Boy, what a rush! We were watching YouTube videos of last February big earthquake centered a bit northeast of where we are staying ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr57uwl5-YE&feature=related ~ when the beds started moving!! We grabbed our tennis shoes and ran outside. The windows in the adjacent hotel rooms were shaking visibly. Calmly, but quickly, we moved downstairs. The hotel manager just smiled and remarked 'Normal' which works in both languages.
Don't worry, we are just fine...our heartbeats have returned to normal. However, no more YouTube watching for me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr57uwl5-YE&feature=related
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Moving On To Central Chile
We left Valparaiso in the morning on the bus after taking the cable car to the terminal. Tickets are easier to come by during the week, Saturday was crowded. We were able to hop right on the bus to Santiago sitting together upfront for the two hour ride.
The view of the Andes mountains was spectacular because the air was clearer than the week we stayed in Santiago, WOW!
In Santiago there was a two hour stopover which was time for the set 'menu del dia' for lunch, yummy chicken soup with squash, rice and potatoes; no holding back on starches here! These lunches always start with a basket of bread accompanied by a small dish of spicy pico de gallo~ chopped tomatoes, onions & cilantro spiced just right. It's a perfect addition to whatever the main dish might be!
Keith enjoyed a nice ice cream cone while we waited and chatted with two young women from Santiago who were headed out of town for a long weekend. Somehow he can always get a conversation started. :)
After nearly four hours in the second bus we arrived at our destination, Talca, chosen because it was as far as I can survive traveling in the direction we are heading, which is to the Lake District.
Talca is a smaller city, university town. It was close to the epicenter of last February's 8.8 earthquake and the effects of the major destruction are visible on every street! In fact some of the hostels recommended in the guide books responded to my inquiries that they were forced to close because of damage to their building.
We are living 'high on the hog', at least for us, here in Talca. The Hostal Del Rio sits next to a river, one of two running through Talca. The room we had last night must have been the honeymoon suite, large & quite nice. We moved to a less expensive room this morning, it's still much nicer than most places we stay when we travel in Latin America. A tourist can find housing at any price level, you can stay in a 5 star hotel with all the trimmings if you are so inclined, and your pockets are deep enough. We choose the best we can get at the most economical price we can find, preferring to stay with families or in a place where we will meet local people or other travelers. Sharing culture and language is a huge part of what attracts both of us to life on the road.
Not much to do on a Sunday here in Talca. It feels like most businesses that have survived the earthquake are closed for the day of rest. Keith decided after a morning stroll to spend the rest of the day resting himself...his back and foot both need a well-deserved break today! I ventured out on a power walk to secure groceries for a picnic supper. Keith says he can now live on a diet of liquid yogurt alone supplemented with coconut cookies but I'm seeing to it that we have a little protein along with a few fruits and veggies.
Here are a few pictures of the center of Talca. You will get a feel for the work it will take to repair this city!
Tomorrow we bus on to Villarrico. Our journey will take us by several more vineyards of fine Chilean wine. Neither of us has much interest in touring the vineyards, we've done that in California!
Friday, October 29, 2010
An Addendum to Previous Dog Entry
Okay, I must make this right... During our pasta dinner tonight (prepared at the hostel, of course, as our eating out food went to have the laundry done), Keith looks out the three story picture windows on to the street below and what does he see?! Some older guy digging up a dead dog and putting it in a bag! OMG! Is this what you want to see during dinner?!
On top of that, two days ago, pobrecito Keith witnessed a street dog being run over by a taxi driver, actually, more specifically, the guy idled over the dog's neck! "No es mi culpa!" yelled the driver when Keith screamed in terror! No we know it's not his fault, but really, do true DOG LOVERS like us need this kind of disturbance, for heaven's sake! We are on vacation here!!
Don't worry, I'm working through it with him...that's what a loving wife does, but enough already!
I guess it is time to move on...let's hope there are more strict street dog rules in central Chile!
On top of that, two days ago, pobrecito Keith witnessed a street dog being run over by a taxi driver, actually, more specifically, the guy idled over the dog's neck! "No es mi culpa!" yelled the driver when Keith screamed in terror! No we know it's not his fault, but really, do true DOG LOVERS like us need this kind of disturbance, for heaven's sake! We are on vacation here!!
Don't worry, I'm working through it with him...that's what a loving wife does, but enough already!
I guess it is time to move on...let's hope there are more strict street dog rules in central Chile!
La Ultima Dia en Valparaiso, que lastima!
