Seymours in Santiago: Part 3

Our final day in Chile was also our departure day, since we flew out on an 11:30 p.m. flight. We wanted to take advantage of the time, but we were also getting a bit weary of being on the go!

We started off with brunch, heading to a restaurant that Clare’s host brother had recommended and that she and her friend Alyssa (who joined us) were eager to try. We took the metro to yet another new (to us) area, and it was cool to see some of the main thoroughfares blocked off for bikers and walkers (it being Sunday). When we got to the restaurant, it looked that we would be out of luck, not having a reservation. But, our luck held out, because a reservation of our size failed to show up, so we snagged their table out on the charming patio. We enjoyed a delicious brunch, and then it was time to part ways with Clare, who needed to go study.

The four of us made our way to Cerro San Cristobal, a popular tourist site known for its gondola to the top, as well as a zoo, etc. Let’s just say that Sunday afternoon in November is NOT the time to attempt this. It was hot, the lines were long, and we just were not feeling it. So, we made our way back to our apartment to chillax. With its airy living room and a balcony porch the length of the apartment, this was not a bad place to hang out!

We eventually walked to the nearby mall for a late lunch/early dinner at PF Chang’s (so many American chains at these malls!), and ultimately packed up and headed to the airport. We thankfully had smooth, uninterrupted travels and arrived home safe and sound early on Monday morning. We were ready to be home, but what a wonderful trip!

Seymours in Chile: Day Trip to Valparaiso

Based on both Clare’s suggestion as well as the prospect of seeking cooler temps, we opted to spend our Saturday along the coast, in the city of Valparaiso. It was a very easy 90-minute ride on a very nice, two-story bus. The bus stop in Valparaiso wasn’t in the nicest part of town, but we quickly navigated to the local metro and ultimately the more touristy (and interesting) part of the city. 

One of the first orders of business, once we had arrived, was to find some lunch. We took one of the cool funiculars up the steep hills and found an Italian restaurant that faced the coast. It didn’t have the advertised pizza, but we managed to get a good meal anyway.

After lunch, we made our way back down to the city square where the walking tour that Clare recommended congregated. The tours are offered without paid tickets, relying solely on tips that we pay at the end. For a two-and-a-half hour tour, that’s a pretty interesting premise - but it was one that paid off!

Our guide was engaging, charismatic, and knowledgeable. We learned about the history of the port in Valparaiso (which is a very big city, by the way); some of the political history; and a fascinating focus on the extensive amount of murals. All five of us really enjoyed it - it was unlike anything we’d done thus far.

We treated ourselves to some of the delicious gelato offered throughout the touristy area, and then boarded the bus back to Santiago. We might have missed our original stop, but navigated our way pretty easily and concluded the day with a delicious pizza dinner at a bustling restaurant. A full, great day!

Seymours in Chile: Santiago Part 2

The day after Thanksgiving, Clare had school, so it was a great opportunity to meet her there and see where she spends so much of her time. It was also a great opportunity to sleep in and start the day a bit more slowly than we’d been able to do thus far.

We successfully navigated our way via the metro to the San Joaquin campus of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. (It was helpful that the metro stop was right across the street from the school.) We timed it perfectly, and Clare came to find us and showed us around. Just like seeing her host family’s home, it was so great to get a visual of her school life. 

From here, we split into boys and girls. The girls, directed largely by Laura’s interest, headed to have lunch at Wonderland Cafe. Clare had been once already, and raved about the delicious tea and the incredible decor, all inspired by Alice in Wonderland. We had a great time.

The cafe was located a short walk to Cerro Santa Lucia, which combines park, panoramic vistas of the city, and historic buildings, so we headed there after lunch. MANY stairs were involved, but they were worth the views!

From here we headed back to our respective home bases so that Clare could get some clothes and catch up on some work.

