Cristal's by the bottle...

First, a quick hip-hop PSA: this is what you get when you order Cristal in Santiago.

You're welcome.

I was only in Chile's capital for two days but that was plenty of time to develop a serious crush on this gorgeous metropolis. I stayed at the Happy House Hostel in Barrio Brasil, an eclectic hostel in an equally eclectic spot. From there, it was easy to explore the city on foot.

Barrio Bellavista

First stop: Barrio Bellavista. After a quick wander around the neighborhood, I took a tour of La Chascona. Pablo Neruda built this house for his then-mistress and named it after her wild curly hair. Sadly, just days before Neruda died, Pinochet's soldiers trashed the house, burning his books and flooding many of the rooms. The library was reconstructed, but many of the current furnishings were moved from one of Neruda's other houses. It was terrible to stand in those rooms and realize how thuggish and short-sighted people can be, destroying a beautiful home belonging to one of Chile's greatest poets simply because he was a communist. And it is chilling to remember that such desecration happened so recently, just a few years before I was born.

The view from Cerro San Cristobal

From there, it was on to happier things. A ride up the funicular railway to the top of Cerro San Cristobal to see all of Santiago laid out before me. Then a quick stop at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (museums are free on Sundays!) before visiting Cerro Santa Lucia. It was apparently a monastery, then a military bastion, and now it's a glorious park.

Cerro Santa Lucia

Too soon, it was time to leave. But what a way to leave! Eight hours on a bus crossing the Andes into Mendoza, Argentina. My soundtrack was the excellent Givers album "In light". "Up, Up Up" has never been more appropriate.

Crossing the Andes

Crossing the Andes