Day 24, At Home in Santiago

We did a group walking tour of Santiago. Two things that stood out the most. Since the 2019 riots (started because of price-fixing on toilet paper🧻), metal bars are everywhere and stores continue to be on lockdown, meaning everything including the employees are behind plexiglass. Santiagos isn’t dirty, but there is LOTS of graffiti. Our guide said that most people and upscale stores have moved to the suburbs. Second, (also from our guide) recent DNA testing indicates that 87% of Chileans are descended from indigenous people. So people here have a different look than what we saw in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. And their Spanish is different, with much of the vocabulary borrowed from native languages. 🌞
We had dinner last night in the home of a lawyer, who Mark met through Advocates International, and her family. What hospitality! Lively conversations with the couple and two teens boys (their son and his friend) about politics and life, that ended with guitars and singing, including some Chilean folk songs and Amazing Grace.Read more