March 18th, 2006, Santiago, Chile
Waking up in the comfort of a soft warm bed, with sunlight slanting in, gently lighting a space of volume and grace can cure even the most egregious ails. And as we awoke in such a state my smile and general feeling of well being was broad. We took our time that morning, and used the facilities included in our hotel bill to their fullest. Free breakfast, coffee, some sun on the roof deck and another hot shower for good measure. We packed our bags and checked out reluctantly. We did stick around however for a bit more, enjoying the comfort we'd purchased. One we were good and ready we walked down those stairs and out the door, down the block to the more budget friendly hostel we'd made reservations in the day before, Hostel San Patricio. We walked in and were delighted by the more hokey and surely less expensive atmosphere. It was around 2 p.m. and the entrance was warm, but a welcome refuge from the heat outside.
The matron came from the hall and told us "No room."
"But we have reservations" we protested.
"You must check in by noon" she told us with no small amount of disdain.
"You didn't tell us that yesterday" we replied, but to no avail. I told them "Gracias por Nada." and we left. I swore then and there to make sure that I tell the world of our mistreatment at Hostel San Patricio, and would not recommend it to anyone.
What to do next we wondered... go back to the lap of luxury? No, our wallets were not feeling that fat, and we had already been refreshed so the desire wasn't as strong. We proceeded to the internet cafe we had visited yesterday and called La Casa Roja, a backpacker's hostel according to the book, and only a block and half away. They did have room and were friendly on the phone. We hot-footed it there and check in with ease. They only had beds in a dorm style room as they call it. La Casa Roja is a party style hostel in an old colonial style mansion with the same high ceilings, but less modern refinery. It is beautiful though in it's one unique way, and it has a very lively atmosphere. We got our gear stowed and decided to head out and take in the culture of Santiago by eating lunch on Plaza Brazil.
After lunch we walked down Avenida Brazil to Avenida O'Higgins to a subway stop nearby. On the way I checked the map and noticed an interesting looking intersection nearby that we decided to check out on the way back. We took the subway to the University stop, which is also the bus terminal for south heading busses. There we bought tickets for the next day, for an overnight bus to Puerto Montt, that would get us there early on the 20th to meet Deborah and Rolf, my aunt and uncle, at Marina Del Sur to join them on their yacht Northern Light. Our destination and journey were beginning to feel like they might end, and on time too boot!
We took the subway back and walked towards the intersection I had noticed earlier. The street changed to cobblestone and the buildings began to change from a more modern flavor to colonial, and as we approached the intersection, to antique colonial with beautiful masonry and a human scale that has been abandoned by the needs and desires of modern building. The intersection was pedestrian only and had a fountain in the center, but it was small as well, perhaps 50 feet from building to building. There were benches and trees casting shade and comfort over the entire space. i was entranced and lingered as long as I could, my hands touching the stones that had been shaped and placed so purposefully and beautifully.
One of the buildings had been abandoned and appeared to be under some sort of renovation. A giant painting hung from the sill of a window on the outside, and a man was standing across the narrow street watching or waiting for something. I struck up a fragmented conversation with him and it turned out the building was being converted into a gallery for an opening one week later. We would be gone, but hopefully, back to see the finished product.
We continued to our hostel, took a nap and woke up in time to go meet our new friends. We decided to walk to Plaza Italia because we didn't know how far it was. It was FAR. All the way at the center of Santiago, Plaza Italia is a big and busy rotary, with an incredible amount of bus traffic, and is full of noises, smells, and people everywhere. It turns out Plaza Italia is a central meeting point for Chileans, and waited outside of TelePizza. I was hungry and bought one of the worst pizzas I've ever had.
We waited, and waited, and after 45 minutes had elapsed past our meeting point we decided to cross the big avenue and see if our friends weren't on the other side. As we crossed we found to our surprise and delight a Capoeira Roda (which is a game of capoeira played inside a circle of capoeiristas with music and song- if you want more information check out www.capoeiraregional.com) in progress! It is a testament to the noise and business of Plaza Italia that we didn't notice it earlier. The group turned out to be Sur De Bahia and they were very good. I was about to jump in after watching for a good 20 minutes to get a feel for how they play and how aggressive they were. However, at that same moment they switched to Samba de Roda (which is where everyone dances samba instead of playing capoeira). Oh well, but no big deal, I wasn't dressed for it anyway. We waited around for a minute and talked to some of the capoeiristas after and hoped to go to a class on our way back through Santiago after sailing.
After our friends didn't show Jojo realized she didn't have their phone numbers with her, so we took the metro back to Plaza Brazil. Santiago has a very nice metro subway system that is very easy to use and quite friendly and clean. Coincidentally a futbol match had just ended and the subway was packed with happy revelers celebrating a victory of the local team. The subway as resonating with chants and songs and everyone was radiant. The ebullient atmosphere was contagious and Jojo and I both joined in with big smiles of our own.
