I had great plans to do lots of sightseeing in Santiago and have a day trip to Valparaiso but unfortunately my first meal in Santiago, eel and chips did not agree with me so my plans changed.
I managed to fit in two walking tours for tips with Where's Wally guides. They were very interesting but it was sad to learn of all the suffering that occurred during the Pinochet years. Santiago does have some beautiful buildings and it was good to learn more about them.
The main cemetery is very beautiful and treated like a park by the locals. The children's section is decorated for the holidays, though seeing all the deaths from 1972 is a stark reminder of Chile's history.
These door handles, symbolizing people power and recycled in the new arts centre are full of history. Created as part of a community building project for a UN meeting in 1971 they were turned upside down during the Pinochet years, when the building was the base from which many people disappeared.
Unfortunately I also managed to be on a subway train when someone jumped in front of it to commit suicide and experienced my first subway evacuation. But I also had some great times hanging out with the people from my Patagonia tour. And I spent an hour and a half just chatting with a friend of a friend outside a subway station. Interactions with locals, especially my friends, new and old has definitely been the best part of my travels this year.
I managed to fit in two walking tours for tips with Where's Wally guides. They were very interesting but it was sad to learn of all the suffering that occurred during the Pinochet years. Santiago does have some beautiful buildings and it was good to learn more about them.
The main cemetery is very beautiful and treated like a park by the locals. The children's section is decorated for the holidays, though seeing all the deaths from 1972 is a stark reminder of Chile's history.
These door handles, symbolizing people power and recycled in the new arts centre are full of history. Created as part of a community building project for a UN meeting in 1971 they were turned upside down during the Pinochet years, when the building was the base from which many people disappeared.
Unfortunately I also managed to be on a subway train when someone jumped in front of it to commit suicide and experienced my first subway evacuation. But I also had some great times hanging out with the people from my Patagonia tour. And I spent an hour and a half just chatting with a friend of a friend outside a subway station. Interactions with locals, especially my friends, new and old has definitely been the best part of my travels this year.
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