The Place: In the centre of Chile, I landed in it's capital Santiago wearing my Thai Coke shirt, boardies, and slops only too find what should have been obvious ... It's freezing in Chile! And my efforts in spanish? ... por nada! In the attempt to try and get transport, and arrange accomodation, and order a meal my eyes went cross-eyed and my spanish ... probably stayed with my warm clothes in England! I couldn't see the mountain because of the clouds and rain so I caught up some sleep (after 30 hours of travelling).
Some features: Woke up to clear skies and stepped outside not knowing what to expect!
Terraza Neptune - (an old fort where they fire a noon gun daily) gave me my first breathtaking discovery - the incredible view of the Andes, powdered in white, staged high above the city.
Plaza de armes - is surrounded by centuries-old churches and other buildings. Walked into 3 churches all of which had a service going. On the sides people visit the confession boxes, or cross themselves while praying to the huge and incredibly ornate icons of Mary, baby Jesus and other saints. Outside the churches smaller icons are sold on the street.
Mercado Central - famous for its busy fish markets and many surrounding restaurants. Having wondered through the market with many spanish invites to restaurants I picked one and successfully ordered a delicious meal of Reineta fish in castellano (Chilean Spanish).
Next I visited two art museums, Museo de Bellas Artes and Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. Chilean artists rock! They're really creative and original! Liked Pablo Dominguez' work.
After a coffee at Cafe Tomodachi Chillout I was wondering what next to do in Santiago Centro. While walking I saw a hill in the distance with a large statue of mother Mary. This chance find ended being a major attraction. Took a funicular (like a pulley tram)up the hill (about 485m) to the Mary statue which has yet another fantastic view of the city and its mountain. Following that a cable car (teleferico) which offered more moutain views from the other side of the hill. On my return the sun had set and now Mary was lit up for all of Santiago to see. The city lights looked awesome from up there.
Supper in the vacinity of the lively and bohemian part of Santiago - Barrio Bellavista made me proud. Award winning sentence - "un otro copa vino tinto per favor, estoy finito, esta delicio pero demasiado grande para mi¨" OK dont check my grammar, the waitress understood, yay.
Strange observation: People dont beg at the robots here, they juggle bowling pins for the stopping cars! There are loads of jugglers everywhere!
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