July
4
2011
By Pam Mandel
Santiago is a slow burn. Sliced down the middle by the Mapocho River, the city’s character is elusive. It’s a hodgepodge of earthquake damaged colonialism and shopping mall post modernism, and its charms take patience to find; but we have the perfect vehicle for you.
La Bicicleta Verde shortcuts the amount of time it takes to unravel Santiago on your own, by showing you the city from the seat of a bright green bicycle. Some of the sights—the Plaza de Armas, or La Chascona, Pablo Neruda’s city home—are easy to find by cracking a guidebook, but the bike tour offers more depth. It pauses in front of the elegant homes built by Santiago’s Palestinian immigrants in the mid 1800s. It also includes a stop for Mote con Huesillo (dried peaches and fat grains of wheat swimming in syrup), a drink you need encouragement to try because like Santiago itself, its appeal isn’t immediately apparent.
Consider the tour an icebreaker. A guided walk through the Vega (the big local market) introduces you to Chile’s abundant produce and street food. A morning ride through the Bellavista neighborhood lets you scope out the places where you’d like to eat later that night. A hint: pick a place with Peruvian ceviche on the menu.
Bicycle pace is the perfect pace for a city that’s a little hard to get to know. An easy roll helps you to understand where you are, how the neighborhoods fit together, and how they’re different. The city wants you to slow down and stay a while. And while the bike tour is great fun, the best part about it is that it helps you to see Santiago from a different—better, even—point of view.
www.labicicletaverde.com
Pam Mandel is a freelance writer, recovering guide book author, and incurable blogger. A recent trip to Antarctica secured her place in the Seven Continents Club, an accomplishment she feels just plain weird about. She calls Nerd's Eye View and Seattle, Washington home.
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