Santiago and Hullabalooza

The road from Mendoza crosses westward through the Andes mountains and winds up in Santiago, Chile. A straight-forward route that takes about seven hours, with some traffic delays. I chose to take the early bus that leaves at 7am, allowing for prime viewing of an orange sunrise along the mountains:

This road through the Andes is only one way for traffic.  During the night, people can go from the west to the east only at night. My bus was in the the first wave of vehicles going from east to west. We had to wait at the foot of the mountains on the Argentina side and wait for the final group of cars from Chile to pass.

Once we got moving, I was filled with scenery more interesting than reading any book.  I was fascinated with all the different rock formations and layers of earth exposed on the valley walls.

By noon, we got into another stoppage on the road at the border

This border was the only border in all of my travels through South America that actually did a thorough check for contraband and invasive species. Dogs, x-ray machines and physical handchecks of luggage were employed. At all other borders, I never witnessed a physical bag check or any evidence of an effort to search for controlled substances.

My only worry was a small bag of coca leaves that I have been  holding on to since my days in Ecuador. I figured it was good to travel with as a natural remedy for any ailments along the way (altitude sickness, upset stomach, gas, hunger, energy boost).  Fortunately, the leaves were not discovered, and I was in Chile!

The rest of the trip was a long, winding road that eventually ends up Santiago, Capital City.

downtown Santiago

Waiting for me was Lollapalooza, the once fun, freak-show music festival is now more than 20 years old and lost its edge when Rollins Band, Ministry, Ice Cube, Janes Addiction and Soundgarden headlined. While the current lineup had Pearl Jam and Black Keys headlining, my main interest in paying the more than $100/day ticket price (more than they are charging for Chicago) was to see the differences in a festival here compared to the States.

Not much of a difference... just more Spanish is spoken than English. Big crowds would try to sing along in English, but would often just mumble sounds over the lyrics. During Bad Brains, moshpits formed, kids were slamdancing/running around in a circle, kicking up dust, rocking out. Beers and dope were smuggled in.

The one thing that did stand out was the lack of  alcohol at this event.  Only zero percent beer was being sold at the concession stands. People tell me that the reason beer is not sold at most public events in Chile is that most people here cannot handle more than a couple beers before they collectively get riled up and wanna stage a riot.  People who paid an extra $100 for the VIP tickets got access to the Jack Daniels bar (cash only) in the VIP-only area.

Of Monsters and Men

RVSB

Kali Mutsa, a Santiago-based band using a mix of gypsy, Bollywood and electronic music