Thanks. I find both of these neighborhoods to have interesting stories and histories. As mentioned in the video, I now regret not checking out the murals in La Victoria. Murals tend to be beautiful and very powerful in their messages.
@@wheelsabroad Cuando transitaste por Avda. Departamental en dirección oeste, señalaste unos murales que solo grabaste brevemente. Si bien, ese lugar no era "La Victoria", quizá podría haber sido más visible en el video, porque de hecho ese lugar es conocido como "Museo a cielo abierto": muchas obras (no solo por la calle en que estabas) y de una calidad muy alta, tanto por esa avenida, como por las otras calles interiores. Quizá para la próxima!!
@@methodos100 Yes, that would have been good. Even though I do my homework upfront and plan some things, one of the charms of the trips is to run into unexpected things. These murals were one of them. It wasn't until editing back home that I realised the full span of the murals. Google Maps helped me out, but it would have been nice indeed to have spent more time on it. These murals are awesome.
@@pedrocortes6625 haha none taken, to be fair I worked for the Minsal in Santiago Centro for a couple of years (Enrique Maciver, right next to Santa Lucia) so I have my fair share of experience. But really I only started going further Plaza Italia once I came out of school and started going to the University
I'm surprised to see how much La Legua looks like Watts LA. From the architecture and street layouts to the reputation for being a dangerous area for tourists.
@@wheelsabroad I think that much like you discovered in La Legua, its reputation is somewhat exaggerated, at least during the day even for a clueless tourist from a less urban area such as myself. If you're ever in Los Angeles, I highly recommend checking out the Watts Towers Arts Center.
@@Sr.ChilePepper You make me curious now. Will keep this in mind. I was in LA two years ago and did not visit Watts, unfortunately. I did take my inline skates to Skid Row, an (in)famous area for different reasons (video is on my channel, th-cam.com/video/fv1Sl8wrzOo/w-d-xo.html).
Creo que este es uno de los videos que más me gusta de los que has publicado sobre Santiago: tiene la aventura suficiente, una mirada histórica de los lugares, y la inmersión en sectores que nunca han sido turísticos y que los propios chilenos jamás visitarían. Por cierto, quizá te parecerá repetitivo leer lo siguiente, pero es verdad: La Legua es y sobre todo "fue", un lugar extremadamente problemático, pero el tipo y cantidad de crímenes que ha dejado actualmente la migración caribeña en Chile, parece haber dejado un poco en el olvido el riesgo que significaba estos lugares. En general, me parecer muy interesante tu trabajo y espero que si vuelves a Chile, puedas continuar tu aventura. Saludos desde Santiago!!
Thanks for the comments and for being a loyal viewer. I am happy to hear that you enjoy the videos and that you too see the added value of going places where tourists (or even locals) don't go. They are as much part of the city as city centers and posh areas are. I find the historical aspects associated with these areas intriguing: every neighborhood has a history. My contact Carla knew quite a few pieces of info I could use. Having said so, La Legua was not as bad as one would think based on what one hears. Maybe it was the time of the day. There is only one Santiago video left (Maipu) and then the Santiago sequence is unfortunately done. But stay tuned if you like this kind of stuff in other cities worldwide too. I still have Montevideo and Buenos Aires coming up: posher and rougher areas. Currently editing Riyadh (Saudi Arabia): that was quite something, traditionally a closed country.
@@wheelsabroad only halfway through the video but i agree. i always wonder what these areas would be like restored to their ideal with proper sidewalks, underground cables, more trees and so on, it's not paris but still has charm and potential. thanks for the ride!
@@bcccl569 Thanks. In Amsterdam, I live very close (pretty much in) an area that had a poor reputation for decades. About 10 years ago the neighborhood was completely revamped and it has been doing better since. No Paris, it still has this little edge to it.
@ nice. a friend lives not far from la legua in san joaquin, his neghbourhood is humble but has been kept tidy and upgraded quietly as our economic situation improved. hopefully the areas you saw will look better in the future.
Hi all, this video is picking up more momentum that I had expected. Interesting to read all the comments and discussions, and thanks for your interest! Allow me a quick recap of the essence of this channel for all the new visitors. For a round-up of hiccups/bloopers (everybody's favorite topic, right?), highlights and personal records: see here th-cam.com/video/5Ubc3PoGBN4/w-d-xo.html On this channel, I use wheels (inline skates brought from home) or bikes (rented locally) to explore cities worldwide. The wheels imo provide a unique combination of scope, flexibility and immersion. I am interested in all parts that make up a city, not ignoring touristy sites but putting in more efforts to explore the less touristy parts of a city as well. Wherever possible, I incorporate background information. If you like exploring cities through this ‘Wheelsabroad’ angle, consider subscribing :-) Eighty videos have been posted and many more are upcoming (next cities: Buenos Aires/Montevideo/Riyadh - order to be determined). For my Santiago crew out there: the next video will be about Maipu. Cheers!
