Chile Santiago 圣地亚哥智利 – 4/2017 (19)

16-17/4/2019. I was on the road again, leaving La Serena behind. I noticed more clouds in the sky and more vegetation on the mountains. This bus ride would take six to seven hours, eventually arriving at Santiago, Chile’s capital. Of course, the capital has to look a bit greener.

I spent today touring this city of Santiago. The sun really shines on this tidy city and on the civil and friendly people. Many here speak English, which is a nice change. Security was also quite good. I could really live here with pride and without prejudice.

One of the most enjoyable forms of entertainment we could have in this part of the world was street performances. And many of them performed at busy traffic lights. I don’t know why the intersections instead of the sidewalks or the public square are the spots of choice. It can’t be because the drivers are a captive audience, or would run the red light without the entertainment. Today at this Santiago street, a cheerleading team of two boys and a girl, right in the middle of the junction, just at that really brief moment when the traffic lights were red, and the zebra crossing cleared of pedestrians, the two young men flipped the petite girl sky-high. Like a pancake, she somersaulted, returning to earth safely caught in the arms of the two young men. Within the few minutes I stood there watching, they executed this routine numerous times, fast and furious. This was a hard, solid tarmac road surface with no safety precautions. One mistake and she would have had a crash landing, indeed. To do it for peanuts was nuts. I couldn’t feel entertained, just sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t. It could be just a reflection of their personality, not their fate.

16-17/4/2019 – 拿了包袱，一早又上路了。离开拉塞雷纳，逐渐开始注意到天上云多了，山体也多了些草木。这趟车也要坐上六七小时, 终于抵达圣迪亚哥，智利首都。草木皆兵才像一国之都。

今天游览了圣地亚哥，一睹这都市风貌。市容整齐洋气，今天阳光灿烂，人们都较文明友善，且不少能操英语，治安也不错，我能在这里无拘无束闲荡，不觉得陌生。

这些拉美青年，也不知为何，都把看家本领搬到马路了。我怀疑驾车的等绿灯时比国内还急躁，需要娱乐放松放松。今天在圣地亚哥碰到这一套，竟把啦啦队搬到马路。那小姑娘桥小玲珑，給那两壮丁，像印度飞饼般抛到大气层外，在毫无安全措施下将她接回地面；而这地面可是柏油路呀！你看，他们是在红灯未转绿那瞬间，跟过马路人群争夺空间，完成动作，然后将钱收入囊中。这动作可是急速多次重复，有可能万无一失吗? 真是拼命三郎/妹!