Hello,
I have a week off of work at the beginning of September. As I have finally racked up a decent amount of miles, I'm thinking of finally visiting South America, either Santiago or Buenos Aires.

A few questions:

1) Is it worth it to make the trek down there, given the amount of time it takes to fly (I fly out of ORD, therefore at least 1 stopover, more likely 2)? Having lived in Europe twice, I know that international/longer flights can have a huge effect on your body, but I also know that the time difference between Santiago & Chicago is only 3 hours (whereas it's 8 hours between Chicago & France).

2) Which city, between Santiago and Buenos Aires, would you choose? And why? Keep in mind that minus travel time, I'll probably only have about 5 days on the ground.

3) How safe are both of these cities, considering that I'm most likely going with at least one other person, and that I speak mediocre Spanish (and fluent French & English)? I am used to traveling around North America (USA & Canada) and all over Europe by myself; however, I'm also aware that South America is probably not as safe as those two places (or am I wrong)? In general, just how safe are these two places?

Of course, if you have any other suggestions/feedback, I'm all ears.

Gracias!