I’ve lived in Chile for four and a half years now and have had an ample chance to sample Chile’s many restaurants. Although Chile’s restaurant scene has made incredible strides since 2010, unlike places like New York City, San Francisco, Buenos Aires or Madison, Wisconsin, Chile isn’t a place where you can walk into a random restaurant and find a great meal.
The average Chilean restaurant isn’t that great. You’ll likely end up with some meat and potatoes with little flavor, low quality food or overpriced fare with little connection to value for money. I’ve created a list of the restaurants that I actually like and go to regularly. Please enjoy my favorite restaurants in Santiago and Chile.
I’m always looking for new restaurants to add, so please post any ideas or feedback in the comments! (more…)
I haven’t written anything new on Staying out of the Cubicle lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy! In the first six months since we launched Magma Partners, we’ve invested in five companies and with four more in the pipeline to close before the end of the month. It’s been a great ride so far and I can’t wait to help our portfolio companies continue to have success.
I’ve written a series of blog posts on the Magma blog that outline our vision for the Chilean and Latin American entrepreneurial ecosystem, plus advice on how entrepreneurs can find success more easily, one of which is already changing the conversation in Chile’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’ve been recently featured in Pousta and GigaOm.
Frequent mistakes made by Chilean Entrepreneurs
Since we launched Magma Partners, I’ve reviewed 300+ applications for funding, the vast majority from Chile, with some from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, USA and Uruguay.
Of those 300+, we’ve invested in seven. I’ve met some amazing entrepreneurs and have learned from many of them. But the vast majority of companies we’ve reviewed have similar problems that prevent us from investing. I’m writing this post to try to help entrepreneurs who are looking for money avoid these mistakes so that they can be more ready to accept an investment.
Magma Investment Thesis for Chile and Latin America
At Magma Partners, we invest in the best entrepreneurs we can find. We would rather invest in an amazing entrepreneur with a mediocre idea rather than a mediocre entrepreneur with an amazing idea. An amazing entrepreneur can always change their idea. We also strongly believe that Magma must be able to provide direct help to each company we invest in outside of just money. If our only help is just money, it doesn’t make sense for us to invest in a startup.
Propiedad Facil – A property tool with all the tools a real estate agent needs to list, sell and rent a property.
Deenty – An educational platform that teaches spanish speakers everything they need to know about dental health and allows people to find top rated dentists, book appointments and access quality dental treatments at fair prices.
Petly – One stop shop for pet supplies and connections to pet service providers like veterinarians and groomers.
Ttanti – High quality watches made of handcrafted Chilean wood, swiss movements and Patagonian leather.
Thinker Thing – World class games and tools for 3d printers.
After watching Costa Rica advance to the quarterfinals, we set out to the south, aiming for Salvador, about 750km away. Every Brazilian we’d told we were driving south to Salvador looked at us like we were crazy and tried to convince us to change our plans. They said the road was terrible, there were frequent robberies, potential kidnappings, random objects in the road to get you to slow down so that people could rob you, and that many of the police were so corrupt that you weren’t even supposed to stop for the police if they tried to stop you. I assumed this was another case of south americans exaggerating the danger, but I looked online on trip advisor and found dozens of stories of bad roads and dangerous conditions.
We needed to get to Salvador for the US game three days later and we wanted to see the beautiful Brazilian coast line, so we decided to go. Because the Costa Rica game went to extra time and penalties and we got stuck in traffic, we ended up leaving Recife after dark. We stopped at a truck stop for a traditional meal of grilled meat, farofa, beans, rice and fruit juice and planned our route south. I so wish I had a russian style dashboard cam for this drive, as it was one of the craziest of my life.
Within 20 miles of leaving Recife, the road went from decent highway to a two lane road with no shoulder, car eating pot holes and heavy truck traffic. This route connects Brazil’s third and fifth largest city, but at least half of it is worse than anything I’ve ever driven on, even in South Africa. Over the next few hours we avoided: a road kill horse that was blocking our lane, a fully intact truck tire in the middle of the road and a two and a half foot long piece of metal that would have popped our tires.
