So I've been back in Santiago for over a week now and for once I'm happy that my intuition was wrong, and the week has been full as ever. One of the highlights definitely was catching up with Nina, one of those I call my international friends. After all, a German and a Latvian, becoming friends in New Zealand and eventually catching up in Chile does sound international, right? Thanks to her I also got to know Almut and Agnesa, two amazing and curious volunteers exploring Santiago and Chile 24/7.
It is thanks to them we went to dpc or Día de Patrimonio Cultural, which was just a bunch of awesome events all over Santiago. I finally got to know barrios Brasil, Yungay and Concha & Toro, all of which remind me of Europe, of its calm grandeur, architecture and whispers of history inviting me further. For once my European soul has been solaced, Santiago is beautiful!
The highlight of the day was a visit to Cerro Blanco, a hill in the commune of Recoleta, where the indigenous tribes of Chile, including Mapuche, held their spiritual ceremonies before the arrival of conquistadores. Nowadays it doesn't have much to do with it, the community is rather a group of people trying to return to the era of harmony through spirituality and meditation. Now, it might seem exciting (and it definitely is, on the one hand), but listening to a self-proclaimed spiritual leader, explaining the philosophy and mixing the concepts of Andine philosophies, Hindu chakras and more, left me confused. It was continued by visiting a group of middle-aged ladies looking exactly like that one divorced señora we all have seen in our neighbourhood, dressed up like a gypsy, having her tall and curly hair free in the wind, consistently speaking about the force of nature and inner harmony. Now, the culmination came at the end of one song (it went something like "I chose to be born, I chose to live, thank you, Mother Nature, for everything I own..."), when we were asked to shout in the air, freeing our souls... Imagine a 50+ year old lady, palms open to the sky, eyes in the sun and.. arribarrrrrribalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
No matter how strange and fake it seemed to some (you could tell when the people left or refused to participate), the eyes, faces and impression of all these people really was a thing. They are completely sure of what they believe in, and, after all, getting back to nature, regaining some spirituality and giving up stress is what we all need, right? The whole experience made me wonder, if it were the strange ceremonies, the trendy mix of world's philosophies, or the irrelevant setting, or my own reluctance to accept other views (and open myself to them), that left that one aftertaste full of uncertainty and questions.
I can only tell that in the last ceremony, pretending to meditate and see colours, when indicating the body part I felt most tense, the leader named just that one thing, issue, problem, you-name-it I've been worried about for some time now. I'm keeping it to myself, but the coincidence is startling. Was it a coincidence?
Too bad you'll have to imagine (or google) Santiago yourselves, since my camera, the always present companion, has left me for a short time because of an emotional breakdown after the South trip... in Canon service centre. Fingers crossed for me being able to share the best of Santiago with you soon!
Some of other memorable moments included a visit to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, two amazingly beautiful and different cities by the Pacific, with Agnesa and Almut. Valpo is what Chile was 80 years ago, coloured houses on the hills, bohéme, music, poetry, sun and unstoppable desire to live.
It has got its own romance. Before Panama channel Valpo was the largest port of South America, reflected in the grand Art Nouveau mansions and the intellectual heritage of the city (Pablo Neruda, guys). Now most of this is lost, and only abandoned ruins and music remind of what Valpo used to be. And, yet, wandering around the city and getting lost made me feel as if I was casting for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. A frightening moment occurred, when after at least three "you better get out of here" and "guard your belongings" we saw a dead rat lying on the pavement. A señor started excitingly "Sale! Sale!" (or "Leave! Leave!"), scaring us and, right when having turned away...
Bang!
The rat was gone, and we were hurriedly heading of for the city centre.
We ended the day in Viña del Mar, a city right next to Valpo, a whole different setting.
I can't really say I enjoyed the scenery, but the contrast was dazzling. Not only the high, grey apartment building opposed to the coloured hills of Valpo, it's the quicos, the wealthiest part of the society, parading down the seashore and showing off with arrogant smile, that made my mouth stay wide open.
The sunrise in Viña was the perfect urban landscape.
Did I tell you that the speed limit on highways is 120 kph? And even that seems insufficient, when it comes to the straight, perfect roads and an amazing car. Speaking from experience! That one trip and the sense of speed is definitely worth a mention.
Last week also goes down in history due to blisters on my feet after long walks (and longer conversations) with some amazing people, peeking in the making of to-be television stars and Uni Católica student spirit, endless cumbia (that's a dance, by the way) in the party-forever barrio Bellavista, sunrise over the Andes after far too short sleep before AFS Santiago Selección, bunch of fun activities needed to evaluate the students (and volunteers having amazing time), and the happiness of using the kitchen for gastronomic experiments.
And, still, the moment of the week belongs to that one sight down Apoquindo, the central business street with glass skyscrapers, glazing orange, yellow and read in the sunset, bright moon just at the tip of the Andes, the sound of the bike wheels taking me home and me, for the first time fully and completely realizing - I love my Santiago.
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