Santiago Day 2

It was so dark when I woke up this morning that it was hard to believe it was 7:30! We have a four-hour walking tour at ten so we got moving a little after 8. Made breakfast from the fixin's we got at the store yesterday (after scrubbing everything we used!), and fueled and on our way! 

What a fun day!!! We decided to do a free group tour that was highly recommended (thanks Tripadvisor!) We met at Plaza de Armas. Phillipe was our guide and he was wonderful! Native to Santiago, and an actor by trade, he did the tours for some stable income. He was interesting, engaging and fun! 

Plaza de Armas is the 'heart of the city.' It was the first thing build by the Spanish when they arrive to the valley of Santiago. The Catedral Metropolitano was the second oldest cathedral in the area and started in the 1500s and completed in the 1700s. Several renovations had been done due to earthquakes. One hit around five years ago and was a 7.9!

Correo Central is on the square near the Catedral and is where the presidents used to live. Now it's the post office, and the fanciest one in Santiago. The yellow building next to it was the courthouse but is now the national history museum.

He shared that people who lived towards the mountains were wealthier, and those living towards the highway are poor. A sad but true demarkation.

The plaza is usually bustling with people- priests, entertainers, general people. On Tuesdays they show opera and on Thursdays have salsa dancing. Today was very slow as it was drizzling and a Sunday.

Don Pedro de Valdivia arrived in 1541 seeking the golden city of El Dorado, and founded Santiago. He moved here from Peru also because he was having an affair and wanted to get away from the power of the Catholic Church and the Inquisition. The Church and Inquisition did eventually call him back and made him give up his affair. There was an Inca settlement in the valley, so his people settled on top of it. The Mapuches are the native tribe in much of Chile and represent around 10% of the people now. Many of the other tribes are gone now though 1 million Mapuches live in mostly southern Chile. There are 6 million in Santiago and close to 15 million in Chile.

Congress is now housed in Valparaisso, though used to be in a building in Santiago. The members are complaining about the 1.5 hour drive, so it may be moved back in the future.

We walked past the Museu Chileno de Arte Precolumbian, one of Phillipe's two favorite museums in Chile and on list. Unfortunately we learned the museums in all of Chile are closed on Monday, and that was the day we will have the time to go. So.. we'll see! 

I learned that there is a local drink called chicha. There is one in Peru that is corn-based, and one in Brazil that is different too.. the one in Chile is apple cider (alcoholic.) Yum! In search of chicha!

We walked past Café Caribe and Café Haiti. They are among the group of cafes called Café con Piernas, or cafes with legs. The owners pay women to wear short skirts and entertain the business men who frequent the café. At times they will close the café to have the women dance. Generally the women are foreign. They have been around for more than 20 years and are throughout the downtown.

We walked to Moneda Palacia and La Plaza de Constitucion, the Presidential Palace. It used to be the mint (moneda is coin in Spanish.) The current president is a woman named Michelle Bachelete.

There is a statue of Salvador Allende in the Plaza. He was the first socialist elected in a Democratic way. He did much for the country in the 1,000 days in office including nationalizing copper (there are large mines in northern Chile) and made primary and secondary schools free. He was a friend of Castro but much loved by the populace. Unfortunately for him, he was not loved by the wealthy in the country and they forced an economic collapse. On 9/11/73 the presidential palace was bombed and he lost power.

We were lucky to see the changing of the guard, which only happens every couple of days. It was impressive and went on for well over 30 minutes. It started in the courtyard with a small group, then a marching band led by horses arrived from the street to join them. Among the marching band-style music were other pieces that sounded like they were from a symphony. The band was quite impressive. The music differs each time and usually is more brief over the weekdays.

There has been a fairly extensive police presence in the city. Phillipe said it’s not usual and he thinks maybe something is going on to call for it. He said crime is low in Santiago but has risen a bit, so some of it is to stop that.

Behind the palace is the largest flag in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Citizen square has many fountains/water features and celebrates the 105^th anniversary of Chile as a nation.

Pinochet took over after Allende. He was intended to rule for one year in a transition government, but held power for 17 years until he was voted out. This military dictatorship held power through fear, and many were killed for not supporting it. Many people left and went to Sweden (100k), also Canada and Australia. Pinochet was arrested in London in 2005 and finally brought to Chile for trial, but he died before he was brought to justice. There is a Human Rights Museum that Phillipe said is one of his two favorite museums and worth seeing, about this dark time in history.

We then walked down Alameda street, the main street in Santiago. We passed the main building of the University of Chile and the Santiago Stock Exchange, at the end of "New York Street." 

Phillipe talked about some of the issues living in Chile, especially the large gap between the rich and the poor. He said a living wage in the country is $950/month and minimum wage is around $450.

We passed Teatro Municipal (opera house) next to Subercaseaux, the French Palace.

