Santiago, Oh, Santiago

Recent weather: sunny, high 70s/low 80s everyday.

I arrived in Santiago the afternoon of Easter Sunday and started exploring on Monday. Museums are closed on Mondays but I did find myself a lovely pale ale. 1 for 1. Already the beer situation in Chile is looking up.

Artesian Pale Ale from the Elqui Valle in Chile.

Later in the afternoon I took the free walking tour (works on tips) in the afternoon. The tour guide was a local, born and raised, but spoke great English with an accent I couldn't quite place. Turns out he's an actor which explains his enthusiasm. I learned a great deal about Chile's tumultuous past, including its time under a socialist regime, dictatorship, civil war, and its democratic rebirth all within the last half a century! Similar to my reflection on Argentina, it's unbelievable to me to experience persecution, coups, government overthrows and an internal domestic war all within my or my parents' generation.

On the walking tour we saw La Moneda, previously Chile's mint, the president's home, and now the president's office. La Moneda was bombed during Allende's overthrow by his own air force lead by the current general and soon-to-be Chilean dictator, Pinochet.

La Moneda, previously the mint and now the president's office.

Monument for Allende, still beloved by many Chileans.

On the tour we stopped for a refreshing beverage and my first pisco sour of the trip!

We walked through one of the cute neighborhoods of Santiago, BellaVista.

And we ended the tour at Pablo Neruda's house. The infamous Chilean poet is known for being an eclectic collector of random pieces of furniture and of course, women as well.

Pablo Neruda's home in Santiago.

On Tuesday I went to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos. The museum was built to commemorate the human rights violations that were committed against the people of Chile from 1973-1990. Many chileans were tortured and murdered during the military dictatorship and the museum's goal is to bring these deeds to light, promote education and respect to make sure this type of tragedy never happens again. Nunca mas.  This museum was extremely well done, with a variety of exhibits including paintings, photographs, newspaper clippings, handwritten letters, videos, music, etc. The most memorable exhibit for me was a collection of children's drawings from this dark period. There were stick figures of men holdings guns pointed to the family with the handwritten words (in Spanish) "I am afraid I will always be hungry" or "I don't want to die like dad." It was a tough exhibit to get through but had a strong impact.

8 foot tall photo wall

Londres 38 was another small exhibit that is maintained in memory of the people and families affected by this tragic and violent time period. The house at Londres 38 was a torture center maintained by the dictatorship.

Sidewalk plaque for Londres 38.

Painted across the wall in one of the rooms. 

A photo as part of an exhibit calling for free university education.

Another photo part of the exhibit, free university education is the most popular political topic.

After these very heavy, depressing exhibits, I headed to Mercado Central the great fish and meat market where I binged on a bowl jam packed with oysters, crab, shrimp, mussels, lobster--a seafood lovers dream!

It's a meat market in here...

Yes, that's right, I'm drinking Cristal. 

The next day I hiked up Santa Lucia park for a view of Santiago. Or at least the best view you can get with all the pollution.

I stopped at a street cart for a mid-afternoon snack as I continued to stroll about Santiago. Copihue is a very popular drink/snack in Chile. It's cup filled about half full with wheat, throw in a whole peeled peach and then top off with peach juice. Pretty sweet, and very peachy.

I finished off my time in Santiago with another tasty brew. Now it's time to catch my afternoon bus to Valparaiso!