Saturday was rainy, if you recall. I went back out to try and find some food and change money. I managed the money changing bit, but it was apparently some sort of holiday, so just about everything was closed up. In wandering, I ran across a couple from the UK and struck up a conversation. They were about as frustrated as I that nothing was open. We wandered about, looking for things to do. I needed some food, so we stopped at Mercado Central, which is this amazing fish market cum restaurant. If you're familiar with the Pike Place market, it's like that (and even if you are not), but much bigger. Then, all around it are little restaurants--booths, really--where you can eat it. We did eventually find an open museum, el Museo de Historio Nacional, and an enormous church, la Iglesia Catedral del Gratitud Nacional. It reminded me of the churches we saw in Italy.
On Sunday, we met to travel out to Valparaíso, a beautiful coastal city about an hour and a half from Santiago. The entire city is built up onto the coastal cliff, so to reach the upper levels, it is necessary to either walk up steep roads, steep steps, or ride one of the several funicular elevators. Mostly, the day was spent walking about. We started by exploring the flea market that ran for several blocks, where you could, quite literally, find just about anything that you wanted. Think massive garage sale with hundreds of everything, including decade old cell phones and cassette tapes. I kid you not. Valparaíso is also an active port town, so there was much sea traffic. The Chilean Navy is also headquartered there. We wandered into an exhibition of the work of LUKAS, a famous caricaturist and political commentator. I'm sure most of what was there would have been great if only I spoke Spanish. Sigh. What was probably most intriguing to me was that in walking about we got far away from the tourist areas of the city, and ended up walking through more than a few back alleys and tumbledown stairways. I would say "people's backyards," except that no one really has a backyard. Most of what is there is fairly run down and everything is put right next to each other. You'll find little shops, most little bigger than a walk in closet, stocked up with sodas and water and vegetables. They are just the most quaint things that you will ever see. When we tried to walk down the pier to take a closer look at the naval ships, including their rather famous tall ship, Esmeralda. We must have looked like tourists or something, because we were not allowed down, despite the crowds of pedestrians beyond the gate. It was bizarre. Also, they don't allow photos of the navy, even though the entire city faces the harbor. Oh, look, a ship...
It really was so nice to meet some folk with whom I could tour around with. Adventuring is all well and good, but it's nice to have another voice besides your own as you go about.
Today was much less full. I slept in until the steady stream of noisy Chileans on their way to somewhere woke me up. Getting out seemed like a good idea, so I opted for a wine tour. I feel kind of guilty just staying in and doing whatever when there is an entire city and more to explore. Well, the tour finally happened, when the bus showed up over 3o minutes late. There was just one stop, and the winery gave about a 30 minute tour of the facilities, which included two brief tastings. Worth the money? Definitely not. Well, that'll teach me to pay a tourist agency. Ah, well. There's naught to be done, now. Then, I wandered a bit more, ate a street vendor hot dog, and returned. These vendors are everywhere, and I generally think that they can be trusted.
And that's it. If I can add another night on, I'll be in Santiago one more day then head up to La Serena by bus. It's about seven hours north of here, so the trip should not be an unpleasant one. Once their, I'll find a hostel and set up shop. After that, who knows...
No comments:
Post a Comment