Sleepless in Santiago

Pablo Neruda never had a place in my head. I only have a vague memory of reading his poems in grade 10. FYI he’s a Chilean Poet who...ummm...wrote poems :P!

But this piece of trivia is more than enough to start an hour long gossip with a Chilean who is ever bubbling with warmth.

Chile, a land of pristine beauty sprawled across the west coast of South America, is a traveller’s delight indeed. Mineral rich deserts in the north, fertile farmlands coupled with beaches for tan-maniacs in the centre and an archipelago of virgin lands in the south, is a visual blessing. Your belief in a supreme creator grows tenfold.

Having broken my shoulder, I found myself walking in the lively streets of Valparaiso, the cultural capital of Chile known for its crystal clear beaches and the ever beautiful women who inhabit them. I am not talking about the likes of the girls we drool over in FTV. You begin to perceive womanhood in a different light. Their curves would only seem to be chiselled by the hands of god. Their blood red lips would jinx you to oblivion even before you are held in mesmerism by the allure of their ‘Gracias’.

It was 2130 and being the loner I was, I decided to settle down at the local beach. I stopped to ask somebody for directions when I see this young maiden pushing her bicycle on the sidewalk. Her woollen gloves were a perfect match for her brunette locks with a yellow top, as brilliant as the midnight sun. She gave me directions to the beach and I soon found myself sitting beside her in the invigorating shores of Valparaiso with a couple of stray dogs to give us company. I put my jacket around her, for the sea breeze had begun to tickle our necks. We spotted a colossal gas carrier out at sea, brightly lit as if Cinderella was coming onboard. I pointed at Clean Energy laying afloat at the horizon and told her that was where I belonged. Being a clear night for the better, I introduced to her, some of my faithful companions, who had always come to my aid in the high seas – Betelguese, Bellatrix and Al Nilam of the Orion constellation.

The 2 of us, under the dome of southern declination stars, from completely different walks of life, spoke about the sanity (or insanity) of majestic elephants walking in Indian streets followed by the woes of our personal lives, till the wee hours of midnight.

‘Good bye’, I said as I walked her to her apartment and carried on to my hotel where I was crushed by the claustrophobic walls of my room.

Day break had cracked through my window soon enough.
I set off early to the hospital to bid farewell to the pretty nurses who cared for me especially Paulina the curly molly who could never bear to see as much as her patient’s hair undone and the Nutritionist Maria Isabel who could enslave a man into shackles of allure just by pronouncing her name (Ok I wanted to hit on them 1 last time!).

I go back to my hotel to see my agent waiting for me.
Amigo, I take you Santiago. You fly in 4 hours.

I hop into the car with my luggage. Within minutes we are on the highway with lush greenery and vineyards on either side. I try to catch up on some sleep preparing myself for the long flight.
Flashes of memories tease me to stay back. The vibrancy of Valparaiso had haunted me indeed.
Before I could rest my eye lashes close, my agent shakes me awake.

‘Here you go Amigo. Buen Viaje. Get well soon’

I proceeded to collect my boarding pass that said ‘Santiago-Sao Paulo’.
I spent my last few hours in Santiago - Sleepless, as the aircraft flew across the Andes.