Woke up too damn early, 4:20AM to get the bus to the airport for check-in. I had lost my entrance ticket to Brazil somewhere but I was able to sweet-talk the check-in agent to fill in a replacement for me so I could exit the country.
A great flight over the Andes with spectacular scenery as we landed in Santiago, the bus ride to the hotel was very nice and the weather was sunny with temps at 20C. After a roast beef and egg sandwich at a local diner we had an afternoon city tour by bus. We saw many Colonial buildings, some of which were copies of European buildings such as Notre Dame and the Arc de Triumph.
We visited the Pre-Columbian art exhibit, what a great collection of rare antiquities, never before have I seen such a subtle exhibition of such magnificent early art. The collection was over 7000 pieces and one could spend a week easily scratching the surface.
Later on we walked through a major square and saw a balloon clown entertaining the kids and a slapstick team that reminded me of the Marx Brothers. I returned back to the hotel and slipped into the Church right next door. It was one of the few really older Spanish churches left in Santiago since the earthquake on the 80's. It was of wooden construction with an adobe-like exterior, it had some amazing paintings and some over-the-top statues of Christ and the crucifixion. Dinner was at the hotel and into bed early at 10:00PM.
Thoughts:
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Santiago is a clean and vibrant City.
Saw a few gypsies in the street and many performers and street artists were about.
Traffic is pretty crazy, particularly the city busses who compete per passenger for fares.
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