Chile was a very special country for me because I have been wanting to come here forever and I had extremely high expectations. Before writing this blog I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what to write about Chile- what it is that sums up this country for me. And I realised it is a very difficult task. When I think about the negative aspects that annoy me about Chile there really isn’t anything bad I can say about it. But I realised that it might be something to do with the fact that everything in this country seems to run so smoothly and you feel so much like you are in the West that you almost take for granted you will have hot showers, Internet and good supermarkets everywhere you go. Chile to me seems like a world ahead of its neighbours.

Believe it or not the southernmost country in South America is currently ranked the 40th most developed country in the world. The poverty rates in this country are minimal for this part of the world and the industry and economy are booming. Only 600,000 people live under the poverty line, which of course is 600,000 too many but when compared to México for example where there are over 2 million in Mexico City alone the number is pretty low and has declined by a third over the past decade. The economy has been boosted strongly by its key export copper (55% of its exports) and this helped maintain its stable position through the crisis. President Sebastián Piñera announced two years ago a goal to get Chile to first world nation status by 2020 but from where I’m standing it’s already pretty much there.

And foreign relations are looking good for Chile as well (at least outside of South America). It was the first country to establish free trade with the US and currently has great trading relations with China. Talk about friends in high places. “Chilecon valley”, as its known as, attracts a lot of foreign entrepreneurs. Speaking with young people within the country made it clear that younger generations are confident in their future and most feel their country provides the tools they need to do well. Needless to say this says a lot about a country.

On top of that unemployment is down and the middle class is earning more than ever. So many people that we met are cultured, speak perfect English, have travelled the world and are a pleasure to communicate with.

The sad thing is that Chile has a pretty bad reputation in the rest of Latin America. Many neighbouring latinos warned us that Chileans are cold, stuck-up, and the people, especially women, are unattractive.

Firstly, it’s important to note that the Chileans are the most attractive nation we have seen so far in the whole of Latin America (yes, I am including México), so the third point we shot down the minute we walked in to Santiago. But the first point might have a gram of truth in it. While the Chileans are super friendly and helpful, it is possible to notice they are slightly more conservative or restrained than their neighbours. They seem a lot more hard-working and heads-down than their neighbours as well. Might this be the influence of the Catholic church, the German or other European immigrants, the Pinochet dictatorship…I don’t know. Probably all of the above played a part. And this is reflected in the behaviour of the Chilean men as well. Refreshingly for us, they won’t jump on you in the club or assault you in the street and they seem a little bit more respectful towards their women- in turn making them more sexy.

So why is it so difficult to put your finger on Chile? Partially I think it’s because the country is so vast and varied. Santiago, Valparaiso, Pucon and Punto Arenas are just four places we visited and all worlds apart. But the difference between Chile and other Latino countries is it seems to lack a strong national identity. In Argentina, whether you go to the desert, forest, colonial city or Patagonian village you always have this inherent sense that you are in Argentina. This is expressed through the people, the food, the music, the culture, traditions etc. In Chile this feeling is not as strong. If someone came to Santiago and didn’t see a single Chilean flag and didn’t hear the strong Chilean accent, it would be difficult to tell what country you were in.

This didn’t detract from the fact that we had a great time in Chile and I would happily go back for more. It simply makes the country a less exotic choice to visit in South America. Ask your average Bolivian whether they would exchange their “exotic” for the average Chilean standard of life and I think you know your answer.

Gracias Chile, te amamos! Sipo 🙂

Highlights

Just finally crossing the border was a highlight for me! I nearly kissed the border control man when he stamped my passport
Having a wonderful picnic with Trini and Pablo in Parque de la Paz on our second day in Santiago
Celebrating Catholic Christmas with Chinese food, Polish vodka and friendly Chilean policemen in Santiago
Walking through the beautiful streets of Valparaiso
Our first and so far only beach visit to Trini’s amazing beach house in Maitencillo
Trekking through and camping in Torres del Paine

Going to miss

SUPERMARKETS!!! Yes, yes we are spoilt little European girls but you don’t know how much you take real food for granted until you are travelling. We even found Houmous in one supermarket, not to mention the fact they have real cheese, Philadelphia and other luxuries
The hot men of course
The accent- it is super cute despite being difficult to understand at times
The fish- the ceviche was pretty amazing

Not going to miss

The prices- not as bad as we expected but still more than any other country so far