The trick to get rid of dogs' attention is stop pedalling and don't look afraid. Just pedal strongly before approaching the dogs, so you get enough momentum to get away. That works for me, at least. Haven't tried with non Chilean dogs though 😅
Most of the time when I'm cycling and a dog begins to chase, I immediately stop and most of the time, if not all, they either just stop, look at you in confusion and just go back to where they came from, or they get super scared and run back to their spot. Dogs just chase you because it's their hunting instinct so when you do something they don't expect, they don't know how to react or get scared. Now if it's a big pack of dogs, probably just keep pedaling is the best. Scaring 1-2 dogs is not a big issue but trying to scare 4-5 thats another story.
Maybe I should try that next time, although in this case the dead-end street did not allow fast pedaling before getting to the dogs ;-) I am used to dogs harassing me when I am on inline skates, but not so much when on the bike.
@@BaghNakh1 I could have tried to just stop and see what happened. But what did not help is that it was a one-way street, I had nowhere to go but past the dogs somehow. Talking about a pack of dogs: check out the scene at 1.00 min in one of my Cairo (Egypt) videos, I count as many as 7 dogs while I am on online skates: th-cam.com/video/l0j7irV05-U/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for that clarification! I was not aware of that. Somehow, it felt less safe on the left-hand side than on the right-hand side (even though that was a bus lane).
En la realidad no es así. En la práctica, tomamos siempre a la derecha, por que el problema número uno, son los taxistas colectivos que tienen un gran egocentrismo que creen que la calle es suya. Después, un motivo de fuerza mayor. Los vehículos de la ambulancia, bomberos y carabineros qué realmente necesita del carril izquierdo si o si. Ya que se usa para adelantar. Además de eso, no usamos las ciclovias en su mayoría, por la pésima implementación, o el pésimo estado de ellas. Salvo los lugares concurridos. Como dije, los vehículos motorizados, salvo las motos, tienen un egocéntrismo impresionante.
@@HYP3RK1NECT I understand what you mean. Indeed, my intuition kept me on the right and not on the left. I saw some cyclists on the right, and some on the left. The bike lane along Alameda was legendary, I did it by inline skates. Not an easy one, check it out: th-cam.com/video/9oAja8IgD0c/w-d-xo.html
Yep, I spend a a lot of time before any trip collecting facts and bits of cool info. I try to verbally work in some of these facts live on the spot (you don't want to know how many takes that requires sometimes ;-)). Other facts and info I incorporate afterwards while editing. Ideally, I collaborate with a local (such as Carla, a Santiago native credited at the start of my video) to work in some facts not easily found online.
Helloo i live in Santiago and its great to see someone exploring these parts of the city, i absolutely NEVER cycle around the central part of the city, i always border it going through the Rio Mapocho bycicle road or similar routes, but never go through the heart of Santiago. Never. One thing you pointed wrong in the video is the Police, you said that the cruiser that you encountered with (Carabineros de Chile) was not police but a law enforcement that just had jurisdiction on the whole country, but that is somewhat wrong, you see, here in Chile we have a different law enforcement system than most countries, for example, in the US every city has its own police department(local pd), and every state has its own police (state troopers), and the whole country has its own police(fbi), but here the country is so narrow and so long, that we have just one police department for the whole country, dividing it in Police stations or "comisarias", like, some police cruisers will say "4ta comisaria de (place name)" or "2nd comisaria de (place name)", and that is the name for one or other police station the cruisers come from, and that is the same with officers. There is also the PDI wich is like the FBI, also has jurisdiction in the whole country and is destined to investigations rather than patrolling. There is also "Seguridad Ciudadana" that is the law enforcement that is most similar to US's local law enforcement system. Every town has its own Seguridad Ciudadana and its like a police force but less armed and has lighter tasks, like to patrol and help the neighborhood or help Carabineros as a secondary force. If a city is too big, like Santiago, every comuna or every sector (i forgot the word but like Maipu, Las Condes, Recoleta, etc.) has its own Seguridad Ciudadana that patrols the neighborhoods only of that part of the city. I Really don't know if your country in Europe has the same policing system as the countries are very small and im just explaining it for no reason, but there it is. I hope someday i'll go to Europe too, i just love how civilized they are and i would love skiing there too! Stay safe brother.
