Wednesday 6th January

Breakfast at the Ibis wasn't bad, ham, cheeses, bread, croissants, rolls, etc, fruit salad, fresh fruit and yoghurt. Decided to wait in the room for my bag to be delivered, reading one of my Christmas gifts "Love and other Near Death Experiences" which reminds me of "Men Behaving Badly". No sign of my bag by midday so decided to give Iberia an hour of grace before calling the number I had been given to find, after negotiating the telephone maze and listening to recorded music, that although my bag was in Santiago it had only just arrived and the woman from Iberia had no idea whether it would be delivered today. Which didn’t make me very happy but convinced me that there was no point waiting around in the hotel. 

Set off towards the centre of Santiago, walking through Balmaceda Park, a pleasant strip of green running alongside the river, more a raging torrent than the navigable watercourse of so many major cities. Lots of young lovers enjoying the afternoon sun in the park. On a Wednesday afternoon! Santiago, like most other capital cities boasts many heroic statues but apart from a few classical style public buildings, the architecture is fairly drab and uninspiring. Looks like most of the city was rebuilt between the 1960's and 1980's, not decades renowned for their architecture. Yes, there are exceptions but I am not seeing them here. Lots of rectangular blocks of apartments and offices that look as if they were built as cheaply as possible. The impression isn't helped by the shabbiness of many of the buildings. Found the Plaza de Armas, a large square dominated by the cathedral on one side and various official buildings on the other three including an ornate post office. Reminds me of Saigon with its cathedral and post office almost next to each other, stamping their colonial authority.  Climbed up the Santa Lucia hill topped by Castle Hidalgo but the castle itself doesn't seem to be accessible. Good view from the top to distant mountains, some still showing patches of snow. Explored more of the city centre some of which has been pedestrianised. 

The raging muddy torrent running through Santiago

The Cathedral

The Post Office

Fountain in Plaza de Armas

Men playing Chess in Plaza de Armas

Looking down from the top of Santa Lucia

Hadn't received any text message about my bag so went into a department store to buy a shirt, socks and underpants. Haven't seen any shopping malls or any commercial street like Orchard Road in Singapore or even Oxford Street in London. Very few supermarkets or convenience stores, not a single 7/11. But there are pharmacies, cafes, bars and restaurants everywhere. And they all seem to be doing good business! Lots of individual shops selling cakes,ironmongery and other useful things. The number of pharmacies in particular makes me wonder whether the Chileans are a nation of hypochondriacs. Also a nation of book lovers judging by the number of book shops I came across. I saw people actually using public phones, for their intended purpose! Definitely feel the need to learn some Spanish. Even in the Ibis hotel, a multinational chain, only one of the reception staff speaks any English. I can decipher the simple signs; Spanish shares a lot of Latin roots with English and French. But "Subterraneo" sounds so much more exciting than "basement" and the card with "No Molestar” accompanied by a picture of a young girl asleep clutching her teddy bear conjures up something more sinister than "Do not disturb". But as soon as I come across a complete sentence, I am completely lost.

Arcade of Bookshops

Dried Fruit Shop

 Eventually decided to return to the hotel on the metro which seems pretty efficient and very reasonable with a 720 peso flat fare. Conversion to £ is easy since there are approx. 1000 pesos to the £. The metro, or at least the red line,  runs on rubber tires like some of the lines in Paris.The Manuel Montt station is only a short walk to the Ibis. After a much needed shower, I went to the nearby Liguria bar and restaurant which was highly praised as one of the Guardian’s ten best bars in Santiago. It was pleasantly atmospheric and definitely popular so I was only able to get a seat at the bar where I tried my first Pisco Sour and ordered a smoked salmon salad. Couldn’t get that excited about the Pisco Sour but the salad was excellent, with a generous amount of salmon and plenty of avocado. Decided one Pisco Sour was enough so continued to enjoy the atmosphere and some live music outside with a beer. Total came to 16 610 pesos including a 10% Service charge. 

Liguria bar and restaurant