After working for straight weeks I decided to unwind in South America and I chose Santiago, Chile because it was one of the city in my to-go-list. Judging from the pictures I saw on Google.com, Santiago is a perfect getaway now that it is Autumn in the south pole.
I left Los Angeles via an AeroMexico flight and had a few hours layover in Mexico City then the 8-hour flight to Santiago had ensued. It was a quiet and uneventful flight and I was lucky that the seat beside me was vacant so I can stretch myself better and had a good rest during the flight.
I was totally beat up that time because I had worked for six straight nights and I was very tired and had slept real good in the plane. They served us two meals one before taking off and one before landing in Santiago. I arrived at 1900H in Santiago and it was really cold.
The 30-minute drive from the airport to the hotel was very long and my excitement was up to the brim. I arrived at the hotel safely so I immediately checked in and then went up to the room in 6th floor. It was a nice and decent hotel. I cannot complain anymore. I was so tired so I went to sleep.
The following day I woke up with a call from a guy telling me that he was downstairs waiting for me. I realized I have signed up for a tour around the city. I told the guy that I had forgotten about it and asked him to wait for me for a bit while I was changing.
I went down after changing and met Rodrigo who is my guide for the day. He was very approachable and accommodating. He introduced himself and then he drove me around Santiago highlighting to me the key areas, important streets, and landmarks of the city.
He brought me to Isadora district where the chains of hotels were located, to the Plaza del Armas where the colonial areas of the city is; brought me to see the Santiago Cathedral and Palacio de la Moneda which is the official residence and office of the President of Chile; drove me near Rio Mapuche which was dry at that time, made me hike at Cerro Santa Lucia, overlooking the city skyline of Santiago and lastly brought me to Cerro San Cristobal which apparently was close at that moment because of renovations.
The trip was very educational and I learned a lot about the set-up of the city and gave me a bird's eye view of the city. The tour lasted for four hours and I was tired after it was done. When Rodrigo drop me off at the hotel, I ran to my room, changed, then went back to sleep.