Hi, thank you for this clarification. I got my info on the Carabineros from Wikipedia, but apparently there are some nuances to be made. You ask how it is organised over here. I am from The Netherlands, which is a very small country with a very high population density. We used to have several police regions but 10 years ago these merged into one. The whole country has one big police organization now. The bike path along the Mapocho was nice and very enjoyable. Hope you can make it to Europe one day, like you say. I have tons of videos from European cities still waiting to be uploaded (I have been probing the continent on wheels for the last 20 years or so). For now, on my channel you can find some videos from Italian cities (Turino/Milano/Bologna), and also there I explore tougher sides of town as well. Italy is such a beautiful country! Of course I should also mention my hometown of Amsterdam, the most touristy European capital when counting number of tourists per resident (beating Paris and Rome). I have a folder called ‘Wheels@Home’ (th-cam.com/video/KgJnY1hALXQ/w-d-xo.html) if you want to get to know Amsterdam better on wheels. Here is one video that specifically focuses on the biking and skating infrastructure, you will see that people here bike everywhere and anywhere: bikes rule the city and cars better be submissive. th-cam.com/video/7dzfbEga4D8/w-d-xo.html. Be warned: don’t come to the Netherlands to ski, it is the worst country in the world for that (we have no mountains and hardly even hills, it is pretty pathetic). Europeans love the Alps for skiing and flock there during winter weeks.
thank u for this type of content!, as a woman born and raised in Santiago i always argue about how we shouldn't stigmatize the west side of the city, i love how you also investigated about the neighborhoods
Thank you for your nice comment! I am fascinated by cities worldwide as they are complex 'ecosystems'. Areas such as La Legua and La Victoria are as much part of a city as areas such as Las Condes or the city center, and also deserve to be explored.
We bike primarily on the right. But on avenues, if there is a Bus lane on the right, we prefer to bike on the left side, because it is within the law, and tends to be safer because bus drivers take it too personally when someone invades their spaces
Thanks, interesting discussion. I am not used to biking on the left and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I think I prefer battling it out with buses than being on the left ;-)
Thanks for your comment. I was in Barrio Franklin with my inline skates and it certainly had some rougher edges, check it out: th-cam.com/video/sGV14KzYxI4/w-d-xo.html. As fate wants it, also there I was chased by dogs ;-) Skates attract dogs (motion and sound). What I understood is that Franklin is also attracting hipsters, suggesting gentrification may be on the way or perhaps ongoing? The same happened over here in Amsterdam to traditionally rough areas such as Pijp and Jordaan. Decades ago these areas got a revamp and hipsters arrived. Both are now amongst the most wanted areas in Amsterdam. A current hotspot of gentrification in the city is Amsterdam-Noord
I think you went there in the morning, so the “bad people” are still exhausted from the night before. General speaking (worldwide) if you go straight, overhearing any hellos and don’t make eye contact there is no problem in “bad” neighbourhoods.
Based on my experiences so far, I agree with your general statement. I have done quite a number of areas with a bad reputation but always kept to myself in the mornings and it always went well. Some basic precautions go a long way. The added complexity though, is the GoPro camera on my chest. As long as you keep your speed, things go well and the GoPro is hardly noticed by people. Looking back at the video, it appears that not a lot of people are paying attention to me, except perhaps the little kid 😉 Even the guy washing his car at 11.349 min in the dead-end road is ignoring me. As fate wanted it, the most illustrative case for the GoPro being a problem happened in my own hometown of Amsterdam! I was once skating with my GoPro through a poorer area on my way to a coastal town. Somebody yelled at me: “You spy!”. That is the kind of sentiment the GoPro can lead to and I have to be mindful of it.
you know it´s a tourist when he says "i like to stick to the bus lane" 😂 bus drivers here are crazy and some chilean buses are this ridiculously long and hard-to-drive things so bike guys get killed a lot under those, you just did it at the right time hahaha take care next time, nice video
LOL! Yes, taking the bus lanes is not appreciated by bus drivers anywhere on this planet, I have learnt. But I have gotten used to it with a balanced mix of defensive and 'assertive' attitude, and also see it as a technical challenge. If you want to see some more examples, see th-cam.com/video/9oAja8IgD0c/w-d-xo.html for me taking on the bus lane of Alameda with skates and th-cam.com/video/unbgtTGmY2I/w-d-xo.html for taking on Apoquindo on bike during Friday rush hour 😉 I felt comfortable all the way, except for one difficult merger.
I used to live a couple of miles away from La Legua. It was thought as a very dangerous place a couple of decades ago, but you never think that much of it. Once i rode my bike to a friend's house in San Miguel, so i took my phone and put the adress and just pedaled my way. Then i realized it was La Legua. Nothing happened. If a neighorhood has easy access, the odds are that it's not that dangerous. The stigma begun in the 70's during pinochet's dictatorship, it was a hotspot for armed insurrection groups. Later when "democracy" returned, some of them turned to drug dealing. It's an industrial area and now even has a mall nearby. Aslong as you keep moving and not eyeing someone too often, it's ok. BTW police in chile (carabineros) rarely patrols low income parts of the city, it's not because there's some risk to them, rather because of their incopentence.
