I had originally planned to buy my tickets down to South America for a few weeks after Burning Man, similar to what I did last year. Then for various reasons, I didn't end up buying my ticket out of Washington until the week before Thanksgiving.
And even though there were days that I was so ready to go, when the time actually came I was pretty sad to leave. It was definitely harder to leave this time around. I'm not the biggest fan of goodbyes, so I've gotten pretty good at not prolonging them. But this time I caught myself prolonging them. And there was a crazy windstorm that closed the highway I had to drive home on, and knocked out power at my parents house. Just another reason not to leave just quite yet. Maybe it was the fact that I'd had such an awesome last weekend (and awesome summer in general) that I was acutely aware of what I was peacing out of. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have nerves to contend with/distract me. Who knows.
I stopped over in WaDC to see my cousins on the way. One of them adopted a tiny human in September, so I thought I'd stop by and meet the newest addition to our family. Turns out she's pretty great. I didn't know two-month-olds did more than the basic functions necessary for development, aka brain and digestive system. Turns out she's got the most animated eyebrows ever and isn't shy about making a "who the hell is this holding me" face or giving you crazy eyes when you try to burp her. I can say without a doubt that I'd never been present for so many discussions of bodily functions. That's for sure.
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| One of the first things I noticed was all of the art. It's everywhere. It's gorgeous. Sometimes weird. |
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| More art! I have to resist taking pictures of all of them. |
From DC I flew straight down to Santiago and arrived at about 9am. I got to check in early at the hostel, and I took a nap until I got hungry enough to wander around. I ended up wandering around a large park, an outdoor museum of trains, and the Museum of Human Rights. I ended up eating a sandwich that had tomato, guacamole, mayo, cheese, and beef. The train museum was fun, the sandwich was unhealthy and delicious, and the museum was full of entirely new info for me.
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| lolz |
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| Choochoo! |
It covered the time period beginning with the coup that brought the Junta and Augusto Pinochet to power, removing Salvador Allende, until the Junta was overthrown and Patricio Aylwin was elected. This was the time of the "Desaparecidos" (this rang a bell from history class). As soon as the Junta took power, they moved to crush any opposition. About 3,000 were killed and 27,000 were jailed and or tortured. A lot of those that were killed were buried in mass graves in the desert, and families were given no information about the disappearance of their loved ones. Even some of those who were exiled to other countries suffered violence due to the Junta's secret police. By the late '80s, the Junta began to permit more free speech, there was a lot of unrest in Chile, and there was even a vote to give Pinochet another eight year term. The result was a resounding NO. Patricio Aylwin, a Christian Democrat was elected instead and the Junta was removed from power. Pinochet was never held accountable for his crimes, but Chile has gone on to improve its relationship with coutries around the world. They even have a female president. She was first elected as a Socialist but now calls herself a Social Democrat.
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| I found my Hispanic mural doppelganger |
The next day (Happy Thanksgiving!) we rolled out of the hostel at the crack of noon to explore the center of Santiago. One the girls really wanted pizza, so we found a chain that served personal sized pizzas (with fries) and helped ourselves to some American pepperoni pizzas. I had pizza for all my holidays last winter. Why not keep it going as long as I can. After lunch and a lap about the Plaza de Armas, we walked across the river to catch a cable car up a hill to get a view of the city. Except not. Because the cable car wasn't running because the park workers were on strike. So we decided to walk. It didn't look like that much of a climb. It certainly felt a bit longer than I thought it would. And we decided to wait til the hottest part of the day. And forget sunscreen. Brilliant really. We walked a total of nine miles, so I was pretty hungry by the time we stopped for another mayo-filled sandwich. This one was chicken.
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| Not sure I need the fries... |
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| Panorama from partway up the hill. |
Back at the hostel, we hung out with some beers and the hostel owner's puppy. I packed up most of my stuff, because in the morning I was off on a bus to make my way north. Overall, Santiago is a pretty calm city. Cars stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, and I don't think I would mind driving in this city. They have a great metro, and everywhere I walked felt safe. You can even go skiing in the mountains around the city or go wine tasting at some of the wineries in the nearby valleys. It didn't actually feel like the culture shock that I felt when I walked out of the airport in Bangkok and took my first taxi.
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| Sorry guys, a little bit of Spanish required for this one. |
