Dinner last night was at a local eatery. John had the obviously popular 1/4 chicken & chips, Liz had fish which was about 2x the price. We wandered around the streets in the pre-Christmas crowds, and returned tothe hotel about 8.30pm. A lovely calm evening. There was a young lass singing opera unaccompanied in the mall, obviously a trained voice. The streets were full of people.
We had a leisurely breakfast, and met a couple who are going on our tour - English, even older than us! We arranged to go out with them for dinner tonight. Another lady who was sitting at the table before we arrived had her bag stolen, we did not see anything untoward and don´t know if it happened while we were there or before we came! Wasn´t us though! So yes, one has to be extremely vigilant at all times here.
About 9.30am we hit the streets again. Today was museum day. We are certainly close to the centre & museums. A 200 meter walk saw us at the Museum of Pre Columban Art. There was a 3000 peso entrance fee. It was a very professional display of treasures from throughout all of Central and Western South America from 3000 BC.
We then found a bank and changed some more US$ to Pesos - millionaires again!
Next stop was the National Museum. Entry was free here. All the glories of the Spanish conquests were written in the best possible light - all in the name of spreading Christianity, of course - nothing to do with mineral wealth.
For lunch we went to a little local shop & had a freshly blended mango juice. There are a great number of shops around selling food blenders, obviously something people use a lot. We saw a selection of vegetables being blended for another customer.
Then we walked a bit further on to the Musedum of Contemporary Art. Mostly hideous rubbish, as usual.... we sat for 20 mins and watched a video of "President Allende" talking as if he were here now, titled Pre Appocalyse, very unusual. However it was cool in the room and a chance to rest our feet.
The park around the museum had about a dozen policemen on horses in it.
Returning to the hotel we walked through some of the malls, filled with hundreds of stalls about 2 metres wide and the same deep. There were heaps of stalls selling baby clothes, lingerie, and even more selling jewellery - an incredible number of them.
Back for a shower & rest, going out for dinner about 7.30. To those in Hokitika - yes, it is still fine, sunny and 32 degrees.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Day 2 in Santiago
We slept in until 8am, which was welcome. It was quiet in the night, though at one stage we heard a pack of dogs barking - there are some wild dogs around which we had seen yesterday chasing cars at intersections, obviously they were out hunting in the night. They seem to sleep a lot during the day, and don't annoy people.
Breakfast was in the hotel as part of the tarrif - cornflakes, bread, cheese & ham... Then we set out about 9.30 for a few hours before it got too hot. It was already 30 degrees! We walked up past Constitution Plaza and the Palacio La Moneda. There were important looking men in suits being driven up under police escort to the Palacio.
We continued up Bernard O'Higgens Avenue to the Cerro Santa Lucia, a cantral city park built on a small rocky hill. This provided excellent views over the central city. We then crossed the Mapiocho - a so-called river running through the city. If reality it is a brown fast-flowing torrent of water in a concrete channel. Because it is a Monday some places are closed and there did not appear to be many tourists about.
At Cerro San Christobel we took the funincular railway straight up some 860 metres. There is a large statue of Mary on the top of the hill, and a small outdoors altar where Pope John Paul II said Mass in 1984. The hillside is terraced with benches for the congregation to sit on. There was a large outdoors Christmas crib there.
At the top of the hill there were 360 degree views over the entire city, out to the nountain range which surrounds it. One of these mountains is the tallest in the Americas, about 21000 feet.
John suggested that we walk down, and we did - for 2 hours in the heat. We were relieved to be able to sit down & have lunch at 3pm, accompanied with a cold beer to refuel our lost fluids. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade outside, watching the world go by.
We returned to the hotel at 4pm, having been walking for about 6 hours. Had a shower to freshen up and a short siesta.
Breakfast was in the hotel as part of the tarrif - cornflakes, bread, cheese & ham... Then we set out about 9.30 for a few hours before it got too hot. It was already 30 degrees! We walked up past Constitution Plaza and the Palacio La Moneda. There were important looking men in suits being driven up under police escort to the Palacio.
We continued up Bernard O'Higgens Avenue to the Cerro Santa Lucia, a cantral city park built on a small rocky hill. This provided excellent views over the central city. We then crossed the Mapiocho - a so-called river running through the city. If reality it is a brown fast-flowing torrent of water in a concrete channel. Because it is a Monday some places are closed and there did not appear to be many tourists about.
At Cerro San Christobel we took the funincular railway straight up some 860 metres. There is a large statue of Mary on the top of the hill, and a small outdoors altar where Pope John Paul II said Mass in 1984. The hillside is terraced with benches for the congregation to sit on. There was a large outdoors Christmas crib there.
At the top of the hill there were 360 degree views over the entire city, out to the nountain range which surrounds it. One of these mountains is the tallest in the Americas, about 21000 feet.
John suggested that we walk down, and we did - for 2 hours in the heat. We were relieved to be able to sit down & have lunch at 3pm, accompanied with a cold beer to refuel our lost fluids. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade outside, watching the world go by.
We returned to the hotel at 4pm, having been walking for about 6 hours. Had a shower to freshen up and a short siesta.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A evening Stroll in Santiago
Well, after a snooze this afternoon we felt rejuvenated and went for a 2 hour stroll around the city this evening. The temperature was 32 degrees at 7 pm. We walked around the Natioanl Palace where President Allende was deposed in 1973, and then on to the National Library down Bernard O´Higgens Avenue - he saved Chile from something once.......
We had a high quality dinner at McDonalds because we don´t speak a word of Spanish - but pointing and using ones fingers to indicate how many seemed to work.
