A Few Highlights From Chile

So I found out that trying to start a new job abroad is quite complicated! The process of getting a visa for my job in Chile has turned out to be much longer and more complex than I imagined it would be. When I booked my flight to Santiago, my plan was to stay out there long-term, but unfortunately it was necessary for me to fly back to the UK to sort out the visa. Obviously that wasn't great for either my bank balance or the environment. Now I'm hoping I can get things sorted so I can go back and start my job as soon as possible, but it's a little unclear what's going to happen over the coming weeks and months, due to the coronavirus situation causing lots of flights to be cancelled.

Although I only had a very short amount of time in Chile, it was so nice to be there with my boyfriend again. We visited lots of places around Región Metropolitana and also managed to fit in a trip to a few places along the coast (I'll be writing about that next). I was lucky to find a great value place to stay with amazing views over the city and a really nice swimming pool.

One day, we took a trip to Chicureo, a town to the north of Santiago. Here you can find Laguna Piedra Roja, an artificial lagoon next to a shopping mall. It's a very upmarket area and looks more like the United States than Latin America. Unfortunately, swimming isn't allowed in the lagoon, but it's a really scenic place.

We stayed in the Ñuñoa commune of Santiago, a part of the city I'd never been to before, but which I liked a lot. One of the most interesting things to see there is Santiago Central Mosque. It really stands out from the other buildings in the area.

Another place I'd never visited before was Centro Cultural La Moneda, a museum inside La Moneda palace. It has many art exhibitions and shops selling interesting books and food. When we were there, an event was taking place to celebrate relations between Chile and Guatemala. There were these colourful carpets on the floor that were actually made out of sand!

On our way back to the car after visiting La Moneda, we passed through Barrio Concha y Toro, a very pretty and photogenic part of the city.

On my last day, we went to El Mundo de Dalí, Santiago's cat café! It's located in Barrio Italia, which is a great area for shops and restaurants. This was definitely one of my favourite parts of my time in Chile. The café has great vegan food and drinks, and the cats were so lovely!

Overall, I had a fantastic six days spending time with my boyfriend and his family and friends. Next I'll be blogging about our trip to Viña del Mar, Reñaca and Concón!

Buenos Aires: Day Three

I had one more day of sightseeing left in Buenos Aires before returning to Chile. So I decided to visit Recoleta cemetery, which some say is the most interesting attraction in the entire city. I don't know if I'd go that far myself, but it's certainly worth seeing, as the tombs are very elaborate and artistic. It's not dissimilar to Cementerio General in Santiago.

The neighbourhood of Recoleta, where the cemetery is located, is a really scenic (and slightly British!) place to look around.

On my way back to the metro station, I went past Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which is such a huge and impressive building. If I go back to Buenos Aires, I'd definitely like to have a look at the paintings there.

My next stop was the Palermo neighbourhood, where I planned to visit the Japanese garden. However, on my way there, I discovered another interesting place, the Ecoparque. This park recreates the nature that inhabited the area before the city was built. There are lots of animals there, which have either been rescued or are there for conservation purposes. Roaming freely around the park were dozens of Patagonian maras, a species of rodent that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a deer. They were so cute! I also got to see guanacos for the first time, which was great.

I also really enjoyed visiting the Japanese garden, which seems to be a really popular thing in South America. I've never been to one in Europe, but in Chile, there are ones in both Santiago and La Serena (which unfortunately was closed when we visited). Santiago's Japanese garden has the advantage of panoramic city views, and is free to visit! However, Buenos Aires' version is a lot bigger and is also very beautiful.

So that concludes my account of my trip to Buenos Aires. Looking at the pictures is making me wish I was back there already! I really enjoyed my time there and it was so much better than my first trip to Argentina.

Funnily enough, I was considering volunteering for a children's charity in Buenos Aires for my Year Abroad. That was after I'd considered volunteering at a dog shelter in Peru, and also after I'd considered splitting my time between working in Spain and rescuing turtles in Costa Rica... And then I made the rather spontaneous decision to study in Santiago, which I'm very happy I did! But it was great to finally visit Buenos Aires. It's a very different city to Santiago, but I love both of them. I feel like Buenos Aires is best for architecture and Santiago is best for beautiful mountainous panoramas.

I was a little sad to leave Argentina but was very happy to come back to Chile again. I'll be writing a bit about some of the new places I've seen there next!

Read about Buenos Aires: Day One here and Buenos Aires: Day Two here!