Doesn't look "That bad.." for being the most "dangerous" neighborhoods in the city. Maybe in night time things get worse, but it look chill especially when compared to other slums in other South American countries. Maybe because there are not "favela" type constructions.
I agree, its reputation seemed worse than the the area actually was. I biked in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo as well, but stayed clear from the favelas.
Yeah, good question. I have little excuse for ignoring red lights other than saying that cycling in Amsterdam (my hometown) does that to you. Cycling in Amsterdam is anarchy and it has gotten in my system. I find myself ignoring red lights abroad too (only when safe) without realising it. Bad example.
The histories of these two neighborhoods are very fascinating, indeed. I learnt so much about the role of these neighborhoods and their residents. I work in science and as such have access to paid scientific articles, also about La Legua and La Victoria (some of these articles I quote in the video). These provide very useful information. It was also in a scientific article where I found the exact boundaries of La Legua, La Legua Emergencia and La Legua Nueva.
@@wheelsabroad Soy de la creencia de que no existen los barrios peligrosos, si no gente descuidada. Al menos en Chile que es donde conozco la gente que vive en las poblaciones es, en su absoluta mayoría gente esforzada y trabajadora pero que ciertos sectores de la sociedad estigmatizan y generalizan como delincuentes, yo conozco y mi familia proviene de poblaciones obreras de santiago y puedo asegurarte que las personas mas cálidas y amables que pueden haber se encuentran ahí. Me alegra que no te hayas topado con ningun malintencionado en tu viaje, son pocos pero se hacen notar. PD: Los perros callejeros siempre ladran y persiguen a los que van en bicicletas o motocicletas, da miedo pero en realidad no hacen nada 😂😂😂😂
@@papibonso Hi, thank you for your insights. Wrt dogs: in Buenos Aires I got bitten by a dog (not a stray one) while on skates, so I am a bit vigilant.
@@wheelsabroad same here in Norway. I wouldn't go as far as "Extremely" rude. Rather, it's against the law in Norway and cars could hit you as you are not a person, but a vehicle when on the bike. Noone does hit you though
@@cloned81 Pretty sure it is against the law in Amsterdam too. But the bike anarchy in Amsterdam has been around for so long that locals are used to it and it has settled in my system too. I need to be careful with this, I was once pulled over by police in Germany for ignoring a red light on the bike, oops.
Hello, thanks for your criticism. Your comment is not unfair for sure. La Legua does not have a good reputation, and viewers not familiar with it should get to know the (historic) background to the video’s theme and why I go to this unusual spot. But what I actually try to show with my video is how it really looks, taking a look on the spot itself to allow viewers to absorb for themselves what the area is about and make up their own minds. To me, personally, as I also say in the video, it did not appear as bad as its reputation would suggest and that could even help with getting a better qualitative view of the area. But I much agree with you that all this can be un uneasy balance
Man. Desafortunadamente, La Legua, fue la meca de las drogas y delincuencia en Santiago, después de La Pintana y Bajos de Mena. Las mismas acciones los tacharon forever.
Hi, thank you for your feedback. I am aware of the notion that videos like this will provoke mixed reactions and no video will ever be to everybody’s liking. My goal is to show cities from all the different angles, not just the normal tourist stuff but also the more complex and sometimes controversial parts of a city. On the channel you will find many of these aspects, including real tourist areas (Plaza de Armas, Mercado Central, etc). Next week’s video will be on Maipu, a lively, non-touristy suburb of Santiago that I enjoyed exploring very much.
Born and raised in Santiago, I have never even come close to La Legua and La Victoria, thats crazy, thanks for the video you have some massive balls!
Thanks. I find both of these neighborhoods to have interesting stories and histories. As mentioned in the video, I now regret not checking out the murals in La Victoria. Murals tend to be beautiful and very powerful in their messages.
@@wheelsabroad Cuando transitaste por Avda. Departamental en dirección oeste, señalaste unos murales que solo grabaste brevemente. Si bien, ese lugar no era "La Victoria", quizá podría haber sido más visible en el video, porque de hecho ese lugar es conocido como "Museo a cielo abierto": muchas obras (no solo por la calle en que estabas) y de una calidad muy alta, tanto por esa avenida, como por las otras calles interiores. Quizá para la próxima!!
@@methodos100 Yes, that would have been good. Even though I do my homework upfront and plan some things, one of the charms of the trips is to run into unexpected things. These murals were one of them. It wasn't until editing back home that I realised the full span of the murals. Google Maps helped me out, but it would have been nice indeed to have spent more time on it. These murals are awesome.
no offense intended my friend, you look like you don't go anywhere east from Plaza Italia 😅
@@pedrocortes6625 haha none taken, to be fair I worked for the Minsal in Santiago Centro for a couple of years (Enrique Maciver, right next to Santa Lucia) so I have my fair share of experience. But really I only started going further Plaza Italia once I came out of school and started going to the University
el sector de "La Legua" es uno de los lugares mas pobres de santiago, pero aún así vive mucha gente buena y trabajadora, buen trabajo
Thanks. I had the feeling the place was not as the stories suggested it to be.