We then arrived at Santa Lucia hill, close to where we are staying and walked around it. It was originally a pile of rocks and a sacred place for the Mapuches. Many were killed there when the area was being controlled. It later became a park built by prisoners. We walked to Lastarria, where we ate dinner last night. It has many restaurants, a theater and is considered a cultural center of Santiago. We stopped in a restaurant called Mulato for a break and enjoyed a pinot empanada (chopped meat, onion and olive.) Very good! They served it with a spice called merkem, served in a mortar and pestle. It was smoky and spicy and very good. One of the girls in our small group got a pisco sour and let us try it. It was the best so far!

We walked through Parque Forestal, a large park in the center of the city and crossed a main road to get to the Bella Vista neighborhood. You can see San Cristobal from the entrance to this neighborhood, the highest point in the city. We walked by the German Fountain, a gift for the 150^th anniversary of the country and a memorial of German immigration. In the distance we could see the Italia Square, which held large celebration for the world cup win—the first time in history Chile won.

Bella Vista is a very diverse neighborhood with many bars, dance clubs, restaurants. A lot of students are in the area and there are two large Universities. We walked through Patio Bella Vista, a large area of many restaurants and some retail shops. Phillipe pointed out many recommendations, several of which were on my list to try. He did suggest we make sure the prices are listed on the menu, or we might be charged more than is fair.

We walked past Castillo Rojo, a German building that is now a very expensive hotel, and ended to tour at Pablo Neureda’s house, La Chascona. He was a much-loved poet who won a Nobel price (only one of two Chileans with this honor, and interestingly, the other was also a poet.) He was a friend of Allende and considered a threat to Pinochet. He was believed to have died from cancer, but there was speculation that he was poisoned. More later about La Choscarra..

We decided to go to the top of San Cristobal as the weather cleared a bit and though it was cloudy, it was bright with no rain. We took a funicular up and the views were amazing! This city is quite huge, and seems every bit as large as Paris, though I know that’s not possible. It seemed to extend in every direction for as far as the eye can see! At the top is a large monument of the Virgin Mary and a small simple but beautiful church.

When we got down we decided to tour La Chascona, which means women with wild hair/a lot of hair. Pablo Neureda was married, but had a mistress whom he named the house after. He carried on the affair for some time, then left his wife for her and lived with her for the rest of his life. The house was their private residence, then became a museum. He had two other houses, one in Valparaiso, where we will be in a week. The house consists of several buildings, one included a bar and dining room, another a living area, and sleeping quarters, and another a summer bar (why have only one bar?), a library, and a writing room.

The house was interesting. Pablo was a collector and had an incredible amount of pieces including pottery, paintings, glass, sculptures and books, some of a lot of value. The grounds were beautiful.

After that we headed back to the patio Bella Vista to see if two of the people from the tour were there still, but they weren’t. We got a drink and people watched a bit, then went to Galindo for dinner. It’s a famous Chilean food restaurant and was packed the few times we walked by. It was very affordable but I was a little disappointed.. I ordered spicy shrimp. The waitress came back to ask if I wanted anything else as it was only shrimp, so I got a salad. There were few small shrimp, no spike and the salad was ok but nothing great. Oh well! Kim got steak with grilled onions over French fries.. a large plate.

We decided to stop for desert, and went to Emporio la Rosa, recommended as the best ice cream in Santiago, on our way home. Phillipe recommended a honey ice cream called miel de ulmo so we both tried that with another flavor. It was ok but not very creamy. Both of us figured that if this is the best that Santiago had to offer, we would try other desserts.

We made it back to our place, almost 12 hours after we left, tired and happy. Quite a fun day!! Internet is quite painful tonight so loading these is taking forever. And our phones have very limited internet.. it's mostly when we have wifi access in the room, and then it's patchy. Given that Kim paid for access and I am supposed to have it while in Chile, it's a bit of a pain. thankfully all is well at home so there's no urgency.

Alright, hitting the hay. I'm tired and a bit achy from walking so much tonight. Hoping the weather will improve from the day of showers expected as the musuems are closed!

night, all!

s

Santiago Day 1

Hi Everyone! My first international adventure this year! Woohoo!

We arrived at the airport mid-afternoon into a tiny terminal with very little wait. Once again, I was unable to use my TSA pre-check as they said the name on my ticket was different from what is on my global entry card (middle name vs middle initial.) Interestingly, Kim's was the same way and she had no problem. Harumph.

We got to Houston without incident, then the flight was delayed. We were told it would be at least an hour due to a mechanical issue (which always makes me nervous then flying on the plane!) There was a little street taco place right across from our gate so we got one and a margarita. No sooner did we order, they started to board! Whoops!

We got our seats, got comfortable, picked movies we were interested in, and proceeded to stay awake for the remaining ten-ish hour flight. We arrived in Santiago at around 8:30 am completely bleary-eyed but excited!