After avoiding pot hole after pot hole in the now dense fog, we saw red flashing lights off in the distance. We had been told not to stop for police, so we weren’t sure what we were going to do when we came to the flashing lights. As we got closer, we saw that the police were blocking the road. What to do? We slowed down and got closer and we saw the entire road sparkling in our headlights. And then we saw it. A jackknifed semi truck blocking 80% of the road that had spilled its entire contents across the road: 10,000+ now shattered glass beer bottles. The police had used shovels to clear two tire paths for cars to pass and were trying to direct traffic.
We finally cleared the area and pulled into Maceió, which we later learned is the most violent city in Brazil. As I was pulling into the city, I read an article that said Maceió was mostly lawless, people solved problems with knives and that the police could be bought off for even the biggest of crimes. It was late, I was tired and we weren’t paying too much attention as we sped into the city, keeping up with traffic going 110km per hour, blasting through red lights, in 50km zones.
As we got closer to our hotel, I tried to turn left and had to take evasive action to avoid an oncoming car, as I’d turned down a one way street. That oncoming car was a police car with its lights on. I figured we were screwed and he’d stop us and maybe demand a bribe. But he just kept on going and didn’t pay us a second thought. I can’t think of many other places in the world where you turn the wrong way down a one way street, almost crash head on into a police car and don’t get pulled over. The entire drive reiterated why Brazilians were mad about the world cup. Basic infrastructure connecting the 3rd and 5th biggest city just didn’t work. And was outright dangerous.
Praia Francesa
The next day we went to Praia Francesa, a small beach town about 30 minutes south of Maciaó. It was absolutely beautiful and really relaxing after the long, harrowing drive the night before. Besides for the natural beauty, the first thing I noticed was the amount of people with knife wounds. On their faces. On their chests. On their legs. I looked it up later and found articles saying that people solved their problems with knives instead of fists, guns or calling the police. And it showed. I bet we saw 10+ people that afternoon with some sort of knife scar, including our waiter who had a mouth to ear scar.
After spending the day at the beach, we headed south again, with the intention of getting to a small town about an hour from Salvador. We missed our turn off and by about 1030pm, ended up in Conte, a tiny town about 120km from Salvador. We were some of the only tourists in town and stayed in a beautiful hotel for about $50 for the night. We ate dinner at a small restaurant where locals were drinking beer and sampled the local food.
Fish, shrimp stew
Salvador and its region has some of the most interesting food in Brazil. It’s the center of afro-brazilian culture and you can see the influences in everything, but most of all the food. There are dishes that are very similar to southern food in the US, including Acarajé, which is very similar to hush puppies, boiled peanuts and stewed chicken with spices. Acarajé, one of my favorites and a ubiquitous street food, is made of smashed up black eyed peas and then covered with okra, boiled shrimp, greens and sauce.
There’s also fish and seafood stew cooked with spices, served with the stew sauce thickened by manioc flour. I had this stew in Salvador and had to convince the waiter to let me order it, as he thought the shrimp and fish stew, along with the manioc would be too much for my gringo digestive system. I’m glad I was able to convince him, as it was by far my favorite dish I tried in Brazil.
Acai is the hidden gem of Brazilian snacks. I’d had acai juice before and didn’t really like it, but the frozen acai with bananas, granola and honey. I had it for breakfast, in hot weather on the beach and after hangovers. An incredible treat that I wish we had either in Chile or in the US.
In Conte, I sampled a manioc and chicken stew that had been cooked for 4+ hours in a spicy broth, while my friend had carne de sol, the most popular meat dish in the region. We also ate cheese grilled over open coals, another ubiquitous street food in the region. It’s really easy to always order grilled meat when you’re in Brazil, but if you go off the beaten path a bit, you can find really interesting, flavorful dishes.
