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Published: February 17th 2011
Santiago de Chile
It is morning and we are waiting at the airport for the arrival of my son Robin, coming with the plane from Madrid. We have not seen eachother since 7 months. The day before yesterday we arrived in Santiago. We came from Mendoza in Argentina and crossed the Andes. Massive mountains in all colours and forms. It is wonderfull. Here are the highest mountains of the western hemisphere. They are up to 7000 meter high. And they are still growing, because the Nasca plate in the Pacific Ocean still moves to the east and ducks under the continent, causing enormous upheavels and earthquakes. Darwin witnessed one of these earthquakes in Chili and saw how the land had risen. It changed his mind.
The plane has landed now. Together we look at the monitors to see which exit he will take. Passing the Chilean border can take a long time as we experienced ourselves. It took us two hours the day before yesterday. All luggage was taken out of the bus and screened by a fruitmachine. Afterwards it was the turn of our handluggage. No fruit or other products of animals and plants are allowed. Someone took
some mate (a kind of tea) with her, apparently as a gift. Not allowed. The border is at a height of about 3100 meter. Actually Chileans live on a slope. Within 200 kilometer the mountains descend from about 7000 meters high down to sealevel.
We have a billboard with us reading ´Robin van Leijen, Holland´, but when he finally arrives after one hour he does not see it. We only see eachother. We sleep in the Bario Brasilia in the excellent Happy House Hostel. Together we have breakfast. There are a lot of old mansions in this quarter, but they are not well maintained. Together we make a walk in the centre of the city. It is not particular, a mix max of baroque mansions, neoclassic buildings, ultra modern flats and buildings without any style. We walk along de Plaza de Armas and the Palacio de la Moneda. It is the presidential palace, where the military coup took place in 1973. Nearby we see the statue of Salvador Allende, the president who was murdered and who was followed up by the junta of General Pinochet, which lasted up to 1989.
Next day Robin, Linda and I visit the
grave of Allende. The cemetery is enormous. It is so big that people use the motor and the car to visit the graves of their family. A speed of 20 km per hour is the maximum, but most drivers go way faster. There are special places where pedestrians can cross. In between the classic temples raised for the dead vips of Chile, we discover the grave of Allende and his family. It is ultra modern.
We like to go to the Parque Metropolitane, but do not exactly how to go. With the help of some girls we find our way. Chileans are extremely friendly and helpful. They are different from the Argentinians (who are also extremely friendly and helpful). We think that Chileans are more introvert. They are also smaller than Argentinians and it looks like they have more Indian blood. The day before we learned in the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombio how the Indians spread out over the American continent. It started 22,000 years ago, when the first Asiatic people arrived in North America and it continued up to 12,000 years ago when finally also Tierra del Fuego was colonised. In the museum we see a raft
of huaco´s and other art objects of Chimu, Aztecs, Toltecs, Maya´s, Inca´s, Chavin and many more tribes who spreaded out over the new continent.
Finally we find the Parque Metropolitane. We climb the hill and under the feet of the Virgen we have a marvelous view over the city with the massive Andes on the background. Down again we have dinner at one of the many terraces in the Bario Bellavista, a beautiful area with modern buildings. The white Chilean wine is delicious. Tomorrow we go back to Mendoza again. In Argentina we will continue our trip, but now
together with Robin.
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Wilmar en Helna
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Reunion
Hoi Andre, Linda en Robin, wat een leuk weerzien moet dat geweest zijn zo aan de andere kant van de wereld. Wist niet dat jullie na Afrika zouden oversteken naar Zuid Amerika. Patagonie doet bij ons het beeld van het "uiterste verre einde van de wereld" oproepen en inmiddels zijn jullie beyond deze verre streek. Wat staat er nog meer op het programma; wij zijn benieuwd want de foto's en reisverhalen zijn werkelijk schitterend. Zelf sta ik aan de vooravond van een weekje in de Dolomieten (skieen), daarna ga ik ook afbouwen en als jullie aan het eind van het jaar dan nog onderweg zijn komen wij jullie ook graag opzoeken groet Wilmar en Helna