There are a lot of people in Santiago, walking on the wide streets throughout the day. It’s an urban scene, with a bit of a European vibe. Parks and plazas abound, at least in the heart of the city and where we’ve been so far.
Plaza de Armas is the closes plaza to where we’re staying (Chile Apart Hotel)—and on weekdays we see chess games galore! Old and young look like they’ve got some serious matches (some even have the timing devices, very pro).
It’s surrounded by a church, shopping center, vendors, and the resident plaza-goers.
Noticed that there’s quite a lot of graffiti here. It gets pretty elaborate though.
Sundays seem so friendly – despite many businesses being closed or closing early, you can catch the city relaxing and letting loose. Streets are closed and every busy street corner has crossing guards for pedestrians and cyclists. We managed to find “Swingtiago,” a group dedicated to swing and lindy hop in Chile, dancing in Parque Bustamante as we walked back to our apartment.
Maybe it’s because of our central location, but there’s always something to do or see here. It seems we don’t even have to leave the apartment to enjoy the city and culture (though a walk with the breezes can help beat the summer heat). Yesterday we randomly heard this street parade/musical act from our apartment’s balcony on the 15th floor:
More to come!
Definitely seems like a great walking city!
Yes, and Chileans value their community spaces. There was usually a park or something within a few blocks of most everywhere we went!