Besides Patagonia I also visited the North of Chile and its capitol Santiago.

San Pedro is a small, picturesque desert town with white houses. It is close to the Bolivian border and one of the tourist hotspots in Chile. Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) with its surreal landscapes and rock formations attracts most people to come here.

My buddy David was still travelling with me during the time in San Pedro. We met Enrique, a local tour guide at our hostel. He showed us around town invited us to a local party and drinks at his place. He is a great guy and we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we only spent one night in San Pedro (or San Perro how Enrique called it thanks to countless wild dogs running around).

I heard a lot of things about Santiago. Most people I got to know while travelling in South America said that it was an ugly city and there wasn’t much to do or see there. They were so wrong. Thanks to my couchsurfing hosts Johan and Leonardo I discovered the local treasures of this great city. With Johan and his friends we had BBQs and dinner parties, big nights out and much more. I even helped him out at his bar mixing Pisco Sours once. My friend Natalie who I knew from travelling in Bolivia got to Santiago as well. I had not seen her in over a month and we explored the city together. Tons of graffiti cover the walls in the streets and give the city an artistic touch.

We had coffee with legs, some mix between street food and drink I forgot the name of and way too many Terremotos (earthquakes). Terremoto is the local cocktail of Santiago and it is quite easy to mix:

TERREMOTO

  • Put 2 scoops of pineapple ice cream in a 1l glass,
  • pour wine (actually the cheapest you can get – I guess it’s a students’ drink) into the glass till it’s full
  • and cover it with 1 shot of Fernet-Branca.

Wait till the ice melts, mix it up and there you go… The world starts shaking, next-day-headache included! The official procedure is like this: First one Terremoto, then a Replica (same drink but only half a liter), after that a Tsunami (1l again). If you are not washed ashore by the time you are having the last one you should think about your drinking habits.

I want to thank all the special people I met, especially Johan and Consuelo. You will always have a place in my heart! Hugs and kisses from Vienna!

A dune in Atacama Desert, Northern Chile