We got up early the next morning, ate Brazilian fruit for breakfast, and then headed south toward Salvador and the USA Belgium game. We stopped for a coconut water halfway to Salvador, then drove to the mall near where we would be staying to take the shuttle to the game.
Light house Barra, Salvador
Salvador was my favorite city I visited this trip and I would go back again. It’s a city that made sense to host world cup games. The historic Arena Fonte Nova is located downtown, within walking distance from Pelorinho, Salvador’s historic center, the beach and areas with bars. Located between a major street, a favela and a beautiful lake, the redone stadium is beautiful from the outside and had good sight lines from inside. We bought beers outside the stadium from entrepreneurial Brazilians and got into the stadium.
coconut water
I had tickets from the US supporters club and was expecting to be in an all US section as I had been in the previous games, but FIFA screwed it up and I was in a mixed section with Belgians, US fans and Brazilians. I’d stood and cheered the entire first three games with thousands of other US fans, but this time I had to sit as Belgium dominated the first half. The US were lucky to be tied at halftime, but were still in the game.
Arena Fonte Nova
My friend and I decided to move seat locations and stand with other US fans in another section, which improved the atmosphere. Tim Howard stood on his head the entire game, turning in the best goalkeeping game I’ve ever seen. Belgium really should have scored two or three times in regulation, but Howard kept them out. In the last seconds of the game, the US missed it’s chance win the game, missing a wide open chance from about six yards out.
Belgium finally broke through in extra time and scored twice, but the US fought back, scoring quickly and almost scoring again off a beautifully executed set piece. It would be have been nice to see the US play more attacking in the Belgium game, but it was a good end to a fun world cup run. I was surprised how anti-US the Brazilian crowd in Salvador was, chanting “USA go home,” “bye bye USA,” and whistling loudly to drown out our cheers whenever we got something started. Although the US advanced to the round of 16 again, just like 2010, it was a good world cup that showed US progress. Hopefully Klinsmann learns from this world cup and puts in a good showing for Copa America 2016 in the US.
The next day was a public holiday, for Bahia independence day. Salvador de Bahia, founded in 1500, was the first settlement by the Portuguese and just oozes history. We drove to Pelorinho, the old city, which gets its name from the stockades where the Portuguese originally hung and tortured slaves and locals. We watched the celebratory parade with full brass marching bands and dancers, had a beer and enjoyed the old architecture. Everyone was incredibly nice, open and willing to talk to us. This was true everywhere in Brazil, but especially true in Salvador.
We spent the next day in Barra, one of Salvador’s many beaches, enjoying the sun, caipirinhas and warm water. Barra is one of the only beaches in Brazil where you can see the sunset, which was absolutely beautiful. The Brazilians on the beach stood up and cheered as the sun went down, thanking it for making the day a great one. We decided to watch Brazil vs. Colombia in Pelorinho, the old section of town. People piled out of their homes to set up chairs in the streets and watch the game on tvs perched from windows and porches. When Brazilian won, this was the reaction:
I went to one last game, the Netherlands vs. Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, which was a tight, exciting and chance filled game. The entire crowd were behind the Costa Ricans, willing them to win. Both teams had great chances, but neither could convert. The Dutch manager substituted goal keepers in the last minute of extra time and his gamble paid off. Tim Krul, the substitute, taunted, psyched out and disrupted the Costa Ricans and then saved two of their shots, winning the game for the Dutch and sending them through. The atmosphere was electric, with the Brazilians singing anti-Argentina songs throughout the entire match at full volume. Argentines sang right back.
By the end of my three week trip, I was ready to sleep in my own bed and stop traveling, but I was sad to leave sunny, warm Salvador for cold, rainy Santiago. It was an amazing trip through northern Brazil and I’d love to go back to explore more of Salvador and the surrounding area, along with southern brazil. Although it’s still four years away, I can’t wait for the world cup in 2018, even if it is in Russia.
