From Buenos Aires to Santiago

To get to and from Patagonia I decided to fly into Buenos Aires, Argentina to start my trip, and finish up my trip in Santiago, Chile. I did very little research about either of these cities before arriving, and spent most of my time just wandering around looking for food and taking pictures. Each of these cities has a vibe of its own, and I figured I’d share some of my photos and give a little overview of my experience in both Buenos Aires and Santiago.

Buenos Aires was a very walkable city. I found a nice little hostel near the city center which was a nice basecamp for exploring the city. I took the bus from the airport to the city, and from there on just walked everywhere, but there is a robust bus system for anyone who doesn’t want to walk as much as I did.

One of the many buses on the streets of Buenos Aires

In Buenos Aires you can buy empanadas everywhere. And they are all more or less the same. One thing I actually liked more about Santiago was the diversity of empanadas! But definitely get some empanadas in Buenos Aires. And I was also very excited to find lots of vegetarian and vegan food! Not just in Buenos Aires, but also all over Argentina and Chile. Too bad I don’t take pictures of my food…

There is a modern section of the city along the river that was a nice place to walk around.

But the city is really known for its older neighborhoods. With people hanging out everywhere, street art and graffiti on every other building, and tons of restaurants and shops you can really get the full cultural experience of the city.

These guys saw me with my camera and in the nicest way possible demanded that I take their photo

I really didn’t do much in Buenos Aires. There are some museums, I visited one modern art museum. If I had another night I would have gone to a tango show. That really seems to be the thing to do in Buenos Aires. I looked into it but wasn’t able to get to one. Even though I didn’t see one, I would recommend going to one if your looking to do the thing your suppose to do at the place.

I think he saw me. And I think he’s wearing a Messi shirt! Just like everyone else in Argentina…

One thing I was really looking forward to in Santiago was the views of the mountains, but there were wildfires nearby and the entire area was covered in smoke. I didn’t get the views and photos I was hoping for, but the smoke really added a cool effect to the light.

Santiago was also a very walkable city. One of my favorite things here was walking up San Cristobal Hill. It’s a park in the middle of the city with hiking trails that take you to the top of a small hill with views of the city and surrounding mountains. And there’s a church and big statue at the top.

The statue at the top of San Cristobal Hill

Santiago felt like one big street market. There are people selling everything everywhere. You could probably buy everything you ever need without ever going inside a store.

And just like in Buenos Aires you’ll find street art and graffiti everywhere. And friendly people drinking on the street who kindly demand you take their picture…

I spent way too long trying to take this mediocre picture of some mediocre street art… But I like it

Many museums in Santiago are free, or at least cheap. I spent a day visiting several museums. The Plaza de Armas in the center of the city has several museums during the day, and really comes to live at night. It can be an exciting place to walk around at night, but definitely be aware of your surroundings. It’s a great place to get some meat on a stick, listen to someone sing or shout into a microphone, and hire a prostitute. But there’s also lots of tourists and families hanging out enjoying the cooler nights.

One of my favorite things about Santiago was the Peruvian food! Peruvian food was everywhere and I ate lots of it. I haven’t been to Peru yet, but Santiago could probably give Lima a run for its money on having the best Peruvian food.

I ended up not really writing a lot of words. Hope you enjoyed my photos!

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Mike Levine