Forgettable Chile

Now we all know that I am slow to warm up to new places and I am the first in line to admit that and call myself out, but I just cannot warm to Chile. Don't get me wrong, it is super easy to travel around, the people do not harass or molest you, it is easy enough to find cheap healthy food to eat in supermarkets, but overall it hs left us unimpressed. We have remained ever hopeful as we ventured to new town, both to the south and the north of Santiago, but we have yet to be left breathless.
It may not be fair to put Chile up against the likes of Thailand beaches or New Zealand mountains or the Australian Outback, but we have expectations damn it! Chile is also one of the more expensive countires in South America and for one of the poorest Jews in the world and one of the poorest non-Jews in the world, every penny counts! We are sitting here on a marathon 17 hour bus journey to San Pedro de Atacama, which we have been told is spectacular with sprawling desert lanscape as far as the eye can see and geysers that errupt at sunrise each morning. We are looking forward to feeling inspired and taking in some moving scenery.
The cities we have seen so far have left us a bit down trodden in our thoughts and feelings of Chile and it such a shame, as I am sure if we ventured down to Patagonia, hiked that volcano in Pucon and maybe even made our very own pair of shoes with Pablo at our most recent hostel, our Chilean experience may have been a lot more memorable, but as we sit here today at this very moment...unforgettable is the only word that comes to mind.
There have been a few unforgettable moments such as when we were standing at the street lights waiting to cross the road when a car full of Chilean boys drove by and pressed a button in their car that actually made a cat call whistle sound. We both shrieked, "Oh my G-d!" at the same moment and laughed for a while. There were also moments where Chilean kindness has struck us with getting to stay a free night in a hostel and sharing local Chilean liqour with us just because.
We're hoping that San Pedro de Atacama will bring Chile back as a contender among the myriad of other countries in South America that seem to have so much more to offer...and I really hope that my next blog will be filled with glorious adjectives and an array of picturesque snaps to help describe our sensational experience in the desert. Let's cross our fingers, shall we?