There were tens of thousands out doing Christmas shopping on Sunday evening. Liz stopped one dude from trying to steal John's handkerchief!! There was a major band exhibition on with at least a 1000 guys dressed up like fireman in their fancy helmets in every imaginable dress uniform - presumably all miltary types.
The city is a bit tired, with many buildings reminding us of Bucharest in Romania. The people are somewhat short.......Liz says not a lot of eye candy for either one of us. Surprisingly there don't appear to be many European tourists either.
Tomorrow is the longest day so we'll be up early, and because of the heat probably retreating to somewhere cool during the middle of the day.
We had a high quality dinner at McDonalds because we don´t speak a word of Spanish - but pointing and using ones fingers to indicate how many seemed to work.
There were tens of thousands out doing Christmas shopping on Sunday evening. Liz stopped one dude from trying to steal John's handkerchief!! There was a major band exhibition on with at least a 1000 guys dressed up like fireman in their fancy helmets in every imaginable dress uniform - presumably all miltary types.
The city is a bit tired, with many buildings reminding us of Bucharest in Romania. The people are somewhat short.......Liz says not a lot of eye candy for either one of us. Surprisingly there don't appear to be many European tourists either.
Tomorrow is the longest day so we'll be up early, and because of the heat probably retreating to somewhere cool during the middle of the day.
We spent a noisy night in Auckland - there was a party at the building next to our hotel which went on until the wee small hours. So we missed out on a lot of our beauty sleep. As we were awake early we went to Mass at St Patrick´s Cathedral at 8am, then for a cuppa in the Church Office building. That tided us over until the rain stopped, when we went back to the hotel and packed up our bags. We had a few hours tospare so wandered down to the Viaduct & had Subway for lunch, sitting in the shade.
At 1pm the shuttle bus arrived and took us to the airport. Usual procedure to get through customs, then a long wait until we boarded at 4.20pm - as usual we were early to the airport.
Our flight was with Lan Air, and the path was south from Auckland, straight over Gisborne, and north-west to Santiago, missing the tip of Antartica by about 1000ks. It was only truly dark for about 1/2 hour. The flight was just over 10 hours.
On arrival we waited for quite a while for our packs - first on last off? - then went through to the public area where there was an official taxi stand at which we could purchase our ride into the city. Taxis do not have meters, so it was good to get one knowing what it cost ($28US). The guide book had said it would be about $30US so we were pleased with that. It was a fast trip, up to 120k/hr, not a lot of traffic on the road being a Sunday. There were numerous shantytowns along the side of the highway. The environment was very dry, brown & dusty with a few trees.
Flying over the countryside into the city we saw well-irrigated valleys. The plane comes over mountains to land in Santiago, which is of course surounded by the Andes.
The hotel is like a 3* eastern European one, we do have airconditioning in our room though and it is quite large. It is like an aged lady who has seen better days. There are free computers with wireless however, and it is right in the centre of the city.
After unpacking & showering we walked tw blocks to the Plaza de Almas, which appears to be the "town square". It was about 30 degrees. On the Square is the Catholic Cathedral - a grand Cathedral in true European style, but starting to look a bit shabby also. We were entertained by a boys' choir singing Christmas carols in English and other magnificent hymns.
After wandering around the central streets we found a supermarket and bought some water and fruit, before heading back to the hotel for a siesta. We had had 2 nights with very little sleep, and had gone back to early afternoon.
At 1pm the shuttle bus arrived and took us to the airport. Usual procedure to get through customs, then a long wait until we boarded at 4.20pm - as usual we were early to the airport.
Our flight was with Lan Air, and the path was south from Auckland, straight over Gisborne, and north-west to Santiago, missing the tip of Antartica by about 1000ks. It was only truly dark for about 1/2 hour. The flight was just over 10 hours.
On arrival we waited for quite a while for our packs - first on last off? - then went through to the public area where there was an official taxi stand at which we could purchase our ride into the city. Taxis do not have meters, so it was good to get one knowing what it cost ($28US). The guide book had said it would be about $30US so we were pleased with that. It was a fast trip, up to 120k/hr, not a lot of traffic on the road being a Sunday. There were numerous shantytowns along the side of the highway. The environment was very dry, brown & dusty with a few trees.
Flying over the countryside into the city we saw well-irrigated valleys. The plane comes over mountains to land in Santiago, which is of course surounded by the Andes.
The hotel is like a 3* eastern European one, we do have airconditioning in our room though and it is quite large. It is like an aged lady who has seen better days. There are free computers with wireless however, and it is right in the centre of the city.
After unpacking & showering we walked tw blocks to the Plaza de Almas, which appears to be the "town square". It was about 30 degrees. On the Square is the Catholic Cathedral - a grand Cathedral in true European style, but starting to look a bit shabby also. We were entertained by a boys' choir singing Christmas carols in English and other magnificent hymns.
After wandering around the central streets we found a supermarket and bought some water and fruit, before heading back to the hotel for a siesta. We had had 2 nights with very little sleep, and had gone back to early afternoon.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Final Preparations for Trip to southern Chile and Argentina
We leave on December 19th for Santiago. We join an overland truck expedition south to Usuhaia and back up to Buenos Aires. The temperature in Usuhai is expected to be about 12 degrees celcius at midday and down to 4 degrees at night. The trip takes 4 & 1/2 weeks, so we are arriving back in New Zealand in time for work on 1 February. We are travelling with Dragoman Overland in a group, sleeping in tents and cheap hotels.
Click here to see the route
Click here to see the route
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