It was still raining as we awoke but by the end of breakfast the sky had cleared and a most glorious clear blue sky appeared. We had to figure out our next move though it was tempting to stay a few more days here at the Casa Verde Limon as it is quite comfortable in the shared living space! Alas, our room is rented out tomorrow night, Saturday, 30 October, so we must move on. Our next destination will be Talca, south of Santiago, a university town. We'll get a fairly early start in the morning to bus back to Santiago, nearly two hours, switching buses for the 3 1/2 hour ride to central Chile.
Today we visited our second Pablo Neruda house high on the hill. We toured the cemetery just above the hostel before grabbing a collectivo ride up the hill. A collectivo is a taxi with a specific route that many people share. You have to know the number of the route, like a bus. You wait in line at the correct pickup location and when the taxi is full off you go! The routes seem to be those streets that a bus would never be able to navigate because they are winding and very steep! Crazy drivers and old beat-up cars make the ride exciting, like a carnival ride!
We walked down passing parks, tiled street lamps, and shambles of homes built into the side of the rock. It makes Venice seem like it is well organized, the city plan has literally no plan at all. People must just grab space wherever they can and built cement steps to it afterward. Many places we passed by on our way down today would have no car access whatsoever! How fires could be extinguished is anyone's guess!
Sitting in the central parks we enjoyed watching children climb on statues, splash in the fountain water and ride rentable tricycles around without care! Too bad our camera's battery was dead most of the afternoon, it was beautiful outside today!
Today we visited our second Pablo Neruda house high on the hill. We toured the cemetery just above the hostel before grabbing a collectivo ride up the hill. A collectivo is a taxi with a specific route that many people share. You have to know the number of the route, like a bus. You wait in line at the correct pickup location and when the taxi is full off you go! The routes seem to be those streets that a bus would never be able to navigate because they are winding and very steep! Crazy drivers and old beat-up cars make the ride exciting, like a carnival ride!
We walked down passing parks, tiled street lamps, and shambles of homes built into the side of the rock. It makes Venice seem like it is well organized, the city plan has literally no plan at all. People must just grab space wherever they can and built cement steps to it afterward. Many places we passed by on our way down today would have no car access whatsoever! How fires could be extinguished is anyone's guess!
Sitting in the central parks we enjoyed watching children climb on statues, splash in the fountain water and ride rentable tricycles around without care! Too bad our camera's battery was dead most of the afternoon, it was beautiful outside today!
Dogs Rule!
Street dogs are on every street here in Valparasio! They are friendly, mostly sleeping in the sun, taking care of their flea-filled bodies. This hillside city might be also the graffiti capital of the world with many artistic murals filling walls and doors in every direction. Some of this artificial landscapes include black silhouettes of DOGS! This corner near our hostel has more dogs than most; one of the artists here features painting of dogs in action~ playing guitars, riding motorcycles, drinking coffee at the cafe, painting murals of other dogs... They are fun and inexpensive and would make a wonderful souvenir, but alas, we have NO space for anything until we use up some of the medications and insect repellents that we brought, so no dogs for us!
Keith has made a couple small purchases including a 4" X 6" Chilean flag, we hope to gather one from each country we visit.
Yesterday we took the light rail train five miles to Vina del Mar, home to the yacht club, casino, Sheraton Hotel, castles and palaces. More money is apparent here, it is an upscale tourist site in true summertime! We walked for miles up hills and down as dark clouds filled the Pacific horizon. Luckily not a drop fell until we sat down on the train to return to Valparasio!
We visited three castles built at the beginning of the 20th century, one was built right on the rocky seaside. It was exciting watching the tide come on the castle's terrace which is open to the public as an exhibition space.
One of the three palaces we visited was surrounded by a expansive and well groomed park full of trees and flowers from around the world, most of which were nicely labeled. One of many gardeners at work stopped to speak with us picking the fragrant flowers from a tree for each of us, a kind gesture. He was happy to have the work, which he obviously enjoyed, but was disgusted that after he left each afternoon students came and trampled the grassy areas and flower beds playing soccer while families left garbage after their picnics.
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The day ended with hard rain pounding on the glassed-in roof of the three storied open space as we shared our green salad topped with chicken breast straight from the oven, YUM! Our dinner 'guests' included the Chilean innkeeper, Claudia, two travelers from Holland and a young man from Germany who just started working here in the hostel. The discussion was lively and multilingual, those mostly in spanish so that Claudia could participate. English was the second language in use, but not for our sakes, but because the europeans seemed more comfortable using this one of the varied second languages. Language is an amazing human invention!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunny Day in Valparaiso
Our hostel neighbors at La Casa Verde Limon this morning at breakfast included a young Chinese student from Toronto with many interesting tidbits to share about her family's exile from China, a young woman from Belgium, and a couple from Australia who have spent the last 5 months on the road.