Once back in Plaza Brazil we found the phone numbers, but they didn't work as we found out later Diego's phone had died. Too bad for us, but we made the best of it and walked around Plaza Brazil, had a drink, and some desert and went to bed at a more reasonable hour than the night before.
The matron came from the hall and told us "No room."
"But we have reservations" we protested.
"You must check in by noon" she told us with no small amount of disdain.
"You didn't tell us that yesterday" we replied, but to no avail. I told them "Gracias por Nada." and we left. I swore then and there to make sure that I tell the world of our mistreatment at Hostel San Patricio, and would not recommend it to anyone.
What to do next we wondered... go back to the lap of luxury? No, our wallets were not feeling that fat, and we had already been refreshed so the desire wasn't as strong. We proceeded to the internet cafe we had visited yesterday and called La Casa Roja, a backpacker's hostel according to the book, and only a block and half away. They did have room and were friendly on the phone. We hot-footed it there and check in with ease. They only had beds in a dorm style room as they call it. La Casa Roja is a party style hostel in an old colonial style mansion with the same high ceilings, but less modern refinery. It is beautiful though in it's one unique way, and it has a very lively atmosphere. We got our gear stowed and decided to head out and take in the culture of Santiago by eating lunch on Plaza Brazil.
After lunch we walked down Avenida Brazil to Avenida O'Higgins to a subway stop nearby. On the way I checked the map and noticed an interesting looking intersection nearby that we decided to check out on the way back. We took the subway to the University stop, which is also the bus terminal for south heading busses. There we bought tickets for the next day, for an overnight bus to Puerto Montt, that would get us there early on the 20th to meet Deborah and Rolf, my aunt and uncle, at Marina Del Sur to join them on their yacht Northern Light. Our destination and journey were beginning to feel like they might end, and on time too boot!
We took the subway back and walked towards the intersection I had noticed earlier. The street changed to cobblestone and the buildings began to change from a more modern flavor to colonial, and as we approached the intersection, to antique colonial with beautiful masonry and a human scale that has been abandoned by the needs and desires of modern building. The intersection was pedestrian only and had a fountain in the center, but it was small as well, perhaps 50 feet from building to building. There were benches and trees casting shade and comfort over the entire space. i was entranced and lingered as long as I could, my hands touching the stones that had been shaped and placed so purposefully and beautifully.
One of the buildings had been abandoned and appeared to be under some sort of renovation. A giant painting hung from the sill of a window on the outside, and a man was standing across the narrow street watching or waiting for something. I struck up a fragmented conversation with him and it turned out the building was being converted into a gallery for an opening one week later. We would be gone, but hopefully, back to see the finished product.
We continued to our hostel, took a nap and woke up in time to go meet our new friends. We decided to walk to Plaza Italia because we didn't know how far it was. It was FAR. All the way at the center of Santiago, Plaza Italia is a big and busy rotary, with an incredible amount of bus traffic, and is full of noises, smells, and people everywhere. It turns out Plaza Italia is a central meeting point for Chileans, and waited outside of TelePizza. I was hungry and bought one of the worst pizzas I've ever had.
We waited, and waited, and after 45 minutes had elapsed past our meeting point we decided to cross the big avenue and see if our friends weren't on the other side. As we crossed we found to our surprise and delight a Capoeira Roda (which is a game of capoeira played inside a circle of capoeiristas with music and song- if you want more information check out www.capoeiraregional.com) in progress! It is a testament to the noise and business of Plaza Italia that we didn't notice it earlier. The group turned out to be Sur De Bahia and they were very good. I was about to jump in after watching for a good 20 minutes to get a feel for how they play and how aggressive they were. However, at that same moment they switched to Samba de Roda (which is where everyone dances samba instead of playing capoeira). Oh well, but no big deal, I wasn't dressed for it anyway. We waited around for a minute and talked to some of the capoeiristas after and hoped to go to a class on our way back through Santiago after sailing.
After our friends didn't show Jojo realized she didn't have their phone numbers with her, so we took the metro back to Plaza Brazil. Santiago has a very nice metro subway system that is very easy to use and quite friendly and clean. Coincidentally a futbol match had just ended and the subway was packed with happy revelers celebrating a victory of the local team. The subway as resonating with chants and songs and everyone was radiant. The ebullient atmosphere was contagious and Jojo and I both joined in with big smiles of our own.
Once back in Plaza Brazil we found the phone numbers, but they didn't work as we found out later Diego's phone had died. Too bad for us, but we made the best of it and walked around Plaza Brazil, had a drink, and some desert and went to bed at a more reasonable hour than the night before.
posted by Greenstigator at 5:27 PM
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