santiago shenanigans: a messy travel diary

i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. honestly i’m still half asleep from the flight and the whole city feels like a crazy collage of old stone and glass. the map below kinda shows where i’m stuck in this bowl of mountains, and yeah, the air can feel thick in winter, but i’m used to the smell of diesel mixed with distant pine. someone told me that the street food near the plaza is hit or miss, but i tried a cheap empanada from a street cart and it was actually decent, kinda like a secret handshake. the layout is a messy mix of colonial plazas and modern towers, and i keep getting lost between the Mapocho river and the endless hills that ring the city. if you get bored, [valparaiso, concepcion] are just a short drive away, so i might hop on a bus tomorrow and chase the sea breeze.

here’s a quick map i scribbled in my head, you can actually see it on the embed thing:

i snapped a couple of photos from my phone, but the internet gave me these generic unsplash shots to fill the gap. they’re not mine, but they kinda capture the vibe of a city with mountains in the background and high rise building during daytime.

the weather is this weird mix: warm sun in the day, then a cold snap when the night hits, and i’m still figuring out if i should pack a jacket or just rely on the heaters that blast all the time. i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. honestly i’m tired of trying to explain the whole “santiago is the capital” thing to people who don’t even know where chile is. the people here are friendly but super fast with their slang, and i’m still learning to keep up. the city’s rhythm is loud, traffic honks, buses scream, but there’s this quiet park near santa lucia hill where you can sit and watch the clouds roll over the andes. it’s a nice break from the grind.


i’ve been living on instant coffee and empanadas, trying not to think about how the basin traps pollution, especially when the wind doesn’t move. i’m planning a weekend trip to the ski resorts up in farellones, maybe i’ll finally see snow without having to fly abroad. someone told me that the nightlife in the lastarria area is wild, but i’m more interested in the cheap tacos and the cheap beer that taste like home.


overall, santiago feels like a place that never sleeps but also never really rests. the geography is a blessing and a curse, the people are a mix of old‑school chileans and fresh‑out‑of‑college kids, and i’m just trying to write this post while my brain is still half on vacation. stay tuned for more updates, maybe i’ll actually write a proper review next time instead of this messy brain dump.

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