@@wheelsabroad eso por que no fuiste en la noche o al atardecer
o no la cuentas
I'm surprised to see how much La Legua looks like Watts LA. From the architecture and street layouts to the reputation for being a dangerous area for tourists.
I have never been in Watts so I don't know how it looks. But Watts is definitely also known to be a tougher area, yes.
@@wheelsabroad I think that much like you discovered in La Legua, its reputation is somewhat exaggerated, at least during the day even for a clueless tourist from a less urban area such as myself. If you're ever in Los Angeles, I highly recommend checking out the Watts Towers Arts Center.
@@Sr.ChilePepper You make me curious now. Will keep this in mind. I was in LA two years ago and did not visit Watts, unfortunately. I did take my inline skates to Skid Row, an (in)famous area for different reasons (video is on my channel, th-cam.com/video/fv1Sl8wrzOo/w-d-xo.html).
Creo que este es uno de los videos que más me gusta de los que has publicado sobre Santiago: tiene la aventura suficiente, una mirada histórica de los lugares, y la inmersión en sectores que nunca han sido turísticos y que los propios chilenos jamás visitarían. Por cierto, quizá te parecerá repetitivo leer lo siguiente, pero es verdad: La Legua es y sobre todo "fue", un lugar extremadamente problemático, pero el tipo y cantidad de crímenes que ha dejado actualmente la migración caribeña en Chile, parece haber dejado un poco en el olvido el riesgo que significaba estos lugares. En general, me parecer muy interesante tu trabajo y espero que si vuelves a Chile, puedas continuar tu aventura. Saludos desde Santiago!!
Thanks for the comments and for being a loyal viewer. I am happy to hear that you enjoy the videos and that you too see the added value of going places where tourists (or even locals) don't go. They are as much part of the city as city centers and posh areas are. I find the historical aspects associated with these areas intriguing: every neighborhood has a history. My contact Carla knew quite a few pieces of info I could use. Having said so, La Legua was not as bad as one would think based on what one hears. Maybe it was the time of the day. There is only one Santiago video left (Maipu) and then the Santiago sequence is unfortunately done. But stay tuned if you like this kind of stuff in other cities worldwide too. I still have Montevideo and Buenos Aires coming up: posher and rougher areas. Currently editing Riyadh (Saudi Arabia): that was quite something, traditionally a closed country.
@@wheelsabroad only halfway through the video but i agree. i always wonder what these areas would be like restored to their ideal with proper sidewalks, underground cables, more trees and so on, it's not paris but still has charm and potential. thanks for the ride!
@@bcccl569 Thanks. In Amsterdam, I live very close (pretty much in) an area that had a poor reputation for decades. About 10 years ago the neighborhood was completely revamped and it has been doing better since. No Paris, it still has this little edge to it.
@ nice. a friend lives not far from la legua in san joaquin, his neghbourhood is humble but has been kept tidy and upgraded quietly as our economic situation improved. hopefully the areas you saw will look better in the future.
Hi all, this video is picking up more momentum that I had expected. Interesting to read all the comments and discussions, and thanks for your interest!
Allow me a quick recap of the essence of this channel for all the new visitors. For a round-up of hiccups/bloopers (everybody's favorite topic, right?), highlights and personal records: see here th-cam.com/video/5Ubc3PoGBN4/w-d-xo.html
On this channel, I use wheels (inline skates brought from home) or bikes (rented locally) to explore cities worldwide. The wheels imo provide a unique combination of scope, flexibility and immersion. I am interested in all parts that make up a city, not ignoring touristy sites but putting in more efforts to explore the less touristy parts of a city as well. Wherever possible, I incorporate background information.
If you like exploring cities through this ‘Wheelsabroad’ angle, consider subscribing :-) Eighty videos have been posted and many more are upcoming (next cities: Buenos Aires/Montevideo/Riyadh - order to be determined).
For my Santiago crew out there: the next video will be about Maipu. Cheers!
The trick to get rid of dogs' attention is stop pedalling and don't look afraid. Just pedal strongly before approaching the dogs, so you get enough momentum to get away. That works for me, at least. Haven't tried with non Chilean dogs though 😅
Most of the time when I'm cycling and a dog begins to chase, I immediately stop and most of the time, if not all, they either just stop, look at you in confusion and just go back to where they came from, or they get super scared and run back to their spot. Dogs just chase you because it's their hunting instinct so when you do something they don't expect, they don't know how to react or get scared. Now if it's a big pack of dogs, probably just keep pedaling is the best. Scaring 1-2 dogs is not a big issue but trying to scare 4-5 thats another story.
