Last entry before we head for home. Been having some really good days seeing more of Santiago. The sun has been out, and we are getting a nice tan to boot!
On Monday, we went to the Providenica district and hob-nobbed with the rich and wanna-be rich; had a look at some of the designer stores and didn't buy a thing! After that we went to ride the cable car to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal, and discovered it was closed for repairs. Not to be deterred, we walked it. Hard long walk, but great views from the top under a 14m high statue of the Virgin Mary. The funicular that taks you down was also closed, so a long walk back down too! Needed 'doble' helados (ice creams) that night.
Yesterday, we went to the world class Museo Chileno des Artes Pre-Colombino with many interesting and ancient displays. Our favorites were the long wooden spatulas used to induce vomitting by the shamans before they took hallucinogenic drugs (better on an empty stomach!), the death ritual displays and wooden statues from southern Chile (that look very much like some of the Easter Island statues...). Then we got a train and a bus to the outskirts of town to see the Parque por la Paz (Park for Peace) which is at the site of the Villa Grimaldi where several thousand people were tortured, and 266 executed, under the Pinochet regime in the 1970's. A powerful, but disturbing place to visit. It is off the usual tourist trail, which is a shame.
Today (our last day) we are going to visit the Museo Historico Nacional and do a bit more of the coffee/cake thing we do so enjoy. We'll quite possibly fit in another helado or two as well. Our flight leaves tonight!
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