Santiago Series - Food, mouth watering food

I did not have time to read up about food in Chile. What a nice surprise then to have experienced some fabulous sea food, at reasonable prices (compared to UK). I asked the hotel concierge for recommendations and they directed me to two excellent seafood restaurants, one Chilean and one Peruvian.

A chef at Acqui esta Coco, a fabulous seafood restaurant

Octopus carpaccio, yummy

Seafood medley, delicious

Picarones, a Peruvian doughnut

The restaurant place mat, featuring the owner diving off a boat

Another great experience was dining at Astrid y Gaston, a restaurant serving quality Peruvian food and I was told, has outlets in various countries in Latin America.

Cancha, Andean corn nuts

Amuse bouche, octopus samosa

Seafood on a bed of squash with Peruvian salsa

Seared tuna with quinoa wrapped in banana leaf

But I must not forget the cafe next to the office where I went for lunch. It was a place that sells sandwiches, cakes, soups, hot food in small cartons, juices and drinks, and pizzas. Reading the shelf labels was a good way for me to learn some basic Spanish. On the second day I suffered from altitude sickness and was only able to manage a juice and a soup. The young staff there were delightful.

Caprioli cafe, Santiago 

Welcome freebie from hotel

Santiago Series - Memories of a charming city

This was such a fleeting visit, without any time to explore a city that I found oozing with European charm. More importantly, I felt safe to walk to the restaurant at night and back on my own without fear of being mugged. Is safety a reliable measurement of a city? Well to me it is. Travelling solo and in constant fear of being mugged does not engender any sense of enjoyment. Another solo female traveler from Bogota Colombia said this to me at Peru: "I've stopped wearing any jewelry since I no longer have to worry about being robbed." Santiago on the surface is clean, orderly, with good roads, and looks relatively prosperous, very different from a capital city like Sau Paulo where the dispossessed sleep in the rough in the city centre. The Pinochet years seemed a long time ago.

All the photos in this blog were taken on my iPhone 6 plus.

View from the office

Another view from the office

Yet another view from the office

They put me on the 24th floor of the office where there was a commanding view of the surrounding area. I loved the view although less so the isolation.

View of the city on the way to work 

Calle Santa Magdelene where I stayed

Santiago on a wet and chilly Sunday winter morning

One of the pleasant memories from this trip is the speed and efficiency of my departure from the airport. I was able to use the priority check in of LAN Chile on the first floor - no queues, all smiles and a quick exit. The service really put British Airways so-called "Fast Track" at London Heathrow to shame. 

LAN Chile priority check in at Santiago de Chile (SCL) airport. No queues!

A LAN flight being serviced at SCL airport

LAN Chile frequent flyer lounge at SCL airport

LAN Chile's lounge is spacious, modern, clean, and an oasis of calm. Wifi was excellent and I was able to clear some emails and have FaceTime chats with my loved one without encountering the dreaded error message of "Reconnecting". This was truly a refreshing experience after weeks on the road, encountering hostile and uncaring airport staff, endless security and customs checks, mile long immigration queues, and being herded into waiting areas by some screaming officials at Miami airport.