I’ve written before about Che Lagarto Hostel in Santiago, Chile, and how I bartered photography for free nights stay in their hostel. (In their hostel I loved so much, I continued to stay there for my last 4 days, after what we contracted).

I even mentioned getting serenaded on their Valparaiso and Viña del Mar day tour they sent me on, but …

NOW I GET TO SHOW YOU THE SERENADE!

Oh yes, I did take video of Andres, the accordion playing sweetheart who tripped the light fantastic for me.  I don’t even remember what I was supposed to see, because I was too enthralled with this sudden outburst of attention.

Andres, I miss you.  But just so you know, watching this video now, makes me feel as happy as it did when you called me out and sang and danced like I was the only gringa tourist there.

Hope this video makes you smile like it does me.

CHEERS!

There are always tons of things you can pay for when you visit a new city.  But, if like me, you are on a wicked tight budget, here are some free things you can do too.

1. PICNICS! 

I love picnics.  You can have them almost anywhere.  In a free park, on a rooftop, in the rain on the side of a mountain, on the median strip next to Route 9 in Worcester, MA (yes, I have done these).  They are fun, they are free (besides the food you bring),  but a bunch of grapes, a loaf of bread and chunk of salami, (or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), and a bottle of water is not much.   I have also had a picnic on my living room floor one time during a week of sucky, downpouring weather.   Just eating on a blanket on the ground is fun.

2.  CITY WALKS.

Some cities (like Santiago, Chile)  have organized FREE walking tours.   Others you can get a map, and walk yourself around the tourist areas and sites.  I know this sounds obvious to some of us, but I have met a lot of people who have never thought of walking on a self-guided tour of a city (for fear of danger, lack of confidence, or they so commonly take tours, they just didn’t think of seeing a city without one)

3. COUCHSURFING EVENTS. 

Couchsurfing.org  is a great place to find events in the city you are in or just to meet people.   Meeting locals will give you great insights to free (and cheap) things to do in a city, and many cities have a Couchsurfing community where people list meet-up events you can attend (yes, many involve a bar or something, but you don’t have to drink).  In Medellin, Colombia The Wandering Paisa (the hostel I’m at) puts their karaoke nights up on Couchsurfing.   They also have free salsa nights and free language exchange nights.  Leading me to…

4. HOSTEL EVENTS. 

 Hostels in many cities offer free events to patrons and non-patrons.  Look up hostels in the town you are staying in to see who offers events on what nights.  Many have language exchange, BBQ, dance classes, karaoke, etc.  Check out what hostels offer such in your area (even if you are in your own hometown)

5. FREE CULTURAL EVENTS. 

Many cities have free music in a park, theater events, outdoor performances, etc.    Sometimes you may just walk into one of these free events (like I did in Venezuela).  You can also check out the local library for information (thank you to MATADOR NETWORK who just posted a link about library services ). 

The above is just a small list of free things available in many cities.

There are always other things to do depending on where you are; like:

• In Medellin, Colombia they have a free pool complex. (watch for the post).
• In Las Vegas, they have the free music, light show, and people watching on Fremont Street- and First Friday – the monthly art walk.
• Portland, Maine also has a First Friday Art Walk.
• Providence, Rhode Island they have WaterFire (an art and cultural event event where they set fires along the river and there’s a ton of performers and stuff).

Look around your local city, talk to natives, and check the library and tourism boards to find out what local weekly, monthly, or holiday events happen in the city you are in.

AND HAVE SOME GOOD OL’ FREE FUN!

Just like your momma taught you!

CHEERS!

Ok.  So I’ve only been to 4 countries so far, but the best empanadas, hands down (according to my oh-so-scientific-analysis of them) are CHILE!

But here is my comparison of empanadas in South America.

