Santiago, Chile

Day 1 Friday Arrival in Santiago (1 hour earlier than MI)
Let it be noted that very few Chileans, even merchants and hotel personnel, speak English. This includes Easter Island, but not as much so. Credit cards are accepted a lot but not at many of the makeshift stalls. All my tours were in Portuguese and English. Brazilians travel to Chile a lot. Chileans love their shoe stores, gelado/ice cream and love to eat. (When I went to a mall one day around 3ish, there were extremely long lines at the “food court”.)
Arriving mid-morning to my Riviera Hotel in downtown historic Santiago, I spent time getting my bearings and re-scheduling my Saturday tour to coastal city of Valparaiso. It was low 50’s and cloudy with a little nip in the air. Just around the corner from my hotel is the National Library where there is an outside refugee exhibition, “Safe Passage” (pix 2) These are 2700 life jackets of real refugees seeking asylum on Mediterranean shores. Part of the symbolism is that the jackets are attached to Roman and Greek columns, the basis of our civilization. This exhibit has been shown in Berlin and Yokohama.
I went to Plaza de Armas (the main happening center of activities – demonstrations,discussions, impromptu music, mimes, magicians, acts, etc.) to find my first free walking tour. Plaza de Armas (1541 CE) was the center of the city and has a brick display of the city layout. Here are stops:
Santiago’s Main Square: Cathedral, City Hall, Post office
Museo de Arte Pre-Colombino Antiguo Congreso (old Congress Bldg)
Corte Suprema (Supreme Court) – Palacio La Moneda (Govt House)
Bolsa de Comercio (Stock Exchange) Teatro Municipal (Opera House)
Cerro Santa Lucía Barrio Lastarria
Museo de Bellas Artes Parque Forestal (Forestal Park)
Plaza Italia (Italian Square) Barrio Bellavista –
Casa de Pablo Neruda (Neruda Museum) Cerro San Cristóbal
Visiting the Presidential palace (La Moneda Palace, 1799) we learned about Pinochet’s military coup of 1973, one of the most controversial times in Chilean recent history, and the death of Allende. The President doesn’t live there; just works there.
The tour stopped for a half hour drink at the restaurant in Barrio (“neighborhood”) Lastarria, just a few blcocks from my hotel. I finally had my first empanada (meat with olive), having skipped the experience in Spain; it was good and I regret not trying it in Spain. Opposite the Opera House was a statue of 4 toddlers playing or fighting (pix 5-6). I think they represented 4 S. American countries being friends (or not friends).
After going through Forestal Park on our way to Barrio Bellavista, we found out that the stray dogs throughout the city are well cared for and fed at night. In fact, in this park there are many colorful dog houses for the dogs. (Please note: the stray dogs are not abundant; you might see 1 or 2 in a 30 minute period.) My last spot, before hitting a “wall” from lack of sleep, was Barrio Bellavista, the Bohemian and happening neighborhood of Santiago. This is where the nightlife is. I can attest to that as the next night when I tried to find a place to eat at 7 pm near my hotel (Sat. night, mind you), nothing was open except for Taco Bell and its neighbor MacDonalds, not even a supermarket or bakery or dunkin donuts was open at 7 pm.
Pictures: 1-view from hotel room 2 “Safe Passage” 3-4: Presidential Palace and Allende 5-6: Kids playing or terrorizingRead more