Friday, April 22, 2016

S is for Santiago (but which one?)

We’re up to the letter S in April's A-Z Challenge.  San Francisco would be the perfect city to add to my bucket list of places I’d like to visit, except that I have spent a lot of time in the City by the Bay and it's one of my favorite cities.  San Francisco would also be perfect because today is the release date of Chrys Fey’s first novel, Seismic Crimes.  The book is set in San Francisco and at the bottom of the post, you can learn more about it.  Read more about it at the end of this post.

So if not San Francisco, where else?  Paddling the Suwanee River is on my list, but I have paddled part of it so it’s disqualified.  I’ve been to San Diego, Seattle, San Juan, San Antonio.  In fact, I’ve been to so many Sans that I can never get it out of my shoes. 

But I don’t recall ever being in a Santiago and there are at least three that I would like to visit.  I’ve already written about traveling to Cuba and taking the train from Havana to Santiago.  That’s one.  I would also love to go to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.  The ideal trip would be me walking into the city with a host of pilgrims, having trekked across the Pyrenees, ending up at the Cathedral of St. James.  Walking the Caminio  is one of two of hikes I hope to complete as my years wind down. That’s two.  But the other Santiago is the one I’d love to visit.  It’s in Chili (before moving to Savannah, I was exploring the possibility of moving there for a few years, but that’s a story that didn’t work out).  This Santiago is the perfect “S” destination because not only does it begin with the proper letter, it’s also in a supper active earthquake zone, making it the perfect “second” city to pair with Chrys’ novel.   
What’s there to do in Santiago?  I'm sure there's good Rock 'n' Roll, but it might just be of the seismic variety as the city is close to the Pacific's Ring of Fire. The mountains are close by with climbing and skiing opportunities.  Plus, this would be a great city to knock off three of my bucket list, involving an overland trip to Patagonia and then a flight to the Falklands.   In the city, there is the main plaza, the national cathedral, the tallest building in South America.  While there, I'd have to take the train out into the country.  Sadly, like many national railways, train service has been drastically but but I'd have to at least take the train so I can say I've ridden out of a station designed by Gustave Eiffel (who went on to build the Eiffel Tower in some European city.   And then there's food.  I’d have to wangle my way into a dinner invitation from Gloria at Canela Kitchen. (It's not exactly in Santiago, but in the nearby city of Concepcion.)  If you have not checked out her blog, you should for she has had my mouth watering on many occasions and I've even tried my hand at preparing some of her dishes.
The train station Eiffel designed

 And now, check this out:



Bonus S: SEISMIC CRIMES
Today is the release of Chrys Fey's first novel!

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer's location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?

DIGITAL LINKS:

ALSO AVAILABLE IN PRINT!


19 comments:

  1. I have been to a couple of your American S cities Jeff, loved San Francisco, but a bit o' me stayed across the bay in Berkeley. Maybe St. Helena in the Pacific would suit my taste for low crowds and less is more. Travel on and well.

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  2. A friend of mine walked the Caminio last year and said it was life changing.

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  3. I can't imagine going somewhere because it has earthquakes, but I did enjoy the heck out of San Diego (loved the zoo) and San Francisco (loved the marina).

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  4. Thank you so much for including my promo! And super clever of you to choose a place that is an active earthquake zone. ;)

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  5. Yes please on going to Santiago, Chili! I've also thought that I would like to ride a motorcycle along the coast of Chili as well.

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  6. You had me hooked by your title! I'm excited to check into this new release by Chrys Fey, it's just my kind of reading material!

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  7. I have not been to Santiago, Chili, but a friend absolutely loves it and tries to go back every couple years.

    @Kathleen01930
    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge

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  8. Very nice connection between your choices of places to visit and the seismic activity in some. Chrys' book has some super earthquake scenes in it.

    Since I live just south of San Francisco I have the pleasure of a lot of that rocking and rolling and at times jerking. We never know when Mother Earth is going to jiggle us up, but we know she will if we wait long enough.

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  9. The train station looks cool. I haven't been to any of the "S" places you mentioned. I am woefully lacking in travel tales. I'm not too crazy about going where there are active earthquakes. Life is shaky enough as it is! :)

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  10. I've been to San Francisco once and my dad loves the Golden Gate Bridge so much that I bought him a big clock with a picture of it on it for him.

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  11. hahaha I know I understand . Of course Santiago Chile, I live about 1/2 hour from Santiago. Im in the country side. And ofcourse you can visit to dinner or lunch . Only call me or tell me when you will come Sage.
    I think you would enjoy Chile, especially the lakes and rivers Sage <3

    Yes we have some eartquakes but we have good buildings :)
    My hapuse has lived 2 earthquake and we are OK. :)

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  12. That is too funny about being too so many Sans that she will never get them out of your shoes. I visited the San Francisco area but spent most of my time in Marin County hiking because it was just so beautiful. I hope to get back there to see the city sometime as well. I visited Santiago Chile a couple of years ago. I had to fly in there to leave for my cruise to Antarctica. I was only there for a couple of days in January and it was very hot. I love seeing the snow-covered mountains and the city which was about 100°!

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    1. Michelle, I am glad someone got (or mentioned) my "san in my shoes" joke!

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  13. Chili would be a fascinating place to visit, in spite of all the earthquakes.

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  14. I love the way you did this post - and I'll bet Chrys does, too. That would be a beautiful trip.

    Cherdo
    Cherdo on the Flipside
    "Favorite Characters, Favorite Lines" on the A-to-Z Challenge 2016

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  15. I adored San Francisco and didn't get to spend a long enough time there. Have not heard of Santiago in Spain, so enjoyed this geography lesson. :)

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  16. I'd like to walk that pilgrimage route too. I read about a family that did the entire route on horseback -- with two kids under 5!

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