We started our day traveling steeply up one of Valparaiso's 43 hills on una acensador, a little outdoor elevator built right in the rock up the side of a hill. What a handy invention from the late 1800's!
At the top of the hill directly behind our hostel there are colorfully painted homes founded by English, German, Swiss immigrants early in the last century. Many are converted into cafes, galleries and B & Bs. The views of the ocean from the top of the hill is beautiful. We went up and down both in the morning & as the sun went down.
Today we happened upon music in two different locations & attended a Mexican Folkloric Dance presentation in the civic center, I guess it was our cultural day. Our first music gathering was meant for artistic conference goers in a small museum. We watched three separate musicians, mostly singer/songwriter types with guitars. It was cool to be sitting among the Press! Nobody questioned our appearance, we must have looked like someone.
In the 'heart park' across the street from the hostel a four piece rock-n-roll band had set up to entertain the volunteers working on the mosaic tile work in the late afternoon. I sat on our steps and listened while I finished another book, my 4th this week.
We also took a boat tour of the harbor and ate a 'daily menu special', fresh fish, at a local eatery.
All and all it was a nice, relaxing day in the sunshine loving life & each other.
We started our day traveling steeply up one of Valparaiso's 43 hills on una acensador, a little outdoor elevator built right in the rock up the side of a hill. What a handy invention from the late 1800's!
At the top of the hill directly behind our hostel there are colorfully painted homes founded by English, German, Swiss immigrants early in the last century. Many are converted into cafes, galleries and B & Bs. The views of the ocean from the top of the hill is beautiful. We went up and down both in the morning & as the sun went down.
Today we happened upon music in two different locations & attended a Mexican Folkloric Dance presentation in the civic center, I guess it was our cultural day. Our first music gathering was meant for artistic conference goers in a small museum. We watched three separate musicians, mostly singer/songwriter types with guitars. It was cool to be sitting among the Press! Nobody questioned our appearance, we must have looked like someone.
In the 'heart park' across the street from the hostel a four piece rock-n-roll band had set up to entertain the volunteers working on the mosaic tile work in the late afternoon. I sat on our steps and listened while I finished another book, my 4th this week.
We also took a boat tour of the harbor and ate a 'daily menu special', fresh fish, at a local eatery.
All and all it was a nice, relaxing day in the sunshine loving life & each other.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Ciao Santiago...Hola Valparaiso
Our last day in Santiago was spent in the downtown area where we visited Iglesia San Francisco & the surrounding area, walked through the Biblioteca National (main library) enjoying a display of the history of making maps of the western hemisphere, hiked the Santa Lucia Hill and got lost in a huge city crowd in the ped-only zones near the downtown center. There we sat down to laugh out loud at a mime artist, who imitated people walking by expertly! We also visited the main train station which was absorbed by a huge mall~ shop until you drop! YUCK!
We shared a pasta & salad dinner with our hostal neighbor, Velin. Hope to cross paths with him in his bright future!
One of the pleasures we seek out in Latin America is the simple daily menu lunch, where for 1650 chilean pesos (just over $3.00) you have a 3 course meal~ soup or salad to start, a main course consisting usually of meat and a starch, and then dessert. Our last lunch in Santiago was great Lasagne with flan for the sweet finale. Yum! Usually your drink cost as much or more than the meal, and I'm talking Canada Dry! We've been making breakfast at the hostal, having a lunch out, and if need be, making a little something for a light supper back at the hostal. That's how we plan to travel on this long adventure; we'll probably save money this winter! :)
For less than $3.00 US you can take a very nice bus to the coastal city of Valparaiso, 140 KM west of Santiago. The trip was a simple two hour and we sat in the front seats for a scenic tour. From the bus station we took a trolley car into the center of town. Near the bus station it looked a bit 'scary', just down and out. But as we got closer to center the buildings, though run down for the most part, have fancy facades, not quite colonial, but once elegant.
It was a bit difficult to find our way to the hostal but we saw a lot of action on the way. This city seems more 'real' than Santiago. People are hustling to buy their necessities and we arrived into town as school students were heading home.
The rooms at the Casa Verde Limon are simple though we have our own TV with cable. This may hinder our reading as Keith is watching his 3rd episode of Simpsons while I write, in Spanish so we can count it as educational.
