Santiago

Today was our one and only day set out to explore Santiago. After we woke up from our nap we set our for the day. We started by walking to the funicular at the end our the street our hostel is on to go up to the statue of the Virgin of the Immacualte Conception. It's a huge statue reminiscent of Christ the Redeemer on the top of a large hill in the city. The views from the area are also spectacular. You can basically see the entirety of Santiago (except for what was behind us since the plateau was large). The area was also where Pope John Paul spoke in the 1980s when he visited Chile. We walked around the area for a bit and took in the sites before taking the funicular back down again.

View of Santiago

More views of Santiago

Statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception

On the funicular

Riding down the funicular

We next decided to go and see Pablo Nerudas home in Santiago, which was right near where we already were. We tried to get the student rate, but we were unsuccessful without international student ID cards, which I'm no longer eligible for anyways being over 25. The ticket came with an audio tour so we dos the audio tour and walked through the house. It was a really interesting place, with prices from all over the world including the china, cups, paintings, wood, etc. He was also really into ships and the sea, so the nautical theme was very present. There was overall a though of thought put into the decor. This house of his was originally built for his mistress to live in, however, he ultimately separated from his second wife and moved in with the mistress who became his third and last wife. They had houses in Valparaíso and Isla de Negra as well, but his widow lived in the Santiago house after his death and she restored much of it after it was vandalized shortly after his death as well. The coolest thing there was his Nobel prize for literature, since I had never seen and actual Nobel prize. It was quite beautiful and made of gold. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos while touring the house. 

After Pablo Nerudas home we decided we needed lunch, but it took a while to find somewhere. We ventured out towards the Plaza de Armas (yep, they have those in Chile too) hoping to find somewhere to eat along the way. We stopped at the bank since Caitlin still needed cash and then settled on a place about a block off the Plaza. I had a sandwich with avocado and chicken, but the avocado tasted like it was mixed with vinegar, which was bizzare. Overall it was fine. After lunch I went into the Claro shop to get a Chilean SIM card so I can meet up with Jette tomorrow and have the ability to call her. I'm supposed to be able to whatsapp for free without using data time as well, but I haven't been able to connect to the app yet, which is a bit annoying. At least the data works and I can make and receive phone calls.

After the phone shop we went the the Plaza de Armas and toured the cathedral there. It was really pretty, and best of all free. We then went to the Precolombian Art Museum, which was really cool. There we did get the student rate, so it was the equivalent of about $3; totally worth it. There were a ton of art pieces and artifact from cultures dating back thousands of years in Central and South America. It was really amazing, especially the weaving, which was more advanced than European weaving of the same time period. There was also a children's interactive room, which of course we played in, mostly doing rub art. 

Plaza de Armas

The main cathedral

Cool statues in the Pre-Columbian art museum

My favorite stone piece at the museum

After the museum we walked around and saw the old congress building, the stock exchange, and the opera house. We also had a quick stop at Lush because why not. We then grabbed some delicious gelato at the Opera Cafe (I had French vanilla with loads of vanilla beans) and then walked back to our hostel area. In our quest to find water we found a really cool area with tons of restaurants and shops, so we walked around a bit. We eventually found water at the pharmacy and then went to shower and relax for a bit, as well as book places to stay in Valpo. Cailtin will go while I'm in Valdivia with Jette and I will go the day she leaves, so tonight is our last night together. It's been fun though. 

The Santiago stock exchange

After getting everything set up we ventured out to dinner. The guy at the front desk recommended a good prices Chilean place nearby, so we went there. It was kitty-corner from TGI Fridays, haha. There's also McDs, Dominos, Taco Bell, Starbucks, and Ruby Tuesdays nearby, but luckily those are the minority and there's a ton of other great stuff around. I ordered a mango sour, which tasted more like limoncello (not super delish) and had Pastel de Choclo, a traditional Chilean dish with mashed corn, ground beef, chicken, hard boiled eggs, olives, and raisins. It was really good, but so much food! After dinner we came back to the hostel and packed up for tomorrow and now I'm going to bed. The Asian lady in our room just turned off the fan and I'm not happy about that at all cause it's already hot in here, and the fan drowns out the super loud noise outside (tons of loud music and people partying on a Friday night). Ugh, that's one thing I hate about hostels. (I turned it back on, we'll see how that goes). 

Pastel de Choclo (half devoured)