Meanwhile, the guys covered an impressive amount of city sights throughout Santiago. Not everything was open, but they did manage to take an official tour of Pablo Neruda’s home, which earned Danny some brownie points with his AP Lit teacher. They also found their way to Cerro Santa Lucia!

We ended the day together with a delicious, if slightly quirky, dinner in an as-yet-unexplored (for us) part of the city. Although we thought we had reserved a table at this restaurant’s acclaimed outside patio, we wound up with a table that placed us on display for the indoor patrons. While it was a bit odd, it led to a lot of laughs, too!

Seymours in Chile: Thanksgiving

We returned to Santiago the morning of Thanksgiving, just in time to celebrate with Clare and her ND classmates at her host family’s house. Although we had anticipated that our Thanksgiving in Chile would be far from traditional, it turns out the ND kids planned and executed a classic - and delicious - feast!

Since they had school that day, we gathered that evening. The weather was sunny and lovely, so the outdoor space was the perfect place to party. Nearly all of the students came, plus Felipe, the liaison between ND and Pontificia Universidad who was tremendously helpful as Clare navigated the engineering courses. It was a very merry group!

Pancho (Clare’s host brother) was determined to spend more time talking to us, which was nice but also challenged my Spanish speaking skills. Fortunately he was happy to do most of the talking!

We ended the evening with full hearts (and stomachs), grateful for the experience of both family and new friends.

Seymours in Chile: Patagonia

Bright and early on Monday morning, the four of us headed to the airport to fly to Puerto Natales in Patagonia. Chile is fascinating in that it has such a wide variety of terrains, and although it doesn’t seem like a huge country, it was a 3-hour flight from Santiago to Puerto Natales.

You could nearly see our resort from the Puerto Natales airport, so that was a blissfully short drive once we arrived. The Singular was a five-star experience in every aspect, and a really interesting facility, too: It’s a converted factory from the 1800s, and the architect was careful to preserve as much of the original footprint as possible. Lots of glass with views of the brick and antique equipment beyond. 

And our rooms! Each had a picture window overlooking the Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) Sound. Breathtaking. However, our rooms weren’t ready for us when we arrived, so left our bags and took a taxi into the town to get some lunch and wander around. We had a delicious pizza lunch, based on the recommendation of the concierge at The Singular, and then we poked around the various shops - at least, the ones that were open. Turns out they embrace the siesta concept I’ve always associated with Spain. 

Eventually we opted to walk back to the hotel, which took about 45 minutes. It was a lovely day, and a nice way to get some fresh air. We then indulged in the fabulous showers that each room offered, and ultimately made our way to the fireside lounge and dinner. 

The next day we set out on our first of two excursion days, this one with all four of us. The plan was that a guide and driver from the hotel would take us on two short hikes in the Torres del Paine Park, with an alfresco lunch in between. The park was about a 90-minute drive from the hotel, but it was very picturesque, and we saw wildlife including condors and guanacos (a native Chilean llama). 

We quickly navigated the first hike, and Nico (our guide) told us we walked about twice as fast as his groups normally do. This is probably a good time to mention that we were definitely the youngest residents of the hotel! Since we weren’t quite ready for lunch (which they had already set up for us picnic style), they swiftly packed it up and we headed to our next hiking destination, about 30 minutes away.  

It turns out this was far enough away to have different weather - the wind had really kicked in, and Laura was not a fan. In fact, it was so windy that they park rangers shut down the trail, so we weren’t able to do our second hike. We walked a few minutes to see a beautiful waterfall, but it was VERY windy and chilly, so we did not linger. We made our way back to the hotel, stopping for a couple of scenic views along the way.

Since we returned early, Laura and I headed to the spa pool, which was really cool. It was set along a window overlooking the sound, and there was an indoor/outdoor component that we both took advantage of. From there we had another luxurious evening in the fireside lounge and dining room.

For our second day of excursions, we split up. Tim and Danny set out on an ambitious 16-mile hike in the Torres del Paine Park, on a quest to conquer the base towers. Laura and I, meanwhile, set off of a catamaran to sail through the fjord and see glaciers - with a barbecue lunch on a ranch (or estancia) on the way back.