Maybe I should try that next time, although in this case the dead-end street did not allow fast pedaling before getting to the dogs ;-) I am used to dogs harassing me when I am on inline skates, but not so much when on the bike.
@@BaghNakh1 I could have tried to just stop and see what happened. But what did not help is that it was a one-way street, I had nowhere to go but past the dogs somehow. Talking about a pack of dogs: check out the scene at 1.00 min in one of my Cairo (Egypt) videos, I count as many as 7 dogs while I am on online skates: th-cam.com/video/l0j7irV05-U/w-d-xo.html
The law in Chile says that bikers should ride on the left when there's a dedicated bus lane on the right, that's why those bikers were doing that.
Thank you for that clarification! I was not aware of that. Somehow, it felt less safe on the left-hand side than on the right-hand side (even though that was a bus lane).
En la realidad no es así. En la práctica, tomamos siempre a la derecha, por que el problema número uno, son los taxistas colectivos que tienen un gran egocentrismo que creen que la calle es suya. Después, un motivo de fuerza mayor. Los vehículos de la ambulancia, bomberos y carabineros qué realmente necesita del carril izquierdo si o si. Ya que se usa para adelantar. Además de eso, no usamos las ciclovias en su mayoría, por la pésima implementación, o el pésimo estado de ellas. Salvo los lugares concurridos. Como dije, los vehículos motorizados, salvo las motos, tienen un egocéntrismo impresionante.
@@HYP3RK1NECT I understand what you mean. Indeed, my intuition kept me on the right and not on the left. I saw some cyclists on the right, and some on the left. The bike lane along Alameda was legendary, I did it by inline skates. Not an easy one, check it out: th-cam.com/video/9oAja8IgD0c/w-d-xo.html
Amazing job
Thank you! I hope you enjoy this view of a different part on Santiago, all on wheels.
you really did your homework! loved the historical facts
Yep, I spend a a lot of time before any trip collecting facts and bits of cool info. I try to verbally work in some of these facts live on the spot (you don't want to know how many takes that requires sometimes ;-)). Other facts and info I incorporate afterwards while editing. Ideally, I collaborate with a local (such as Carla, a Santiago native credited at the start of my video) to work in some facts not easily found online.
Helloo i live in Santiago and its great to see someone exploring these parts of the city, i absolutely NEVER cycle around the central part of the city, i always border it going through the Rio Mapocho bycicle road or similar routes, but never go through the heart of Santiago. Never. One thing you pointed wrong in the video is the Police, you said that the cruiser that you encountered with (Carabineros de Chile) was not police but a law enforcement that just had jurisdiction on the whole country, but that is somewhat wrong, you see, here in Chile we have a different law enforcement system than most countries, for example, in the US every city has its own police department(local pd), and every state has its own police (state troopers), and the whole country has its own police(fbi), but here the country is so narrow and so long, that we have just one police department for the whole country, dividing it in Police stations or "comisarias", like, some police cruisers will say "4ta comisaria de (place name)" or "2nd comisaria de (place name)", and that is the name for one or other police station the cruisers come from, and that is the same with officers. There is also the PDI wich is like the FBI, also has jurisdiction in the whole country and is destined to investigations rather than patrolling. There is also "Seguridad Ciudadana" that is the law enforcement that is most similar to US's local law enforcement system. Every town has its own Seguridad Ciudadana and its like a police force but less armed and has lighter tasks, like to patrol and help the neighborhood or help Carabineros as a secondary force. If a city is too big, like Santiago, every comuna or every sector (i forgot the word but like Maipu, Las Condes, Recoleta, etc.) has its own Seguridad Ciudadana that patrols the neighborhoods only of that part of the city. I Really don't know if your country in Europe has the same policing system as the countries are very small and im just explaining it for no reason, but there it is. I hope someday i'll go to Europe too, i just love how civilized they are and i would love skiing there too! Stay safe brother.
Hi, thank you for this clarification. I got my info on the Carabineros from Wikipedia, but apparently there are some nuances to be made.
You ask how it is organised over here. I am from The Netherlands, which is a very small country with a very high population density. We used to have several police regions but 10 years ago these merged into one. The whole country has one big police organization now.
The bike path along the Mapocho was nice and very enjoyable. Hope you can make it to Europe one day, like you say. I have tons of videos from European cities still waiting to be uploaded (I have been probing the continent on wheels for the last 20 years or so). For now, on my channel you can find some videos from Italian cities (Turino/Milano/Bologna), and also there I explore tougher sides of town as well. Italy is such a beautiful country!