Bolivia, wedged between Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, is an amazing country of contrasts. With unmatched deposits of silver, tin, zinc, natural gas and enough lithium to power all of our modern devices for centuries, Bolivia should be a wealthy country. But is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, only slightly better off than Haiti.
Since its “discovery” by the Spanish in the 1500s until today, Bolivia has been screwed over by nearly everyone, first by Spain, then Britain, the United States, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, all in partnership with its small upper class that has exploited its natural resources a labor. As I traveled through Bolivia over the past ten days, taking in its incredibly natural beauty, I read A Concise History of Bolivia and reread Open Veins of Latin America and began to appreciate just how unlucky the Bolivians have been.
Salar de Uyuni
I started my trip from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, booking the three day tour to the Salar de Uyuni. I’d done this trip before in 2011, but I still loved doing it again. You can read horror stories about this trip, but both times I’ve gone, I’ve never had a problem. This time I booked with Cordillera Traveller on the Chilean side and the accommodations were much better than with Colque Tours in 2011. We paid about $20 more than the competition but our driver seemed safer and more knowledgable.
I joined a group of 18 people in four Jeeps and we left San Pedro at 8am and made the one hour trek to the Bolivian border, where pretty much the only people who cross are tourists. We climbed from 2000 meters all the way up to 5000m (~16,000 feet) by nightfall. The scenery, along with the altitude, is (literally) breathtaking. We slept at altitude, but kept waking up every hour or so, our hearts racing and throats dry from the altitude.
Bolivia/Chile Border
The next day, we went past geysers, interesting rock formations and more colored lagoons until we reached a tiny town called Culpina K. It looked like a ghost town. Our guide, Humberto, told us that most of the people in the town either cultivate quinoa or work in the mines, so they got to bed by sundown at the latest. It was like going back in time to when most people farmed and lived in small towns.
We woke up early and drove through Uyuni, a poor, broken down town in the middle of nowhere, that wouldn’t exist without the Salar that’s just next door. At 10,000 square km, its the largest salt flat in the world and contains 50%-70% of the world’s lithium supply.It’s so different from anything I’ve ever seen and coming back a second time just brought the point home again. It’s so flat, so white and so big that you can see the curve of the earth. On cloudy days, the guides can’t go too far away from the “shore” or they risk getting disoriented and lost on the Salar. Not taking my own advice from 2011, I got burned to a crisp. Again.
We arrived back to Uyuni in the afternoon, burned, thirsty and caked in salt and went directly to the bus depot to reserve tickets to Potosí. Bolivian roads are unsafe. Drivers aren’t very experienced, road conditions vary and you have to keep your eye out for mudslides and the occasional llama darting into the road. As a rule in Bolivia, always buy the most expensive bus ticket. Our bus trundled out of Uyuni onto the brand new road that connects Uyuni-Potosí-Sucre and prepared ourselves for the four hour trip. It was the first paved road we’d seen in four days and had only been completed in the past year. The bus seemed safe enough, but it was easy to imagine the bus falling off the hairpin turns.
Getting squashed on the salar
Potosí
We arrived safely into Potosí and got off at the “ex terminal”, which is really just a service station in the middle of the town and took a taxi to the Tukos Casa Real, an old building that’s been refurbished into a hotel. The room was massive, had hot water and the hotel provided a nice breakfast and only cost $40 per night for something that would cost at least $150 in the US. My heart was pounding and I was struggling to breath after walking up the three flights of stairs to get to the room. The 4060m altitude really takes it out of you. I can’t imagine playing a world cup qualifier in La Paz, Quito or even Mexico City.
Potosí was the city that drove Europe’s economy for almost three hundred years. From 1550-1783, it’s estimated that 45,000 tons of pure silver came out of Cerro Rico, one of the richest silver mines in the history of the world. The mine made people fabulously wealthy and the town grew to a peak of 200,000 people at a time when Madrid only had about 50,000. But it was all built on exploitation of natives and africans, who were used as slaves. Some people estimate that eight million people have died in Cerro Rico mining first silver, then tin and now zinc.
