culture to embrace but it never captured my spirit to an extent that encouraged a return. So, I began to work north for an annual pilgrimage with my 91-year-old mother along the shores of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. An inexpensive flight to Bogota provided an ideal first leg of travel where I spent a couple weeks revisiting what I had discovered in February followed by eighteen additional days discovering beautiful white powdered beaches of the Mexican Rivera in the Yucatan Peninsula. From there, Minnesota was in reach, a short four hours north.

 

What a year!

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