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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: -2.20584, -79.908
This morning we loaded our luggage onto the bus and set out on our City Tour of Santiago. This began by driving us through the streets of Downtown Santiago . Maurizio, our guide, emphasised they were a nation of immigrants and this is brought home by the fact that there are separate areas dedicated to the British, French, German, Italian and Spanish communities, each with their distinctive architecture and culture. Our first stop was at the Racecourse which the British built. There is another one built by the French. It was still relatively early in the morning and we saw the jockeys exercising their horses on the track.
From there we drove through the British and French sections of the town , flanked by the former houses of the rich families which are now converted to University accommodation or government buildings. We stopped at the front entrance of the Palacio de Meneda and were in time to watch the ceremonial changing of the guard. This was a rather grand affair including a marching band, a parade led by cavalry and much clicking of heels. It was good to see a number of women in the ranks of both cavalry and
infantry. The band was great. They struck up a tune. I expected the National Anthem or some such dirge music but was pleasantly surprised by renditions of up beat popular numbers. When they broke into "Brazil" the crowd applauded. Obviously some tourists from that area. This performance was held in Constitutional Square which was established in 1810 when Chile gained Independence. The coup, led by Pinochet, which overthrew the Presidency of Salvatore Allende,. occurred near here when the palace was fired upon by the airforce. There is a statue of the latter in the square to commemorate that dark day in Chilean History.
From there we went on foot through the pedestrian Mall we had traversed yesterday. Maurizio took us to the Plaza de Armas and we revisited the Cathedral. As this was Ash Wednesday there was much activity including a Rosary service in the side chapel . This time we ventured down to the front of the main altar. It is an elaborate and overdecorated place but I did take a picture of my namesake, St Teresa's, statue. From there we walked to the Central Market which Maurizio was praising. Not as extensive as our Adelaide market, but the fish
stalls were crammed with a variety of species and the centre of this architecturally interesting building contained many restaurants where the fresh produce could be consumed and enjoyed.
We then went to visit the large hill in the middle of the city on which is a statue of the Virgin Mary. It is also a recreational park containing the Santiago Zoo along with walking trails etc. We drove nearly to the top and then walked the last few hundred metres. The statue is not as large as Christ the Redeemer in Brazil but does dominate the skyline. After 30 minutes there it was time for lunch. Before that they snuck in a quick visit to a Lapis Lazuli jewellery shop as Chile and Afghanistan are the two countries where this semi-precious stone is mined in abundance. We were given small glasses of Pisco sours, the traditional drink, to sweeten the "exit through the gift shop" experience. Then we headed to the restaurant in the Belle Vista area where we were to have our lunch. This was fabulous! It was called “Like Water for Chocolate” We had a three course lunch accompanied by Pisco Sours and wine all included. The atmosphere was
great and the staff more than friendly. My marinated fish, (a la Kokonda style), Steak and then vanilla flan were all great. The company was also good. This is a very happy group with people who are all like minded and willing to cooperate and have fun. The rest of the trip augurs well.
Then it was off to the airport and a five hour flight to Guayquil in Ecuador. We arrived there at 9-30pm local time. A short ride to our hotel, the Hampton and we retired for the night ready for our trip to the Galapagos Islands in the morning.
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