The shared areas in this hostel are very nice, the kitchen is modern and well stocked, the dining area is large with great windows and there are sofas & computers for all to share. It doesn't seem very full since it's the middle of the week.
Our first 'service project' presented itself just outside the doors of the hostel. Across the street is a small plaza that a small group of volunteers have spent the last three months tiling a'la Gaudi. They have designed walls, steps and benches around a corazon "heart' theme. Any one who wishes can design a heart and work to place it in the nearly completed park. It's beautiful and certainly a labor of love! The grand opening is scheduled for November 6th so they are drawing close to their last days. Keith spent a little time helping by sweeping up this afternoon; he can hardly wait to get out there again tomorrow!
We walked down to the waterfront and picked up some groceries earlier. We met a young couple from Brazil who assured us we will get by just fine traveling in their country without Portuguese, big relief!! Here are a couple pictures from our first venture out to see this town. You can tell from our clothing that it was a bit chilly today. Here's hoping tomorrow is sunnier & warm!!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Riding Bicycles in Sunny Santiago
Just a quick note about our neighborhood... In it's day it was no doubt splendid! It is more of a working class area now, though the books refer to it as bohemian. I see both. Right now little boys are playing a game of soccer in the street in front of our room. All through the night young people walk by talking loudly after their night on the town. The bright yellow house with paintings is that of the 'anarchists', our room is the window above the green door to the left. The white mansion which is full of graffiti is at the corner. You can see the bygone elegance!
Today we rode rented bicycles for four hours from park to park, it was a beautiful sunny Sunday, little traffic except for other bikers and families in the parks. We biked through some very nice neighborhoods after we broke away from the river that runs through town. Skyscrapers are everywhere; sculptures in city squares are also plentiful. Santiago doesn't have as many churches to tour as most other Latin American cities that we have visited; normally every other block has a parish church, similar to SLC and the ward houses.
Tomorrow, Monday, will be our last full day here before we find our way by bus to the coastal city of Valparasio.
Ciao for now!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Two relaxing days strolling Santiago
Yesterday, Friday, we woke at 7 am, SLC time, which happens to be 10 am here in Chile. :) We are taking life easy, as it happens, in the moment... After a great egg sandwich breakfast prepared by Chef Keith we visited with the woman who runs La Casa Amarilla. She related events surrounding the 8.8 earthquake here last February 27th. Tears filled her eyes as she recounted how everyone in the house helped clear the backyard 'garden' of an adobe wall that collapsed during the 3 minute earthquake that hit during the middle of the night.
We started out on our daily walk about town in our own neighborhood, west of center, destination Parque Normal. The temperature was quite a bit cooler than the previous day and we were dressed for sun & warmth. We visited a museum of victorian trains that were used in Chile until the 1980s. It was interesting and filled with beautiful spring gardens.
Also in the park is Museo Artequin, Chile's addition to the 1889 Paris Expedition where the Eiffel Tower was displayed. The pavilion was deconstructed and returned to Chile after the expedition and it now houses a Children's Interactive Art Exhibit with copies of famous paintings and sculptures on display throughout. It was very colorfully whimsical; just like the children for whom it's intended, we enjoyed visiting it a great deal.
We walked home for a rest and lunch and then returned went out in the neighborhood in a different direction. Today's local excitement was the demolition of the inside of two neighboring houses. The one directly to the side of our room was previously occupied by 'anarchists', who were described as good neighbors by our host. The building on the other side of the anarchists had a crazy 'mean man' squatting there for many years. Judging from the handiwork pulled out of his building he was a creative welder in his day. The mess kept coming out of both buildings all day long, but by the morning the sidewalk and street was clear.
Friday night we were disturbed to read via email that Lyndz's sweet puppy Keita had been attacked by three Bull Mastiffs while Lyndz was walking her. The mean dogs' owner took Lyndz and Keita to his vet and Keita was stitched up around her neck area. She should recover nicely, but what a terrible experience from them both. This emergency prompted us to sign up with Skype so that we can call her & others as we need to without needing to search our phone cards & public phones. Our Skype login is momjsb57 for anyone else who wants to chat via computer or video. What a great tool this is! We felt much better after being able to speak directly with Lyndz who reported that Keita is doing well, slow, drugged, but in no danger.
Today, Saturday, we headed toward the nicest part of town, Los Condes. We visited a farmer's market which included fresh fish of all varieties. We even saw an Airedale running wild! This city has more street dogs than any place we've visited, many are cared for, including this Dale, they just roam the streets at will.