Of course I should also mention my hometown of Amsterdam, the most touristy European capital when counting number of tourists per resident (beating Paris and Rome). I have a folder called ‘Wheels@Home’ (th-cam.com/video/KgJnY1hALXQ/w-d-xo.html) if you want to get to know Amsterdam better on wheels. Here is one video that specifically focuses on the biking and skating infrastructure, you will see that people here bike everywhere and anywhere: bikes rule the city and cars better be submissive. th-cam.com/video/7dzfbEga4D8/w-d-xo.html.
Be warned: don’t come to the Netherlands to ski, it is the worst country in the world for that (we have no mountains and hardly even hills, it is pretty pathetic). Europeans love the Alps for skiing and flock there during winter weeks.
@@wheelsabroad don't come to the netherlands to ski hahaha. excellent advice
Really nice video, thanks for show some of Santiago this way.
My pleasure. I enjoyed Santiago very much!
Awesome video man, congrats!!
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice ride, nice video and with lots of history 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you. I do my best! Glad you enjoyed it!
thank u for this type of content!, as a woman born and raised in Santiago i always argue about how we shouldn't stigmatize the west side of the city, i love how you also investigated about the neighborhoods
Thank you for your nice comment! I am fascinated by cities worldwide as they are complex 'ecosystems'. Areas such as La Legua and La Victoria are as much part of a city as areas such as Las Condes or the city center, and also deserve to be explored.
We bike primarily on the right. But on avenues, if there is a Bus lane on the right, we prefer to bike on the left side, because it is within the law, and tends to be safer because bus drivers take it too personally when someone invades their spaces
Thanks, interesting discussion. I am not used to biking on the left and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I think I prefer battling it out with buses than being on the left ;-)
Excellent content, you make a lot of sense my friend.
That is really good to hear, thanks! I am doing my best to make my videos informative but also fun and interesting.
right now, the worst place is barrio frankling, like 3 streets up from vikuña mackena... where you started
Thanks for your comment. I was in Barrio Franklin with my inline skates and it certainly had some rougher edges, check it out: th-cam.com/video/sGV14KzYxI4/w-d-xo.html. As fate wants it, also there I was chased by dogs ;-) Skates attract dogs (motion and sound). What I understood is that Franklin is also attracting hipsters, suggesting gentrification may be on the way or perhaps ongoing? The same happened over here in Amsterdam to traditionally rough areas such as Pijp and Jordaan. Decades ago these areas got a revamp and hipsters arrived. Both are now amongst the most wanted areas in Amsterdam. A current hotspot of gentrification in the city is Amsterdam-Noord
That's chilean OBlock there😅🤣
is nice to see steve carell is visting us
Never been compared to Steve Carell, haha....
@@wheelsabroad haha its all in good fun
I think you went there in the morning, so the “bad people” are still exhausted from the night before. General speaking (worldwide) if you go straight, overhearing any hellos and don’t make eye contact there is no problem in “bad” neighbourhoods.
Based on my experiences so far, I agree with your general statement. I have done quite a number of areas with a bad reputation but always kept to myself in the mornings and it always went well. Some basic precautions go a long way. The added complexity though, is the GoPro camera on my chest. As long as you keep your speed, things go well and the GoPro is hardly noticed by people. Looking back at the video, it appears that not a lot of people are paying attention to me, except perhaps the little kid 😉 Even the guy washing his car at 11.349 min in the dead-end road is ignoring me.
As fate wanted it, the most illustrative case for the GoPro being a problem happened in my own hometown of Amsterdam! I was once skating with my GoPro through a poorer area on my way to a coastal town. Somebody yelled at me: “You spy!”. That is the kind of sentiment the GoPro can lead to and I have to be mindful of it.
you know it´s a tourist when he says "i like to stick to the bus lane" 😂 bus drivers here are crazy and some chilean buses are this ridiculously long and hard-to-drive things so bike guys get killed a lot under those, you just did it at the right time hahaha take care next time, nice video
LOL! Yes, taking the bus lanes is not appreciated by bus drivers anywhere on this planet, I have learnt. But I have gotten used to it with a balanced mix of defensive and 'assertive' attitude, and also see it as a technical challenge. If you want to see some more examples, see th-cam.com/video/9oAja8IgD0c/w-d-xo.html for me taking on the bus lane of Alameda with skates and th-cam.com/video/unbgtTGmY2I/w-d-xo.html for taking on Apoquindo on bike during Friday rush hour 😉 I felt comfortable all the way, except for one difficult merger.
I used to live a couple of miles away from La Legua. It was thought as a very dangerous place a couple of decades ago, but you never think that much of it. Once i rode my bike to a friend's house in San Miguel, so i took my phone and put the adress and just pedaled my way. Then i realized it was La Legua. Nothing happened. If a neighorhood has easy access, the odds are that it's not that dangerous.
The stigma begun in the 70's during pinochet's dictatorship, it was a hotspot for armed insurrection groups. Later when "democracy" returned, some of them turned to drug dealing. It's an industrial area and now even has a mall nearby.
