Santiago: Mountains, Smog, and Pastel de Choclo (a rambling report)
okay, so. santiago. chile. it’s…a lot. i’m still processing, honestly. i’ve got this weird uuid floating around in my head - 6bc31cbe-2c7e-4bec-ac35-0f1206890d48 - don’t ask. it just popped up. anyway, the place is sprawling. like, seriously sprawling. it’s all crammed into this basin between the andes and some other range - the coastal range, i think? - which is pretty dramatic, i guess. you get these amazing views of the mountains, but then you also get…well, we’ll get to that.
founding date is 1541, apparently. some spanish dude named pedro de valdivia decided to build a city here. seems ambitious, considering it’s so far inland. but they built it along a river - the mapocho - and somehow made it a trade hub. rail lines and highways and everything. it’s kind of impressive, in a ‘how did they manage this?’ sort of way.
the geography is…interesting. they’re getting water from the maipo river for everything - agriculture, power, you name it. apparently, there are river canyons you can go to for recreation. i didn’t make it there, to be honest. too tired. and the climate…oh, the climate. it’s supposed to be a “temperate semi-arid mediterranean climate.” which sounds nice, right? warm, dry summers, cooler, wetter winters. but it’s shifting, apparently. climate change is turning it into a semi-desert. less rain, hotter summers, more wildfires, floods, landslides…the whole shebang. i just checked and it’s 23.76°c right now, feels like 24.65°c, humidity is 94%, pressure is 1015, sea level is 1015, ground level is 978. hope you like that kind of thing.
and the pollution. seriously, the pollution is bad. like, oecd-bad. the basin traps all the traffic and industrial emissions. it’s especially bad in the winter. someone told me that you can barely see the mountains some days. i can believe it. i coughed a lot.
if you get bored, valparaíso and concepción are just a short drive away. apparently, they border argentina too, across the andes. that seems…ambitious for a day trip. the population is around 5.5 million in the metro area. mostly spanish-speaking. it’s the most populated region in the country, which makes sense, i guess.
there are touristy things, of course. the andes mountains - ski resorts and hiking. the mapocho river (canalized, apparently). vineyards. wine country. chile is known for its wine, so that’s a plus. i did try some pastel de choclo. it was…okay. kind of like a corn pie. the food is generally mediterranean-influenced, apparently. lots of fresh seafood, too, but i didn’t have any. i was too busy trying to breathe.
apparently, there aren’t any famous people from santiago specifically listed in the search results. just…politicians and poets like pablo neruda (though he’s more associated with chile in general). i’m not sure what that says about the city, honestly.
transportation is a nightmare. traffic is insane. they have “sophisticated systems,” but it still feels chaotic. and the elevation…it’s only mild, but i definitely felt it a little. just a slight headache and shortness of breath. nothing major, but worth noting if you’re not used to it.
it’s a weird place, santiago. beautiful in some ways, really striking with those mountains, but also…challenging. the pollution, the traffic, the climate change…it’s a lot to take in. it’s got this dramatic mountain bowl setting, which is undeniably cool, and fertile wine country, but it’s also grappling with some serious issues. i’m glad i went, i think. but i’m also glad to be leaving. and i’m definitely bringing a face mask with me. oh, and another uuid popped up: 3492914. what is happening?
and one last thing - another number: 1214985348. i don't know why i'm writing this down.
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