Mercado Central

So, well, we were SUPPOSED to get up early and take the bus to Valparaiso, spend a day on the coast, walking around the beach, eating seafood, and walking up and down the hills that make up Valparaiso's centre. But, it jus didn't happen. We got to the bus station at 4pm, and decided it was a bit late for the 2.5 hour ride to the coast. We decided instead for a seafod feast at the Mercado Central, the place in Santiago to buy seafood, fruit and vegetables fresh from the different regions of Chile. Take a look at the map of Chile - don't forget how many thousands of kilometres of coastline there are in this country. And the variety and quality of the fish and seafood available reflects the geography.

The stalls in the centre of the market are ringed by a whole bunch of restaurants specializing in seafood, ranging from greasy snack-bar type places to swanky, high-quality etablishments.

As soon as you step into the vicinity of the market, you are accosted by representatives of the different restaurants, trying to persuade you that their restaurant is the best, and offering you free drinks and other discounts if you go to their restaurant. It doesn't stop when you get inside the market either. It's a place that attracts its fair share of tourists, too, so even once you've been seated at the restaurant of your choice, there are people circulating around offering to take your picture, musicians wandering around, people with puppets trying to make your kids laugh - all for tips, of course.

We stuffed our faces on clams, salmon, shellfish, and a refreshing white wine. And the pebre was fantastic! Pebre is this salsa-type spread that accompanies the bread at most Chilean meals, whether it be at home or in a restaurants. It's a mix of chopped up onions, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and sometimes with spicy additions like peppers and olives. Mmmm!

But it was my last pebre for a while. Tomorrow morning at 10am I take the 7-hour bus ride to Mendoza, Argentina. Hasta luego, Chile!