This quote came to mind as I was thinking about this day. I think we can all agree that Dr Seuss was a profound philosopher! The world of house trading has been so random and exciting. Each trip begins as an adventure, not knowing what it will be like, what we will do and see. Whereas with a shorter trip we would be planning down to the minute details to fit everything in, having a month to work with lets us be more spontaneous.
Although exhausted from a day of travel, going only slightly east and mostly south, we are on east coast time so we were able to sleep and wake up Saturday feeling rested and ready to venture out. Our first stop was to pick up groceries. The Jumbo is a large, modern grocery chain and we managed to find what we needed and get through the checkout line doing our best to figure out what the checker was trying to say - apparently we were supposed to add a sticker to the avacodo and onion so that they could be scanned. Now we know.
I think Jim is getting annoyed with me because I keep stopping for pictures of the Andes. They are stunning and I am in awe of the contrast of massive mountains so close to urban structures. Here they are, peaking out near the store:
So about Spanish. We don't speak it. I should say that Jim speaks a little bit. We added the Google Translate app to our phones which is very helpful because we have found that while some people speak a little English, many (including the doorman to the building) do not. Between Jim's minimal Spanish, the app and hand gestures, we are getting by.
After unloading the groceries we were off in the car - Jim's preferred way to figure out a city. Always makes me a little (a lot) nervous but at least with this trip we are in the right side of the road. Streets were crazy busy and many blocked off for pedestrians only on the weekends. Tons of people out strolling and shopping. It is a huge city of 7 million people and I think they were all outside enjoying another warm winter day. We managed to maneuver, slowly, to a parking garage and then walked to Plaza de Armas which was the start of a free 4-hour walking tour.
We met up with our English speaking tour guide, Omar. He grew up in the Santiago and is in college pursuing his degree in Physical Therapy. Other interesting people on the tour included two attorneys working on Yugoslavian trials at the international court in Amsterdam, and two young women who had just completed their MSWs.
Behind our tour guide is the Catedral Metropolitana. It is the fourth church to be built on the site, after previous structures were destroyed by earthquakes. Omar explained how prepared Chile is for earthquakes and tsunamis.
Inside the Catedral, praying for no big earthquakes while we are here!
Out tour continued through the city center, stopping at various sites and buildings to learn more about the history and culture.
Statue honoring the Mapuche people
This building houses the central post office, built in 1882 on the site of what was the residence of Pedro de Valdivia,who came from Spain in search of gold.
You can see the variety of architecture in one small square.
The Opera House - Chile wants the cultural arts to be accessible, so tickets are only about $7.
This sculpture was a gift from Argentina, signifying the friendship of the four neighboring countries of Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
Stopped for lunch in Barrio Lastarria.
Gave us an opportunity to get to know our tour guide, and also ask more about some of the politics NOT being discussed on the tour, particularly when we stopped in front of the Presidential headquarters. He explained that sentiments are still intense on both sides of the Pinochet regime, what came before and then after. He shared that another tourguide had been in trouble for "saying too much" and upsetting somebody on the tour who believed differently. So he remains neutral and doesn't include it as part of the tour. He suggested visiting the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (The Museum of Memory and Human Rights) which we will add to the "must see" list.
Empanadas and yes, another Pisco Sour
Bouncy house at twilight at Parque Forestal
and the Andes in the background
Some local crafts
and tiled sidewalks
And, at the end of the tour, we noticed that the guide for the Spanish speaking tour bore an eerie resemblance to our son Alex.
He was gracious enough to pose for this photo which Jim captioned:
"The real reason we came to Chile was to find Alex's twin we gave up at birth. We only wanted two children so one of them had to go..."
Really enjoy following your adventures! What fun!!! Robbie
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