1. VENEZUELA

Venezuelan empanadas are highly fried.  They sometimes smell like very Americanized Chinese food (due to the saturation of oil inside them).  They also have very little filling.  Just a small amount in the bottom and the rest of it is just a giant pocket of air.  This does serve to hold sauces, like salsa, or cilantro pesto stuff you commonly eat with empanadas, but it is basically eating fried dough to me.  Caracas (top) you can see does have much more filling than the empanadas from Juan Griego on Margarita Island (bottom).

2. COLOMBIA

Also fried, but stuffed with filling and not nearly as greasy as Venezuela.  Usually meat or cheese, I’ve also seen pork and beans, and chicken and rice with potatoes (my favourite here).  They are stuffed full of filling and one can fill you up.  and I love eating the chicken with a bunch of spicy salsa (I really love picante foods)

3. ECUADOR

Ok, so I only had a couple here.  (And the photo sucks, cause I totally dropped the ball on this, and only have a couple bad photos taken with my phone.)

Ecuadorian empanadas are also fried but not super greasy either, and sometimes the meat filling has chopped celery or something in it.  I was originally told this was ‘Chilean style’ but after being in Chile, these were not even close to Chilean empanadas, yet still really, really good.  They actually seem quite similar to Colombian in size and way they are cooked, but the fillings have a little differences in taste and spices.  I also had a gigantic Ecuadorian empanada filled with shrimp and cheese at another restaurant that was delicious  (this one is also not pictured – again, I was too busy maowing it down and dropping the ball with the photo thing)   They are very similar to Colombian style.  The real differences between Colombian and Ecuadorian are slight differences in spices.  And I have found 1 shrimp empanadas in Ecuador, but so far, none in the Colombian cities of Bogota or Medellin (the only 2 cities I have visited so far.)

4. CHILEAN

Chilean empanadas for starters, are not fried. They are grilled. Which allows you to really taste the filling inside of them. Also, they are filled with more options (than just meat – aka beef – , pork, chicken, or queso cheese). You can get spinach and mushroom empanadas, shrimp and queso empanadas, tomato and sausage empanadas..pretty much anything you want inside these delicious little moon shaped pockets of awesomeness.

My favourite, so far…CHILEAN – hands down.  I love the variety of fillings and the baked/grilled crust (which is much flakier and closer to a bread or pie dough than a corn flour/tamale type dough.)  They are the biggest, but also taste much fresher and lighter (mostly due to the ingredients and fact you can get them filled with veggies).  I just really like that you can taste the filling and not just the oil.  I love empanadas, but so far, Chilean the best.

CHEERS!

So in my short trip to Santiago, Chile – I stayed at the Che Lagarto Hostel and Suites.  This place is totally cool.  And yes, I did work for them (see disclaimer at bottom), but this place rocks and I would love to go back!

This hostel used to be an old hotel and is right in downtown Santiago (yes, touristy, but the metro is half a block away and its really easy to get everywhere). 

I stayed in the dorms most nights, and each dorm is divided into 2 rooms with a shared bathroom.  One night, some drunk girl came into the wrong dorm and took a bed, so the girl in that bed took someone else’s bed, and the girl of the bed she took, then took another’s bed.  I guess that happened through 3 or 4 people, because when I went to go to bed (and being the last to do so at 2am) all the beds, including mine were taken.  It was like musical chairs with beds. 

(Why the first girl who realized her bed was stolen didn’t kick the bed-thief out is beyond me), but when I went downstairs to tell the front what had happened they just gave me a private suite-room for the night. 

Which was awesome!

Oh yea, each person gets their own key for their room too!  Even for the dorms.  (Just someone forgot to lock the door behind them one night; which is how the drunk girl stumbled in.)

(Yea for drunken people walking into the wrong room).

(Note:  these photos are not from the private suite I stayed in.  I didn’t get moved until 2am, and I had to be up at 8am for the Valparaiso and Viña del Mar Tour.  This is a different private suite room.  They don’t all look like this yet, but as you will read, Che Lagarto is in the process of remodeling all the rooms and things)

Each night at Che Lagarto they offer a dinner for a cheap price. And the cook is amazing (that’s him below on spaghetti with homemade gourmet sauce night).

