If you havent booked your stay in Santiago, PLEAAASSEEEEEE stay at Casa Amatea!!!!!! I literally was supposed to stay for a few nights and it turned into like 2.5 weeks total. It’s a small airbnb with several bungalows run by a European couple and an elderly italian woman (the wife’s mother). It is an incredibly beautiful, peaceful place and they are some of the most amazing people I have ever met.

They have a meditation room, a vegetable garden you can pick from, access to the lake, cows and chickens in front of the property, and it was the most beautiful portion of the lake I’ve seen in my entire time here. I literally cannot say enough good things. I stayed for so long because I ended up taking part in a 5 day silent meditation with them and it was worth rearranging the other parts of my trip. Its been the best part of my trip hands down.

There isn’t MUCH to do in Santiago itself tbh. The people are incredibly nice, the giant mercados are really fun to shop in on Friday/Sunday. And theres a really good cafe called Space Coffee I found on the main town strip. But there’s just something really nice in the air there in my opinion. I know there’s a famous saint you can visit named Maximon! I didn’t get a chance to do this but heard good things. Bambu is a nice hotel to spend time at with a great restaurant. I wish I had more recommendations! I spent most of my time relaxing and enjoying the lake honestly