January 11,2023

That first night we relaxed in the hotel lobby, had an adult beverage and played backgammon and cards.  (It wasn’t my night).  Ordered my new favorite sandwich: croissant with cream cheese, lettuce and smoked salmon.  No more bagels – the croissant was the best!

The next day we got up leisurely, had hotel comp breakfast and decided to walk around.  Our hotel was old downtown, and on Sunday most of the storefronts were closed, those corrugated metal garage doors making it look like a place in Chicago you wouldn’t want to be, which made us a little nervous.  However,  I had a good sleep so I felt pretty calm, but Al was still reeling a bit from the previous day’s adventure.  As women, we learn to keep our wits about us and I did just that. Our passports were locked securely in our hotel safe and I had my head on a 360 swivel.  It sounds more dangerous than it actually was.  It was a lovely day and except for a few deserted blocks here and there we encountered normal human beings.  

When we walked out of the front doors of the hotel I had a strange sensation. The temperature of the air – maybe 78/80? – and the gentle humidity brought back a striking sensual memory of Illinois in the mid summer.  There was a very light breeze and just something about the way the foliage sounded and how the air felt against my face – I felt like I was in Chicago headed to the The Museum of Science and Industry or Buckingham Fountain.  (Something tells me I may get a different kind of Chicago weather sensual memory once we hit Antarctic waters!) 

We were headed to The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino).  Highly regarded as one of the finest pre-Colombian museums in South America, we were unfortunately limited to the first and lower level as the upper level was closed, but that’s ok.  Saw lots of cools stuff as usual. What strikes me about pre-Columbian history in both Peru *(I really need to sit down and recap that trip, it means more now that we’re here in Chile) is how long ago ancient people inhabited this part of the world.  I learned, for example, that the ancients here practiced mummification thousands of years before the Egyptians.  Their method involved removing the viscera and muscles and replacing same with twigs, feathers, fur, etc. before wrapping.   

Other cool artifacts that I’ve left here for you are from different peoples/cultures over the years.  I’m especially liking the hats, the string “abacus” that was used by the Incans for many possible reasons.  Also what Al referred to as cell phone holders were actually snuff trays.  The shamanic culture was (is) big into ayahuasca and other hallucinogenic substances, becoming one with nature and the universe, that type of thing.  If I were a younger woman and not so responsible….maybe when I’m too old to give a damn, I don’t know.  I was a relatively good girl in the 70’s so I missed all the fun. Now I’d probably just have a nervous breakdown if I saw a talking fish or something.  The big wooden figures in the photos were “gravestones” from one of those ancient cultures.

People have inhabited the far north altiplano – the drainage area in the Andes that now is occupied by Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina for 11,000 years.  About 8000 years ago fishermen started to encroach on the area and then inland hunters and before you know it everyone was fighting and then the Incas came along and because everyone was mad at everybody else it was easy for them to take over the whole shebang.  We learned in Peru that the Incas did this largely by being rather nice and enticing other tribes to join them rather than conquering them.  What a concept.  Obviously didn’t work with the conquistadores.

We then walked on to ride the funicular up a little hill in the middle of town that supposedly gives a nice view.  We walked through plazas filled with blankets laid out with what looked like thrift shop items for locals to buy – shoes, shirts, toys, household items.  There were a few blocks when Al was pretty nervous but I persevered in my best “I’ve raised three kids and still have some leftover pent up frustration from those years so don’t fuck with me” stride.  When we got to the base of the hill the line was long. Some folks Al met on the walking tour the day before told us they’d stood there for 45 minutes with no movement and were giving up.  However we could take the bus up – shorter line – and cable car down.  However again, the bus only went halfway up and we could walk the rest of the way.  I was hot.  It was uphill.   No thanks.  We walked away and found a little café where we had a basic pizza and water, then back to the hotel for another evening of not much.  

Monday we were up bright and early for a ride to a winery and then to Portillo Ski Resort in the Andes.  This is where the crazy expert ski type people from all over the world come to ski.  Looks like it’s straight down to me. A big fat no.  I only do easy slopes now. We had lunch overlooking Lake of the Inca and the rugged mountains The Three Brothers.  Reminded us of Lake Louise in Banff Canada.  The mountains on the ride up (see corkscrew road! A thoroughfare for semis!) were like first grade drawing mountains, rising right up with no foothills and impossibly pointy peaks.  On the way back we stopped at an adult petting zoo, ie llamas.  Been there done that in Peru so I opted for convincing another woman to join me in playing on a relic from my childhood – a see saw.  I think I’ve already written a blog on that lack of same in the USA is one of my pet peeves – how are kids supposed to intuitively learn about levers now? – so I won’t bore you here. 

