After an unforgettable and beautiful week in the very splendid Patagonia, the southern most part of South America, we unwillingly flew back to Santiago, capital of Chile. We sorely missed Patagonia - the glaciers, mountains, green lakes, flamingoes, foxes, rabbits, guanacos, ñandus, predator birds, penguins, fresh cool air, clean and tree-lined streets, quaint houses with sloping roofs, friendly people, and the feeling of being at the end of the world. Being in Santiago made us miss Patagonia even more. Santiago is the considered one of most the modern cities in South America, and probably one of the most expensive. With all that come the usual problems of big cities: excessive pollution, noise and smog.

Having said that, there are a lot of nice things to see in Santiago. Here is the fountain at the base of Cerro Santa Lucia.

From the top you can see a panoramic 360 view of Santiago with the Andes surrounding it. It’s hard to see the Andes though because of the thick fog, and in this picture to the left you would barely notice the Andes if it weren’t for the snow-capped mountains.

And there I am, with the sun shining so bright in my face that if I didn’t wear my sunglasses I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes open.

One of the “must-see” neighborhoods in Santiago is Bellavista. Although from what we saw during the day, it seemed highly overrated and looked a bit like a tourist trap without much bling. Maybe at night when the construction work along the streets isn’t so noticeable, and when the lights from the many pubs and bars (like the one above) are on, it might look better.

Another must-see part of town is the Plaza de Armas, with its large cathedral (as seen in the above picture) and the classic-looking post office (below).

The street scene at Plaza de Armas is lively with street artists, performers, and we even saw several self-styled “preachers” competing for followers on different corners by seeing who could shout the loudest.

Not to be outdone by the shouting, there was a group holding a chess competition in near silence at the center of the plaza.

Watching it all was this abstract sculpture of a face with only one good eye who must have had a hard time seeing the dancers below. Maybe that’s why he was craning his neck the way he was

Here is some of the traditional “fast” food they sell in Santiago. Notice the pizzas covered in steak slices, the hot dogs with avocado (vienesa italiana) and the steak sandwiches with green beans (chacarero)?

We decided to try the unhealthy but delicious chorillano. A mix of fried eggs, fried beef, chorizo sausages, hotdogs and fries. It’s bound to raise your cholesterol levels, but hey, if you try it once it won’t kill you