Behind a Dominican Church was an Artist Market with stall of crafts of all kinds, birds, antiques, cafes, and live music. We spent a couple of hours looking and stopping to listen and read on benches under flowering trees. What fun it is to smell the strong scent of lilacs in October!
Across the hallway from us lives a young engineering student whose family emigrated to Chile ten years ago from Bulgaria. He is very bright and fluent in English as well as Spanish & Bulgarian. We have enjoyed speaking with him during our hours at the hostal. Velin is his name~ he describes himself as a man without a country being a relative newcomer here and many years away from his native homeland. As I write, Keith is in the dining room singing Mana songs as Velin plays the guitar. Hostals are great fun until the young people return from partying in the middle of the night talking at full volume as their cigarette smoke drifts under our door... Ahhh, traveling, you must take the good with the bad!
We started out on our daily walk about town in our own neighborhood, west of center, destination Parque Normal. The temperature was quite a bit cooler than the previous day and we were dressed for sun & warmth. We visited a museum of victorian trains that were used in Chile until the 1980s. It was interesting and filled with beautiful spring gardens.
Also in the park is Museo Artequin, Chile's addition to the 1889 Paris Expedition where the Eiffel Tower was displayed. The pavilion was deconstructed and returned to Chile after the expedition and it now houses a Children's Interactive Art Exhibit with copies of famous paintings and sculptures on display throughout. It was very colorfully whimsical; just like the children for whom it's intended, we enjoyed visiting it a great deal.
We walked home for a rest and lunch and then returned went out in the neighborhood in a different direction. Today's local excitement was the demolition of the inside of two neighboring houses. The one directly to the side of our room was previously occupied by 'anarchists', who were described as good neighbors by our host. The building on the other side of the anarchists had a crazy 'mean man' squatting there for many years. Judging from the handiwork pulled out of his building he was a creative welder in his day. The mess kept coming out of both buildings all day long, but by the morning the sidewalk and street was clear.
Friday night we were disturbed to read via email that Lyndz's sweet puppy Keita had been attacked by three Bull Mastiffs while Lyndz was walking her. The mean dogs' owner took Lyndz and Keita to his vet and Keita was stitched up around her neck area. She should recover nicely, but what a terrible experience from them both. This emergency prompted us to sign up with Skype so that we can call her & others as we need to without needing to search our phone cards & public phones. Our Skype login is momjsb57 for anyone else who wants to chat via computer or video. What a great tool this is! We felt much better after being able to speak directly with Lyndz who reported that Keita is doing well, slow, drugged, but in no danger.
Today, Saturday, we headed toward the nicest part of town, Los Condes. We visited a farmer's market which included fresh fish of all varieties. We even saw an Airedale running wild! This city has more street dogs than any place we've visited, many are cared for, including this Dale, they just roam the streets at will.
Behind a Dominican Church was an Artist Market with stall of crafts of all kinds, birds, antiques, cafes, and live music. We spent a couple of hours looking and stopping to listen and read on benches under flowering trees. What fun it is to smell the strong scent of lilacs in October!
Across the hallway from us lives a young engineering student whose family emigrated to Chile ten years ago from Bulgaria. He is very bright and fluent in English as well as Spanish & Bulgarian. We have enjoyed speaking with him during our hours at the hostal. Velin is his name~ he describes himself as a man without a country being a relative newcomer here and many years away from his native homeland. As I write, Keith is in the dining room singing Mana songs as Velin plays the guitar. Hostals are great fun until the young people return from partying in the middle of the night talking at full volume as their cigarette smoke drifts under our door... Ahhh, traveling, you must take the good with the bad!
Friday, October 22, 2010
To the top of Cerro San Cristobal
For a steep ascent to the top of San Cristobal hill, take the Funicular, an ancient structure which take you in an open car to visit a religious shrine with a great view around the giant city of Santiago. It was a smoggy day, which is common in this home to 7 million people surrounded by mountains. We could only see the mountaintop in one direction, there is still some snow on the top.
The statue atop the hill is beautiful and the gardens very impressive. There is a small chapel with art made from tinted concrete with a bit of a relief, simple and beautiful. Monastic music was amplified throughout the area. A very relaxing spot.