Cerro Rico
The mine created incredible wealth, which led to some amazing churches, cathedrals, public spaces and houses, much of which has gone into different stages disrepair after the richest minerals were extracted. Cerro Rico’s riches pushed the Spanish to create Bolivia’s first national mint, which has been preserved and converted into a beautiful museum. The original donkey powered minting machines are preserved alongside some of the original coins.
Potosí Catedral
The cathedral has been beautifully restored over the past ten year. During the war for independence, Simon Bolivar ordered the colorful cathedral to be whitewashed. People forgot and the incredible colors were rediscovered during the renovation. Now a UNESCO world heritage site, parts of colonial Potosí have been preserved, but the poverty remains.
Potosí Catedral
Today, it’s a loud, bustling city filled with diesel busses that come directly from China after they’ve been banned for expelling too much pollution, broken down cars honking at every intersection and people everywhere. I only saw a few non-natives during my three days in Potosí. Even today, an estimated 25% of Bolivians aren’t fluent in Spanish and many people are still bilingual Quechua or Ayamar speakers, including a taxi I got into.
You can see the grinding poverty: Potosí is now one of Bolivia’s poorest areas. There’s hardly any industry, other than mining, and the occasional tourist, so locals, mostly indigenous people, are forced into the mines. The miners forced out the government’s nationalization attempt because of rampant corruption, so now the miners have an elaborate series of cooperatives where you work for yourself. If you strike it rich, you can be a millionaire. If not, you may starve to death or be relegated to extreme poverty.
Potosí
Because life expectancy is so short and families are large, Bolivia is an incredibly young country, with an average age of 22, compared to 33 in Chile and 36 in the US. It’s noticeable. There are school aged kids everywhere, decked out in formal school uniforms. After school, the kids held massive water balloon and squirt gun fights on the main roads and plazas. I got caught in the crossfire a few times.
The food reflects the local conditions, making the most out of less expensive ingredients to provide the highest level of nutrition possible. There’s lots of potatoes, quinoa, corn and vegetables. Meat is a luxury. Llama features on many menus. Coca Cola is ubiquitous, but I didn’t see many international chain fast food restaurants.
We tried to go to Doña Eugenia, a restaurant specializing in local food, but it was closed. We ended up at a tiny restaurant nearby where I tried Kalapulca, a corn based soup with bits of meat and potatoes that’s served with two superhot rocks that creates a volcano like soup. Another good option was Koala Cafe, which has cheap fixed price menus and featured an awesome quinoa soup.
We did a mine tour with Big Deal Tours, the best company in town. Founded and run by ex-miners, the guides take you on a 3km walk underground through the mine. I felt a bit conflicted about doing a mine tour to basically gawk at people who were working in terrible conditions, but after talking to the miners at the tour agency, I decided to do it. I’m glad I did. It was a sobering tour.
Miners still work nearly the same as they did in the 1500s. Most don’t have electricity, so they use pickaxes, hammers and dynamite to bust open the rocks. They carry out the ore on their backs in 40-50kg loads or in wheeled carts weighing between one and two tons. If they slip, they get crushed. Life expectancy for miners is between 40 and 50.
It’s dark, dank and filled with ankle deep water. Particles hang in the air, invading your lungs. Miners chew massive amounts of coca leaves to suppress hunger, fatigue and keep them energized, just like the slaves and exploited indigenous did in the colonial era. They drink 96% pure alcohol that costs the same as a beer to dull the pain and for luck to get “pure” veins of minerals and make sacrifices to “El Tio” the God who has domain of the mountain.
