santiago, or whatever—here’s what happened

always thought i’d hate cities. turns out i’m wrong. santiago? whatever. here’s the chaos. last week i showed up with zero plan and a backpack that screams ‘i stole this from a hostel.’ turns out that’s good enough. let me tell you about it.

weather here is like a cry for help. 19.9 degrees? sure. but humidity? 76%? i woke up feeling like i’d been wrapped in a damp towel and forgotten. feels_like is 19.93. same as temp. what does that mean? nothing. just humidity trying to steal your sweat.

cost? let’s say ‘surprisingly affordable if you hate eating like a king.’ street food isn’t a thing here unless you’re in one of those thrift-store garment district markets. i ate a taco for $1.20. straight up. some local told me to avoid the touristy areas. i followed. got food. ate. happy. the prices? no scams. most places just understate to make you feel cool.

safety vibe? mixed. i felt watched in broad daylight. maybe because i’m a walking tourist in a backpack. no big deal. locals keep to themselves. i didn’t have any issues. but i heard a group from chile warned me about the metro at night. they said it’s empty, but maybe that’s bad. i took the metro anyway. didn’t lose anything. so maybe they lied? who knows.

now, who hates it here? probably someone used to beaches and 24/7 sunshine. or someone who hates stairs. santiago is all uphill. everywhere. like, why did someone build a city like that? maybe because they felt like it. i hiked up a hill for a view. it was good. my knees told a different story.

best time to visit? maybe when it’s not raining. i heard july is ‘rainy season.’ didn’t check. i just packed waterproof shoes. worked. rained a bit. said hello to my podcast. made me seem adventurous. not really. just wet.

i saw this graffiti on a wall. it said something in spanish. i didn’t understand. but it made me smile. someone told me it was a Warning sign? problem? i don’t think so. maybe the artist was warning tourists to not touch their magic paint.

photos? i took 400. zero good ones. found a cafe with old photos on the wall. one of a man in sunglasses eating an apple. took a picture. it looked like i was in a vintage teaser. stole the idea. now i’m bad.

budget students would approval. no way you’d hate it here. you’d be like, ‘this is the vibe i need.’ SharedWi-Fi passwords? yes. free near my hostel. i used it. streamed a series. had no idea why my cat was watching. it was judging. probably.

indie film scouts? i met one. she was here to film a scene. we talked about lighting. it was bad. her setup was under a streetlamp. looked like a bad rom-com. she said it was ‘artistically flawed.’ i said it looked real. we both walked away. she had a boss. i had a nap.

i stopped by a bookstore. all books in spanish. i ordered a coffee. the barista asked if i wanted my name on it. i said no. he said, ‘okay, but i’m writing a post about this.’ he sent me a link to a yelp review. it said, ‘the coziest place in town.’ i didn’t read it. just took the coffee.

someone else told me about this market. they said it’s where locals go. i went. smelled weird. like old rain and fried potatoes. bought a snack. it was amazing. vendor didn’t want change. gave me extra. that’s the santiago way.

historian types might whine about the architecture. it’s all colonial and post-modern. i didn’t care. climbed a building for a view. was there. the city spins. feels fake. maybe. but i liked it.

reddit thread? i scrolled one. everyone had the same take: ‘don’t miss the central market.’ i went. it was chaos. color. smell. noise. like a living thing. left with a fruit smoothie. it was cold. tasted like everything.

coffee snobs would hate it here. the local coffee is strong. iced. with sugar. a lot. i asked for a pour-over. they said, ‘that’s expensive.’ i bought a cafecito. felt bad. but it was okay. kind of rich.

external links? tripadvisor says ‘don’t go this decade.’ yelp says ‘great for cheap eats.’ reddit thread? 420 members. green dot. basic. i’ll trust it. maybe not.

map?

images?