Tuesday 21.10.14 – Santiago, morning walking tour.

Up and out from breaky about 9.00 this morning to hit the metro to catch the Tour for Tips Wally morning walking tour.

It was quite warm early when we left the hotel. The metro was decidedly busy both this morning and yesterday morning. Luckily we were travelling against the flow.

All those people spewing out from the Metro.

Max our Wally guide arrived and promptly chatted with one of the Kiltra (stray dogs) and then fed "princess" a pouch of dog food. He was lovely with her.

We found some shade to sit in while waiting for tour start at 10 .15.

Taking some time in the shade to write the journal.
© Suzie Sloan.

Waiting for the tour to start. © Suzie Sloan.

We learnt about the diverse range of architecture due to terramoto - earthquakes. Buildings wrecked and replaced with new styles. So many periods within one area.

Here's Max, plus the tour dogs
who joined us for the start of the
tour, Princess on the left. The
other Wally was a tourism student
learning the ropes.

This other dog, followed up all the
way through the markets and left
us as we went onto the Metro.

We visited the fish market and farmers market. All on the chimbre? side - the other poorer side of the river.

We tried sopaipilla’s (Pumpkin fritters) and very nice it was too. Also learnt a bit about the Nobel prize winner Pablo Neruda and a visit he made to the workers (10 000) of the market. He didn't prepare a speech, as he thought he would be walking around chatting to people. So when they had a podium set up he read some of his poetry and then froze, there was silence for several minutes, before the audience were seen crying. No Chilean celebrity or anyone of importance had ever given these workers the time of day. They were so touched that he took time out. These folk from the 'other side of the river' are very generous and help out the poor and down and out.

Typical fish shop in market.

Conga eel.

Barnacles, the contents were
crushed and sold as a natural
aphrodisiac.

The roof of the market, which
also held a number of pretty fancy
restaurants.

A couple of spires.

A smaller cafe in the market.

Getting some further explanation, our dog guide is
still with us.

Dried puffer fish.

Translates to something like "After God there is
La Vega" (which is the name of the market) Max
explained it as meaning the workers in La Vega,
will take care of those who
God does not.

Artichokes

Liked the bags in the market.

A cat amongst the advocado.

Fungi.

Another dog looking down from
upper storey window.

Then caught the metro to Cementarios where we visited the general Cemetery. Lots of poor and rich mausoleums and nichos.

The metro.

These 'trains' run on tyres.

Looking down onto the tracks.

Looking up to the statue on the hill.

Part of the cemetery.

Each of these nichos can contain up to 12 bodies.
This is the cheap part of the cemetery. Once a coffin
has been in there for five year, cemetery workers, will
remove the bones into a smaller container so another
coffin will fit in front.

The Military Mausoleum.

At the Cemetario we learnt about:

Animitas - people who were innocent and died in brutal way. Often children. Their nicho is filled with evidence of people who have  are asked for favour. If it happens the asker must return to the nicho and put a plaque at the grave of the animitas.

Animismo - keeping memories alive particularly of children whose graves are decorated with the celebration of the time. Another grave had bottles of beer and alcohol, empty on top. The wife came and had two bottles, one for him and one for her, something he liked to do in life...keeping the habits alive.

A nicho of an Animita.

Terramota (earthquake) damage. The mausoleums
are all private property and families are responsible
to repair any damage. Some are not repaired.

The Allende Gossens grave. He
was buried in Valparaiso and not
moved back until after the Pinochet
era.

An Aztec themed Mausoleum,
no Aztec history in the family,
they just tried to outdo the next
mausoleum.

Finished tour at a bar with a Terramoto cocktail.

We then trained it back to Baquedano station and Bellavista barrio for lunch and to find some silver shops.

On the Metro.

Finally found the river, we had
crossed somewhere this am.

Then Suzie returned to hotel to pack and I went in search of Very elusive birthday cards. Ended up at Costanera centre, which has a huge shopping centre, had a wander, bought Suzie an SD card reader for ipad (some amusement for airports and plane time), then eventually back to hotel, via a heladero shop.

The Costanera centre, the shopping
centre is the middle building.

Another river.

Statues in the forecourt of 'Sportinglife' building.

Another green wall, this was the
Intercontinental Hotel.

View from the room.

Did some packing and re arranging, before heading out to dinner around the corner, I was determined to go Chilean tonight so went for the Lomo o lo Pobre – basically a mixed grill, with steak, eggs, onion and chips followed by postres tres leches – a three milk dessert. All ok.

Our last evening meal on Chilean soil.

Then home to bed, that’s it for Chile, tomorrow we do the final pack and depart our hotel for airport at 10am.

What an adventure we've had!