Thankfully, Tim and Danny got a gorgeous day for their hike, and while it was extremely rigorous, they did it and were rewarded with some stunning views. This hike was a portion of the W Trek that Clare and her friends did on their spring break back in October, and it gave us all much more appreciation for the intensity of her experience. 

Laura and I also really enjoyed our day, making friends from our hotel on the boat, getting up close to a pretty incredible glacier. The barbecue on the way back was absolutely delicious, too - Laura gobbled 4 lamb chops along with a chorizo, much to the amusement of our hotel friends/table mates.

We enjoyed one final evening of dining at The Singular - and Laura enjoyed some celebrity as our table mates came up to meet the guys and to thank Laura for alerting them that they could, in fact, order lamb chops despite them not being listed on the menu. (We got that tip from our first guide.) We all agreed that Patagonia was a pretty spectacular place!

Seymours in Chile: Santiago Part 1

As soon as Clare committed to spending the fall semester of her junior year in Santiago, Chile, we decided we would visit her for our Thanksgiving break. Partly because this is a good time to go as far as Danny’s and Laura’s schedules are concerned, and partly because Tim has fond memories of his parents visiting him for Thanksgiving during our semester abroad.

Given that Chileans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we knew Clare would have limited time to spend with us during the school week. So we chose to break our visit into three parts: A weekend in Santiago, a trip to Patagonia for a few days, and then a few more days (including Thanksgiving itself) back in Santiago. 

We departed Atlanta on Friday night, and arrived in Santiago bright and early Saturday morning (it’s about a 9-hour flight). We went straight to our Airbnb, a condo on the 12th floor of a building overlooking Araucano Park. Clare met us here, and we walked to the nearby (and very nice) mall for some food. After that, we hopped on the metro and explored some of our surrounding Las Condes area.

We returned to the condo for much-needed naps (or homework, in Clare’s case), and then ventured out again. This time we wandered to an artisan market and then grabbed drinks and a snack at another mall. Santiago takes their malls pretty seriously! We enjoyed beautiful views of the Andes while we sipped and chatted. From there Clare went to a friend’s birthday party, and the four of us returned to the mall near our condo for an alfresco dinner. 

Sunday morning we met up with Clare for a great breakfast in a swanky part of town (El Golf), and then headed out for more sightseeing. We had some time constraints, as we would be heading to have a late lunch with Clare’s host family at their house, so we quickly realized we didn’t have time for Clare’s proposed outing. We hopped back on the metro to explore something closer…and that’s when Tim’s wallet got stolen. Thankfully he still had his phone, so a few quick phone calls/app visits canceled the cards. Overall it wasn’t that disruptive, but it did rattle us for a bit. Nevertheless, we rallied in order to be in good spirits for the big meeting with Clare’s host family (and we had to go buy wine!).

Clare wasn’t certain how this meeting would go, since language had the potential be a big barrier. Turns out more of her extended family speak English than she realized - and Danny and I made good efforts with our Spanish, too! We met Carmen, her host mom, and Pancho, her host brother who lives with Carmen; Francisco, the dad (and Carmen’s ex-husband); Mida (?) and Martina, the host granddaughters; Teri, host daughter, and her husband (can’t recall his name); and a random neighbor! We sat outside in the enclosed patio area and had a great time getting to know everyone a bit. We also got to see Clare’s room, etc. - it’s always nice to get a visual on where people live!

Things eventually wound down, and we made our way to Sky Costanera, the largest building in South America! We headed to the top for some pretty incredible 360-degree views. Several of Clare’s fellow ND students decided to check it out as well, so many photo shoots ensued. 

Eventually, the five of us made our way to a nearby French restaurant for a delicious dinner (and record-breaking dessert consumption). From there we parted ways until we returned from our Patagonian adventure!