So, the bathrooms here are relatively normal. We Californians have definitely been spoiled, what with our seat covers in every stall and general cleanliness. The bathroom in our hostel is clean enough, the actual toilet seat and cover are thin and plastic and feel as though they might break off at any moment, but other than that, it's fine.
The weird thing about toilets here is that many don't have toilet paper in the stall. You heard me. No paper. You have to get your supply ahead of time, out of a dispenser near the sinks. This is confusing, because you think it's just paper to dry your hands, but in fact it's for....other things.
Also, in many public settings (such as a bus station) you have to pay to use the bathroom! Only 200 pesos, but still. Then they give you a funky shaped token to slide through a machine, and voila! You're in. Some of the stalls are oddly shaped too, and so tiny, there's no where to put my purse, let alone luggage.
In any case, I should just be thankful we have functioning toilets at all, and that we're not forced to go all "Slumdog Millionaire" and use a shack with a hole in the ground. Santiago bathrooms are just fine, albeit a bit bizarre to a foreigner like me.
There's no toilet paper because if there is, everybody steals it. Or stuffs it down the toilet without ever flushing so there's a horrible back up & flood all over the bathroom floors. Most places that do supply toilet paper you have to buy a few squares from the lady at the door. Some people may need to buy 2 or 3 portions It sounds like you've been lucky, most public bathrooms here you have to try to figure out how to be sure your pant legs don't touch the floor when you lower them, it's bad enough knowing the souls of your shoes are touching the floor.
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