The rest of the day was Al trying to salvage our tour for yesterday which would take us through Valparaiso and then on to San Antonio where we would catch our ship.  The problem was two couples backed out and we needed four couples.  Al went back and forth (remember he’s been in touch with tour people for all of the three attempts at making this whole trip) letting them know he was trying.  Finally, the deal was sealed for just the four of us when Al mentioned our tour guide to the Andes was their nephew Benjamin and what a fine tour guide he was.

So, yesterday we packed up and headed to Valparaiso via a ride through Santiago, passing by the beautiful train station Alameda, a national monument which was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1897. Our wonderful guide, Julio was a wealth of knowledge not the least of which is the motto: Santiago is not Chile.  It is the capital and largest city, but most of Chile is devoid of large cities.  The economy here is robust at the moment as evidenced by the excellent roads.  He pointed out if we looked down alley ways at older buildings the city used to have a very European flavor. He said that the present government is trying to revitalize the city and started with a good subway system. Also a new constitution is being written.

Valparaiso is an old port town that I can best describe as a San Francisco’s twin.  First, we swung through Vina del Mar, an artsy community, with a stop at the Fonk Museum – we did not go inside but did see an Easter Island carving that is only one of two outside of the island itself.  (You’ll never guess where the other one is.  London.  They stole everything and like the pieces of the Parthenon they took home with them, there is a push from the home countries to retrieve their heritage).  It’s a small one but we were given a mini-lesson on the whole Easter Island Rapa Nui culture.  You’ll also see a photo of us in front of a huge flower clock which is a tribute to the 1962 World Cup  held there in Vina del Mar.(Pele played then, may he RIP). It evebn has a sweep second hand! 

Then off to the fish market of Valparaiso and I was in fishy heaven. All the boats were in from the morning and boy was I jealous.  I promised myself I would really find out where the fish market is near me (our tour mates said San Pablo was the place to go) but realized I probably wouldn’t really know how to choose the best so I’ll trust my local Albertson’s (they really do have a great fish buyer) and maybe hit some of the Asian markets in Orange County and let the professional buyers do it for me.  Saw our first cat in Chile there (everywhere else in the world cats rule everything) and it figures it would be at a fish market.  There were also sea lions wrestling and dancing in the crashing surf. Our California sea lions seem to just loll around and sun, but these were acting like the sea puppies that they are. 

Then we went on walking tour through the beautiful graffiti-ed walls of Valparaiso. When I had noted that some of the graffiti in Santiago was quite beautiful our guide said there is a fine line between graffiti and art in Chile,   Again, the views and steep streets made us feel like we were back home in San Francisco.  Looking at the art I couldn’t help but think maybe some hallucinogenic use is still happening in practice but I loved every minute of the colorful street art. One artist, V. Clave Hanus, is making a name for herself and is now studying art internationally.  We were told if we find her Instagram account we can see her progression from graffiti artist to accomplished muralist.

 Oh! We did get to ride a funicular here lol!  That was a fun four minutes. 

Lunch followed.  The recommended restaurant was a fish restaurant and since I’d been craving fish ever since the market we chose that one.  It was Pervuian of all things and fabulous.  Followed up with helado (I know how to say ice cream in all kinds of languages).  I never remember that the mint used in mint chip here is different than ours.  It’s more like peppermint which makes me wonder what ours is.  Spearmint?  Followed up with another winery stop.  I slept in the lobby while the others tasted.  

Then on to San Antonio, an active port city.  We are in a little mom and pop hotel, kind of a three story house subdivide into rooms really, overlooking the port.  Plenty of music, souvenirs from China stalls, food stalls.  We were so excited to wake up to see our cruise ship.  Except we woke up and there was no cruise ship.  Turns out the dock they need had to be vacated by another ship that hadn’t been able to get out because of rough seas.  Or at least that’s the rumor that was going around.  It finally did make it in so we walked our main luggage about 15 minutes to the terminal to check our luggage and then came back to the hotel restaurant that isn’t a restaurant right now.  As I write there is live music across the street in the plaza, Al is waiting patiently for me to finish writing, and I’m looking at the sea and plan on taking the advice of another passenger who has taken this journey before: 25 mg Dramamine every day is a must.  Her photos of the Antarctica portion of the trip looks like a dream – walking among penguins, whales frolicking within sight of the ship, Orcas and of course ice and rocks and ocean. This shit is about to get real!  

Adios for now.