Café, Salsa, y Arte Chileno

Yummy coffee

 

Scam considered, Santiago was still awesome. On my second go of the city, I finally got to try café sobre piernas, which is not to be confused with café con piernas, a totally different Chilean tradition if you know what I mean.

Café sobre piernas

Brian took me to Café Haiti where we had mochas and agua con gas alongside the local and predominantly male clientele, smoking on the patio.

Let's salsa!

The following day, we danced the salsa! Hahaha. Or at least we tried to. We had dinner at Kintaro (another fast favourite), bought gelato for dessert, and headed to the salsa club after a brief stop at home. There we had a couple of piña coladas on the balcony as we watched the salsa club come to life.

My goodness, Chileans can dance. No matter which song came on, they knew how to salsa to it. We were more than impressed. In fact we were completely fascinated. Salsa in Chile is a far cry from what we call dancing in North America. It was thrilling and inspiring to watch!

Brian and I made a beeline for the dance floor and gave it a go, and I must say, I was... TERRIBLE. I didn't know what the heck I was doing. We were both tipsy by then, and often, I was going in one direction with Brian going the other. Hahahaha. We had a blast though. It was both a comical and heartwarming evening, one I won't forget for a long time. :)  

Chemamull

Quipu

On the day of my flight, we went to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, which stands as a beautiful, white colonial building in downtown Santiago. It boasts a large collection of Chilean art, including the wooden statues or the chemamull you see above. The museum also featured pieces from the Inca empire, such as the quipu, an ancient 3D writing system by way of knots and colour combinations.

Then it was time for me to go: Brian and I jumped on a cab to the airport where we had one last meal together at Gatsby. So long, Santiago! Until next time.  

❤