Easter in Santiago
After a night bus from Pucon (about 11 hours), we arrived in Santiago early Easter morning. A few of us wanted to go to church, so after a run along the river, we went off to the cathedral for 12:00 mass. Those of you that know me know that I respect and value my catholic upbringing, but mass isn´t normally a part of my weekly routine. But since I was in a country that is more than 90% catholic, it was something I wanted to do, especially on Easter. (I am a C&E catholic after all, what would happen if i missed the E?!) The cathedral was beautiful and the sight and emotion of the day nearly brought tears to my eyes. Easter has never been a big holiday in my family and I´ve been out of the country for the holiday before, but I think part of the emotion was missing this celebration with loved ones. In any case, mass flew by even though it was in spanish and we were off to explore the city.
We tried to find a restaurant in Barrio Brasil and while it was closed, we stumbled upon a hidden gem of an area that gave us the feeling we were wandering in Spain. Plan B was another restaurant nearby known for it´s seafood. Lunch was such a treat as we had our own private room upstairs and we felt like we sat down to lunch in someone´s home - perfect for a holiday. My meal was amazing too-tuna over a shrimp risotto. They say seafood is to Chile what beef is to Argentina and they are right!
I spent the rest of the day wandering the city and exchanging my bus ticket to Mendoza. I bought it for the wrong day but fortunately was able to change it fairly easily given my lack of Spanish! We ended the day in Barrio Bellavista in a restaurant that even featured a table made out of a bed. It was our last night as a group, so much of the gang partied into the wee hours. I guess I´m getting older (or maybe that night bus got to me) because I made it home by midnight.
All in all, it was a great Easter and a special memory to have spent it in Santiago.