Customs and immigration was the longest line we had ever seen! It wrapped around multiple times and was quite impressive. We did make it through finally and made our way out. We didn't see our driver with a sign so trekked to find an ATM to grab some cash. It limited us to 100k chilean pesos (around $140 USD). Then Kim wasn't able to get money out as for some reason her bank didn't translate to english at all and we couldn't figure it out. There were six options to choose from! We gave up and made our way back to the entry area where the drivers waited with signs, happy we got a driver and didn't have to convert money in our head as tired as we were. However, we realized that no driver had my name on the sign even after we wandered.

Finally someone approached us and said 'Are you Samantha Glauser'? YES! In business. The man walked us to our driver and expected a tip. I had no change and he gave me a small amount back, taking a hefty tip. The driver was wonder and with fairly good english pointed things out and gave us tips.

The place we are staying at is an apartment in a high-rise right in the Belles Artes district in downtown Santiago, just blocks from the city center. There is a doorman and he called the owner, and told us to wait and one of them was coming. We waited around 30 minutes and she arrives, speaking in rapid-fire spanish. We were glassy-eyed at this point and just couldn't translate. She went to get someone, who told us she was going to clean, but we could drop our bags and come back in an hour.

We walked down the street and found a coffee shop recommended by the other owner (whom I was conversing through AirBNB, where we found the place). It is called Colmado Coffee and Bakery, and is a five minute walk from the apartment. The coffee was great and we got a snack (I got eggs and tomatoes, and kim got an apple pastry with ice cream.) We stopped at the store in the building to get some snacks, breakfast foods and drinks and went back to the apartment. Right in front of the buiilding was a stray dog chomping on cheese someone tossed him. All of the strays seem like shepherd mixes and seem well fed.

They have several apartments in the building, and either the pictures were from another or they switched out the furniture. The futon in the living room was lumpy and the cover shredded. There is no corkscrew, no welcome basket, no paper towels and the sponge.. well, I'll leave that be.. things that we expected as essentials were to be provided. There is only one glass and all of the kitchen stuff is disgustingly dirty. And the sponge.. I'll leave that. So, we will go back to the store for sure! Additionally, there is a musty smell and my allergies are flaring.. this will be a challenge I think. We have the windows open and hoping it will help, along with a candle.

We're exhausted so going to nap a bit then head out and do an easy day. tomorrow we'll hit the town! We decided to check out the roof deck and saw some amazing views.

We decided to head out for a walk and went to Plaza de Armas, the community center of Santiago, then toured the Catedral Metropolitana right on the Plaza. It was built in the 18th century and was simply stunning, with a lot of different colored and patterned marble and stone, stained glass, statues and sculptures and some gorgeous woodwork. There was a protester in the Plaza, protesting the borders and calling for open immigration into Chile. There was a fairly strong police presence as well, and two on horseback. The Catedral is the headquarter of the Archdioces of Santiago and the central location for the Catholic Church here. There were a couple of other beautiful historical buildings right on the square, which made a beautiful juxtoposition with a modern glass skyscraper right behind.

We then walked around ten minutes to the Mercado Central. It was getting ready to close so much of the food was being moved. It is mostly a large fish market (which smelled lovely by the end of the day). We were told it's a big tourist trap and to avoid the restaurants, including El Galeon, the famous one there.

We walked back towards our apartment and stopped in a church right near our hotel called the Basilica de la Merced. It was brightly colored red and gold and nice on the inside, though not as large or exquisite as the Catedral. It was badly tagged on the outside which is quite sad. As we walked to our place there was a group filming a a lady wearing a black jacket that was very short and something lacy underneath doing a strange dance on the sidewalk. It went on for a while! One thing we are noticing is that people dress pretty conservatively here. And the concept of personal space is a little less than Kim and I would like!

The apartment owner gave us a neighborhood guide including a lot of restaurant recommendations. We're tired from the trip and not sleeping so decided to do a local restaurant. He recommended a chilean place called Sur Patagonico Restaurant. It was wonderful! It's in a cute little neighborhood called Larrastria. Typical Chilean food, and heavy on meet. My naturopath would be so happy as she's been pushing me to eat meat. I was probably 75% pescatarian (fish only.) We got pisco sours, a crab leg dish with onions and a wonderful broth, fresh baked bread, and a meat platter with three different kinds of steak, sausage and tomato and zucchini. Yum.. still getting used to eating meat but it was good. We decided to go for it and got dessert- creme brule and caramel 'pancakes' with vanilla ice cream, which turned out to be crepes. Yum! Only a ten minute walk from our place.. we'll go back!

We walked back to our hotel fat and happy. Trying to load pictures and we shall see if I'm successful. Having some connection issues with our phones, which is how we're taking our pictures . Many from today aren't loading.. yet. But they will!

ha! Very tired and surprised we made it to nine. Going tho finish this, try to add some shots, and sign off! woohoo.