It had been seven years since the last time I was in Chile. I’ve never been particularly fond of Santiago despite spending a month there in 2016 and passing through in 2005 on my way to Tierra del Fuego. That being said, I realize that I have never really done Santiago “right.” I’ve stayed in inconvenient neighborhoods and not really taken advantage of the features of the city that so many locals enjoy. Since I am spending an increasing amount of time in South America, and Santiago is such a convenient hub for launching into Patagonia and other destinations up and down Chile, it would be really convenient if I could find a reason to want to come back, for longer and make Santiago part of my regular rotations, like Bogotá and Mexico City. So when I was leaving Mexico, en route to Brazil, I took the opportunity to stop over in Santiago for three days.
I only had three nights, so I picked a new neighborhood to stay in, Providencia, in hopes of experiencing a new side of the city. I found Providencia for working and staying. Lots of hustle and bustle of morning work commuters, plenty of restaurants and bars to visit, and even a nearby gym at the end of the block where I could get daily workouts in for $8, which is really inexpensive for a daily pass. Unfortunately, I had a busy work week and spent the majority of my time working from the rental apartment. My meals consisted of bananas from a corner convenience store and a rotisserie chicken carcass I picked away at in between sessions concentrating on my laptop. If I did this from Denver, Colorado I would have not enjoyed it, but somehow being in a new neighborhood in a different city and country, makes this sort of mundane thing feel like an adventure. I guess that’s one thing I like most about my lifestyle — even mundane things feel adventurous when you are someplace else.
