Friday 8th January

Decided yesterday to move to the Mercure in the centre of town since they are offering a good deal at under US$50 per night, a bit cheaper than the Ibis, and it seems to get quite good reviews. Should be convenient to go out to eat in one of the places in Lastaria, two of which are in the Guardian's best bar list. Checked out of the Ibis at midday and took the metro a few stops to Santa Lucia, only a few steps from the Mercure. Much bigger room than the Obis with two double beds in the American style. Never quite worked out the logic for that. Also has a fridge but still no kettle. Decided to go to La Chascona, a museum and house dedicated to Paolo Naruda a famous Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in ????. No, I had never heard of him either. It's across the river in another barrio that is marked on the map. Interesting area. Many streets remind me of the scenes American Crime series use for drug and gangster activity, one story buildings covered in graffiti. But parts have clearly become a hip area and gentrification is going on apace, the spontaneous graffiti being replaced by designer murals. And of course there are plenty of restaurants and bars! Forgot to mention that on the way I walked down the street of opticians where there must have been at least 20 opticians’ shops along one side of the road. And past the Academia de Bellas Artes which looked quite pretty in the sunshine.

Street of Opticians

Academia de Bellas Artes

Ripe for Development

What  is it about Saxophones? 

Painted Houses

And another Restaurant

The Chascona museum was hidden away up a little side street and the entrance looked like a modern secondary school. Paid money, a hefty 6000 pesos and after a short wait was allowed in and got an audio guide in English. For once it worked perfectly and was quite essential since without it I would have been completely lost, both literally and figuratively. He was clearly a very accomplished poet but neither the audio guide, nor the introductory video actually presented any of his works. Although from a modest background he obviously caught the attention of the establishment since he was appointed consul to several countries including Sri Lanka and Singapore. He enjoyed his fame and fortune, collecting pieces from all over the world, filling three homes and was planning a fourth when he died. The concept of "declutter" would have been quite alien to him. No puritan, he loved entertaining and had two bars in the house. Sadly they were not open for business. The house was built for him to share with his mistress whose unruly red hair provided the name of the house.  (chascona is a Chilean Spanish word of Quechua origin referring to a wild mane of hair) Despite his love of the finer things in life, he was a strong supporter of the socialist Salvador Allende and thugs from the Pinochet regime deliberately vandalised the house just after the coup when he was on his death bed. It has been suggested that he was poisoned by the Pinochet regime.

The design of the house can best be described as "organic" and if I understand correctly the downstairs bar was the first room to be built. The contents are eclectic, up-market souvenirs from around the world. Guess if you are famous enough and wealthy enough you can persuade people that it represents a philosophy. Really must try to read some of his poetry!

Courtyard in La Chascona

Had another wander round the locality stopping off for a coffee and a slice of cheesecake with loads of blueberries before making my way back to the hotel.

Steel Conquistador

In the evening walked the short distance from the hotel to the Lastaria area where most of the restaurants and bars were packed solid. No chance of getting a seat at either of the Guardian’s recommendations although I now suspect the write was being lazy since two of his “best bars” are next door to each other. He was probably thinking “no one ever reads this stuff anyway”. I did eventually find a free table at a restaurant “Sur Patagonico” where I had grilled lamb mini-steaks with lentils, beans and dry tomatoes in mustard sauce. Delicious with a glass or two of Chilean Merlot. Feeling very indulgent followed it with pancake and ice cream.