Aslong as you keep moving and not eyeing someone too often, it's ok.
BTW police in chile (carabineros) rarely patrols low income parts of the city, it's not because there's some risk to them, rather because of their incopentence.
Thank you for your insights. Except for that one time I hit a dead-end road (and had to pass the dogs), access was easy indeed.
interesting
Thank you! Glad you enjoy it
Doesn't look "That bad.." for being the most "dangerous" neighborhoods in the city. Maybe in night time things get worse, but it look chill especially when compared to other slums in other South American countries. Maybe because there are not "favela" type constructions.
I agree, its reputation seemed worse than the the area actually was. I biked in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo as well, but stayed clear from the favelas.
Pero, por qué te pasaste el rojo?
Yeah, good question. I have little excuse for ignoring red lights other than saying that cycling in Amsterdam (my hometown) does that to you. Cycling in Amsterdam is anarchy and it has gotten in my system. I find myself ignoring red lights abroad too (only when safe) without realising it. Bad example.
La legua y La victoria, poblaciones luchadoras en la época de la dictadura, siempre les he tenido muchisimo respeto
The histories of these two neighborhoods are very fascinating, indeed. I learnt so much about the role of these neighborhoods and their residents. I work in science and as such have access to paid scientific articles, also about La Legua and La Victoria (some of these articles I quote in the video). These provide very useful information. It was also in a scientific article where I found the exact boundaries of La Legua, La Legua Emergencia and La Legua Nueva.
@@wheelsabroad Soy de la creencia de que no existen los barrios peligrosos, si no gente descuidada. Al menos en Chile que es donde conozco la gente que vive en las poblaciones es, en su absoluta mayoría gente esforzada y trabajadora pero que ciertos sectores de la sociedad estigmatizan y generalizan como delincuentes, yo conozco y mi familia proviene de poblaciones obreras de santiago y puedo asegurarte que las personas mas cálidas y amables que pueden haber se encuentran ahí. Me alegra que no te hayas topado con ningun malintencionado en tu viaje, son pocos pero se hacen notar.
PD: Los perros callejeros siempre ladran y persiguen a los que van en bicicletas o motocicletas, da miedo pero en realidad no hacen nada 😂😂😂😂
@@papibonso Hi, thank you for your insights. Wrt dogs: in Buenos Aires I got bitten by a dog (not a stray one) while on skates, so I am a bit vigilant.
go to san gregorio cityyy
That looks to be in the very south. Does it have a reputation?
Looked ok enough tbh
I did, yes
It is considered extremely rude to cross a pedestrian crossing on a bike. You should've walked with your bike by your side
Thanks for letting me know. I am afraid my Amsterdam habits got in the way, unfortunately. Amsterdam cyclists are pure anarchists.
@@wheelsabroad same here in Norway. I wouldn't go as far as "Extremely" rude. Rather, it's against the law in Norway and cars could hit you as you are not a person, but a vehicle when on the bike. Noone does hit you though
@@cloned81 Pretty sure it is against the law in Amsterdam too. But the bike anarchy in Amsterdam has been around for so long that locals are used to it and it has settled in my system too. I need to be careful with this, I was once pulled over by police in Germany for ignoring a red light on the bike, oops.
Gaaf!!
Thanks! For all piano lovers out there, go check out the channel @MizeePiano! We have been in contact before.
no estigmaticen ciertos vecindarios
Hello, thanks for your criticism. Your comment is not unfair for sure. La Legua does not have a good reputation, and viewers not familiar with it should get to know the (historic) background to the video’s theme and why I go to this unusual spot. But what I actually try to show with my video is how it really looks, taking a look on the spot itself to allow viewers to absorb for themselves what the area is about and make up their own minds. To me, personally, as I also say in the video, it did not appear as bad as its reputation would suggest and that could even help with getting a better qualitative view of the area. But I much agree with you that all this can be un uneasy balance
Man. Desafortunadamente, La Legua, fue la meca de las drogas y delincuencia en Santiago, después de La Pintana y Bajos de Mena.
Las mismas acciones los tacharon forever.
Odio este tipo de turismo.
Hi, thank you for your feedback. I am aware of the notion that videos like this will provoke mixed reactions and no video will ever be to everybody’s liking. My goal is to show cities from all the different angles, not just the normal tourist stuff but also the more complex and sometimes controversial parts of a city. On the channel you will find many of these aspects, including real tourist areas (Plaza de Armas, Mercado Central, etc). Next week’s video will be on Maipu, a lively, non-touristy suburb of Santiago that I enjoyed exploring very much.
prefieres que se quede en providencia y las condes? soy de santiago y muestra una parte de la ciudad que no conozco, me parece un servicio loable.
Para los señoritos de Vitacura, por supuesto que esto no les importa. Esto sí es verdadero turismo aventura.