This is a generalization about Chile. It is based on the approximately 100 hours we spent there—60 in Santiago and 40 in Valparaíso—bookending the much more generous two weeks we allotted the other side of the Andes, in our familiar Argentina. So I'm sorry, Chile, for the short straw and utter lack of preparation beforehand. I don't think I had ever gone to a country knowing less about it.
My rationalization of this ignorance was that maybe it would allow us to observe Chilean culture with fewer preconceptions. If we asked broad questions, maybe the most important, most interesting, and proudest information would be volunteered first. Within two hours of arriving in Santiago, two Chileans reassured us, independently and unsolicitedly, that the police there are not corrupt. Those statements were injected seamlessly between neighborhood descriptions and bus terminal locations. All in the category of Good To Know, I suppose.
 |
| This is the Santiago skyline, also the police are not corrupt. |
I can guess that those reassurances say something about Chile's recent history, but I won't pretend to know enough to draw any connections. And they were only subtle mentions. Overall, our interactions with Chileans were not at all defensive and overwhelmingly friendly. They smiled, joked with us, rushed to our aid when they noticed us looking at a map.
It's not true that I arrived in Chile with no preconceptions whatsoever. I had heard mixed reviews about Santiago, that it was a big, safe city that could use more character. I had heard that Chile was an organized country that planned for the future, making it somewhat of an oddball in Latin America (someone else's words, not mine). I had heard those things, so I was rewarded with some confirmation bias. For example, here is something I could never imagine seeing in Buenos Aires:
 |
| The sign is written in Spanish, but not Porteño Spanish. |
In Santiago, not only does there exist a sign that tells turning vehicles to respect the pedestrian right-of-way, drivers will sometimes actually heed it! Yielding to pedestrians may not seem like much, but it's a shock when you're used to playing Frogger on the streets of BA.
While Santiago may have confirmed expectations of an orderly, suburban, buttoned-up Chile, Valparaíso defied them all.
 |
| Not the suburbs. |
Windy, hilly, riddled with street art and allusions to Pablo Neruda, Valparaíso is crazy in a good way. Funiculars are a practical form of everyday travel. Neighborhoods are designated by the hills they sit on. Navigating the labyrinths of colorful alleys becomes a worthwhile way to spend a day or three. It's heavily industrial and whimsically artistic at the exact same time.
 |
| Fog in the morning gives way to views in the evening. |
 |
| I think we were supposed to turn left at the polygonal elephant... |
I know what you're thinking now: "Okay, Chile has contrast, but does it have dulce de leche?" The answer is yes. And, not to be outdone by their neighbor, they are also famous for their tres leches cake—that's right, three times the leche. How do these lactoses stack up with Argentina's? We did some field research one morning.
 |
| We'll call it a tie. Yep, this was breakfast. |
Chile, we will return, hopefully with more context and more time. You're worth the trip across the Andes.
 |
| Even when it looks like this. |