At the top we met a new friend, Rodrigo, a young engineer who had biked to the top. It was fun practicing spanish with him. When we asked if he knew of any celebration planned for the rescued miners he responded, "33 alive; end of story". The press surrounding their struggle was overwhelming here, as you might imagine.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Day One in Santiago
After a great night's sleep, we ventured out into the city. Today we took the subway into the center to reserve Keith's steps for new territory. He has healed very well from his paragliding injury two summers ago but still hurts on a daily basis and needs to rest often. This is no problem for anyone with as much time as we have on this adventure (six months!).
We stopped for a cup of expresso, YUM!, at a cafe just outside the subway terminal. The owner of the establishment took an interest in us and sat down with his bottle of beer to chat with us for 45 minutes. It was difficult to understand him because the spanish spoken here in Chile is very fast and the words run together for us. But he didn't give up, he gave us recommendations of restaurants and various tourist sights in the city. Mario had lived in Spain for 20 years and has visited many countries around the world. It was fun hanging out with him.
The Museum of Fine Arts was in a grand building though the collection was small. It is located on a long thin strip of green space that runs alongside a river. The water is running fast, most likely spring runoff from the nearby snowcapped mountains. Four large markets are located at one end of the Parque Forestal. The first one was a fresh fish market with many seafood restaurants. Across the river we visited a second market full of fresh flowers. This latin city is like others we have explored in that shopkeepers that sell the same type of item are gathered in one place rather than spread out with varying types of stores around town. There were markets selling fruits and vegetables and then another with a variety of necessary items such as electrical goods and household items. After observing life in the market we headed home via a wonderful cobblestone walking zone with interesting cafes and galleries, one that we will want to spend time in on another day.
Our hostel has a wonderfully supplied kitchen so we stopped at the local supermarket for supplies before returning to our room. We are loving our new reading 'tools', the Nooks that we broke down and invested in at the last minute before leaving the USA.
No pictures to publish; we forgot to recharge the battery!
We stopped for a cup of expresso, YUM!, at a cafe just outside the subway terminal. The owner of the establishment took an interest in us and sat down with his bottle of beer to chat with us for 45 minutes. It was difficult to understand him because the spanish spoken here in Chile is very fast and the words run together for us. But he didn't give up, he gave us recommendations of restaurants and various tourist sights in the city. Mario had lived in Spain for 20 years and has visited many countries around the world. It was fun hanging out with him.
The Museum of Fine Arts was in a grand building though the collection was small. It is located on a long thin strip of green space that runs alongside a river. The water is running fast, most likely spring runoff from the nearby snowcapped mountains. Four large markets are located at one end of the Parque Forestal. The first one was a fresh fish market with many seafood restaurants. Across the river we visited a second market full of fresh flowers. This latin city is like others we have explored in that shopkeepers that sell the same type of item are gathered in one place rather than spread out with varying types of stores around town. There were markets selling fruits and vegetables and then another with a variety of necessary items such as electrical goods and household items. After observing life in the market we headed home via a wonderful cobblestone walking zone with interesting cafes and galleries, one that we will want to spend time in on another day.
Our hostel has a wonderfully supplied kitchen so we stopped at the local supermarket for supplies before returning to our room. We are loving our new reading 'tools', the Nooks that we broke down and invested in at the last minute before leaving the USA.
No pictures to publish; we forgot to recharge the battery!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Our Journey
Waiting for the flight from SLC to Dallas/Fort Worth we were surrounded by young men in black suits with white shirts~ you guessed it...Mormon Missionaries venturing off to change hearts and minds. There must have been 30 new zealous Elders along with 6 young Sisters. They tried to 'share their message' with us, but were unsuccessful. We were however impressed by their grasp of Spanish after only two months in the Missionary Training Center. All of them were also bound for Santiago, Chile.
We volunteered to be bumped actually before the gate agent asked, but alas, we were not chosen to earn $800.00 each to wait a day. My theory is they didn't want to comp tickets to people traveling on free tickets to begin with! Our seats were unfortunately on the last row of the plane, but even that had an upside as the flight attendant gave us free wine for putting up with their chattiness!
Santiago has a colonial center which we explored a bit the day we arrived, yesterday, after a hard nap. We were both feeling the aftereffects on a couple of muscle relaxants that we took to survive the overnight flight. Today we are going to rent bicycles to use while we are here in Santiago so that Keith is more mobile.
Our room is very basic, two beds a desk and closet. It is a hostel setting with two kitchens, dining areas and gardens. There is also a nice sitting room for the 16 occupants, most of whom are Chilean students. Keith calls it a 'flop house', but it was quiet and comfortable for sleeping last night so no complaints here! And, most importantly, the price is right!
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