And this is the sauce prep. I mean, just look at how fresh these ingredients are!

He is an AMAZING cook.   I loved his food.  Each morning they have a signup sheet for that nights dinner too, so you can see what will be made and decide if you want it or not.

They also have daily activities at Che Lagarto.

Activities like: Pisco Sour night (delicious and deadly Pisco Sour night).

(This is Omar.  He is the Pisco Sour Master.  He is also very happy to serve you)

There is also a pool table and a ping-pong table in the lobby, so there is this great community about the hostel.

The hostel itself is also under remodeling.  I was told that all the bathrooms in every room are getting redone (they work; but yes, the wallpaper is old and peeling in some rooms, and the plumbing is from the 1920’s or something).   They are also in the process of re-doing the floor in the lobby and I was told by next year they will have a rooftop terrace as well (and being 9 stories high already, this rooftop terrace will have an amazing view).

So back to the food.  Breakfast is a giant buffet.  Fruit, toast, jam, butter, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, oatmeal, cereals…mmmmmmmm.  And its free.  And they don’t limit you to how much you can have (some hostels I’ve been in have and its annoying).

Best part (for me , cause I get way too easily amused by the simple things)…IS THIS ELEVATOR!!!

It is so straight up 1920’s –1940’s old Hollywood style. I love it!  Yes it is slow sometimes….but who cares.  I will wait for this.  It even has the black push buttons.  No fancy electronic shit here.  I really, really, really hope when they remodel they don’t change this elevator!

I love the Che Lagarto Hostels and Suites.  When I go back to Santiago, I will definitely stay there again!

CHEERS!

DISCLAIMER: I was given free nights in Che Lagarto in exchange for 5 photos a day of the hostel.  Yes, that was the whole deal.  This, and all other blog posts/tweets/etc. were not asked for. I just really liked Che Lagarto; so much in fact I stayed there  for the rest of my time in Santiago, after the deal with them was up.  Everything in this post is my honest opinion, as always. 

Besides, if you’ve read any of my previous posts, do I honestly seem like the type of person to hold shit back or sugar coat it?

CHEERS!

The MeGusta Music festival in Santiago, Chile is an all day, free music festival of local Chilean music in Santiago, Chile that has everything from hip-hop to rock, to salsa etc.  But this time I didn’t photograph the music.  I walked around and photographed the crowd.

Everyone came out to this show.  Old people, young people, metal heads, hippies, moms, potheads, Hare Krishna’s…EVERYONE.   Here is a sample of the people who love the MeGusta Music Festival.

Sikhs selling plastic wrapped hamburgers

Little kids playing with guns (always a good time)

Little metal-head miss. Love her!

Some people just REALLY need a hug

Hipsters

Dude with hippie drums and a misfits shirt, his homey-g-in-a-clown-nose friend, and the dude with dreads…

I want to play a game.  Its called ‘Sleeping, Drunk, or Homeless’?’

Dear moms, all pre-teen boys love to play with ribbons.

The Incredible Upside-Down Sign Man (he may be homeless, but he sure doesn’t know orientation)

Pat

(this reference may only be known by older SNL fans.  Look it up)

Little kids in Iron Maiden shirts learning how to fight (is it bad I think this is absolutely adorable)?

Pot-heads

(ps. I’m glad you felt the need to stop me to show me this, but it kinda looks like chopped up rosemary)

Wandering bands of  Hare Krishnas

Santiago – nice city, but they have a huge 6 year old gang problem.

Mmmm, fake meat out of plastic bin, in the hot sun…why sure!

Umbrella-hat laden bubble blowers? – yea, Santiago has them too.

Ballerinas.

So these are some of the people you will see hanging out in Santiago.   Another thing that makes this city remind me of New York City in the summertime. Love Santiago.

CHEERS!