Exiting Argentina

I think I hate traveling almost as much as I love it and I think that that’s a pretty common feeling amongst travelers.
Between the miserable feeling of “OH MY GOD I AM NEVER GOING TO MEET ANY PEOPLE AND I AM GOING TO TRAVEL ALONE FOR THE REST OF MY DAYS” right after checking into a hostel to “OH MY GOD I DO NOT WANT TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY NEW BEST FRIENDS” what feels like five minutes later it is a constant rollercoaster of ups and downs.

After extending my stay in Mendoza for two more days than initially planned, I continued my journey to Chile. Two reasons for extending:
1) Figuring out what to do the next couple of days/weeks
2) The hostel easily being amongst the top 3 hostels I’ve ever stayed in

“Traveling is 50% the countries you visit and 50% the people you meet along the way” – that’s some toilet postcard wisdom for you. Some people stick with you for quite some time; at least two people, one from Australia and one from France, who I met on my last trip in 2017, I would count amongst my best friends to this day.
Looking back at my time in Mendoza, there’s a high chance of a new member, located in Squamish, Canada, joining the tribe of my global friends. Not the worst thing to have.

One of 2 Asados that took place at the hostel during my stay

Preparing the Asado - the Argentinian Barbecue Bonanza

Luckily, Paul just enjoys preparing food for other people, which quite compliments my stance on food: hating to prepare it!

That's quite some food for 4 people

Starting in the afternoon, most of the travelers were gathered in and around the pool

But, as all good things do, my stay in Mendoza also had to come to an end.

After hearing that the situation at the border crossing from Argentina to Chile is rather chaotic at the moment and I really did not feel like an up-to-7-hour wait on top of an 8-hour bus ride, I decided to take a plane from Mendoza to Santiago.

Entering Chile

Because I knew I only wanted to spend one night in Santiago, I booked a room in a cheap hostel close to the airport in Santiago.

When I climbed in the cab, the first thing my driver incredulously asked me was ‘You’re really going to Renca? There’s a hostel there?’
He almost didn’t want to drive me there and when we arrived I could see why. Not only didn’t we find the entrance to the hostel (after reading some reviews later I guess it’s pretty hidden), the area looked anything but safe or friendly. My driver didn’t want to stay longer than needed, so I decided to spontaneously check for another hostel in the city center.

Luckily I found one right next to Cerro San Cristóbal, which put me in walking distance of the only thing I even remotely considered doing/visiting in the city – going up that hill and enjoying the view of the city with a nice backdrop of the Andes.

Good religious coverage for the whole city.

View from Cerro San Cristóbal - the Andes hiding behind some trees and some fog

Quite the city...

Valparaíso

After one night in Santiago, I took a bus to Valparaíso, a global shipping juggernaut before the construction of the Panama Canal in 1914 and still one of the most important seaports of the Pacific Ocean.

The city center is very much frozen in time, beautiful old cobblestone roads lined with beautiful old houses sprayed in beautiful graffiti. On every corner surrounding the city center you can see the industrial character of the town, culminating in the huge port which seems quite out of place, given the sheer size of it.