Santiago – Chile
Santiago del Nuevo Extremo
Just 9 days after returning from out last longer trip in Israel, and only 4 that were spending the weekend in Helsinki; here we were again but this time for a longer period, flying into one of our farthest destinations ever, Chile. Santiago, the capital, would only be the gateway and main base to a much complete program ahead of us for the next 10 days, being the highlight of the trip (and probably of any trip so far to date) reaching the farthest possible place from the nearest mainland, at almost 4000 kilometers well into the Pacific Ocean: Easter Island.
Quite an adventure and great excitement returning to South America where, let’s be honest. It feels to me like going “back” home as Spanish that I am plus I love being able to use my mother tongue in a foreign country. Chileans to our great surprise, are very friendly and welcoming people, yet for some reason, half of my friends and family who have been there before disagree on this. Never mind, I can talk from my own experience, I loved it and I cannot wait to come back hopefully soon! There is way too much more to see, north and south. From the most arid desert on earth, Atacama, to the glaciers and landscapes of Patagonia.
Santiago is a very modern city, one of the largest in South America. And if you excuse me here, one of the wealthiest. Chile is one of the richest countries in Latin America with one of the highest per-capita income. No surprise why many people is choosing to migrate over there including friends of mine, since for example the work situation in Spain (as of April 2015) is not the best after the big crisis.