We started at the miners’ market where we purchased gifts for the miners: coca leaves, juice and dynamite. A full dynamite kit (detonator, accelerant and stick) cost $3. As we walked through the mine, crouching down to try to avoid smashing our heads, and not doing so very well, we ran into miner after miner. They all looked similar. Dirty, old clothes. A huge wad of coca leaves. Many missing teeth. Upbeat. Happy to chat with us.
“How old are you?” asked our group to a miner who looked at least 35.
“Twenty-five,” he replied.
“How much do you make per week?” we asked.
“About 1000 Bolivianos per week,” he replied, which is about $140 per week.
“And how long have you been working in the mine?” we all wanted to know.
“Fifteen years,” he said.
His story is fairly typical. There are so few jobs and money is so tight that fathers bring their sons to the mine starting at as young as ten. Or if the father dies and there’s many kids, the oldest kids have to go into the mine to support the family.
$3 dynamite
After a three hour tour or just walking through the mine I was exhausted. The 4400m altitude didn’t help, but the crouching, the head smashing and shuffling through water sapped my energy. I can’t imaging having to hammer all day, run away from dynamite explosions and having to push 1-2 tons carts manually out of the mine for long shifts, with hunger pangs that are only dulled by coca leaves and alcohol.
I’m really glad I got to see Potosí, but it was incredibly sad to see a place that had such natural wealth that has been exploited and squandered to the point where its inhabitants live such a hard life.
Miner pulling 1-2 tons (with help)
Sucre
We decided to leave Potosí via the new bus terminal, which is located about twenty minutes from the town center. It’s brand new and clearly is an investment from the central government, as the location clearly wasn’t chosen for business reasons. We got out of the taxi and immediately felt like we were in a zombie movie. There were ticket sellers bleating like sheep, but there weren’t any customers. The zombies activated and attacked from all sides, trying to get the commission on the $4 bus tickets. Check out the video.
After getting past the zombies, we settled into the four hour bus ride down from 4060m to Sucre’s 2800m above sea level. Getting off the bus was like being able to drink the air. We took a taxi from the bus station to Hostal de Su Merced, a four star hotel in a refurbished building right downtown. It cost about $60 per night for a level of service that would cost $175+ in the US or Chile.
The first thing I noticed was the architecture. Everything is white. Sucre was Bolivia’s capital during colonial times until the seat of government was changed to La Paz during one of Bolivia’s many coups, dictatorships and revolutions and has preserved its historical buildings. The center is designated a UNESCO world heritage site, so there are building restrictions to keep the local character. The main square is surrounded by the cathedral, the municipality and the house where Bolivia’s declaration of independence was signed. There are a multitude of churches and church buildings, schools and universities, including South America’s first law school.
Sucre
Although Sucre is a tourist city, the attractions are only open from about 10am-12pm, then again from 2pm-5pm, at most. It was frustrating, but by the second day I’d figured it out. Just like in other parts of Bolivia, the daily schedule is very different from Chile or what you might think of a Latin schedule. Shops open early and lunch ends by 1pm. Dinner is from 7-9 and most restaurants are closed by 9 or 930. People are out drinking at bars by 930pm. In Chile, people are just starting to eat dinner! It’s another example in the long list that show Latin America is not just one homogeneous cultural unit.
I really enjoyed salteñas, Bolivian empanadas, especially from El Patio Salteñaria. They have a sweet, flaky dough and have a bit of sugar on the top and are filled with meat and vegetables. The filling is similar to a Chilean empanada de pino, but the dough is completely different. People eat salteñas from breakfast until lunch and not in the afternoon, whereas in Chile empanadas are a lunch or later food. It was hard to find high quality food, but I really enjoyed Condor Cafe, Cafe Mirador, and especially Cafe El Tapado, where I tired a variety of local, quinoa heavy dishes.
Salteñaría Indoor patio
I had an amazing time in Bolivia. The country is absolutely beautiful, the people are welcoming and warm and the country just oozes with history. I hope Bolivia has better luck and better leadership as it moves into this century, as it has all of the natural resources to be much better developed than it is today.
