Santiago Last Day in Chile-Feb. 24 14

Antonio contacted me today to let me know he was in Arequipa Peru….Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru with a population just over 800,000. The city was founded in the 1500’s and has many picturesque colonial buildings dating back to that time….though fires and the earthquake of 1888 had a big impact on the early structures. The Monasterio de Santa Catalina founded in 1580 by a rich widow, is over 20,000 sq meter complex is just 1 of many majestic buildings………..Overlooking the city is EL Misti a volcano hissing sulphuric gasses but otherwise dormant. It is a climbing attraction in the area for the view……don’t think I would feel all that comfortable living next to it……

Tonight, I fly out to Toronto arriving around 6 am………… 

Santiago Day 68/69 Feb 19 14

 

Decided to get off my butt and take a trip to Barrio Lastarria….a bohemian neighbourhood closer to the centre of the city. It is near the subway line so I hoped a ride for 6 stops from my hotel.   It’s a older area of narrow streets with coffee houses, small shops and a collection of bars and restaurants. Bordering the North is a beltway of parks which I walked back to the hotel……this took me 3 hours……I stopped many times to enjoy the comfort of the benches along the way.

I did stop at a museum displaying some local artist……… My walk took me past San Cristobal Hill, a landmark from which you can get a magnificent view of the city….it is accessible by a tram or bus taking you to the top….though the rail system is closed until November for repairs. That ribbon line is the tram rail…….I was a river/expressway and barrio away….the Santiago Zoo is about 1/2 way up the mountain……… The area near the barrio had a number of what I would call Art Deco type buildings;;;;;;;; Even the pigeons were resting……. Man it’s a long walk………. 

 a walkway over the river….. Another 1/2 hour to the hotel if I don’t stop to rest……….

As i type this, I am listening to a sander going in the hall….they are painting…..yes at this hour….I may have mentioned earlier in a post……dinner is between 9-11pm…..then the bar scene till 2 am…followed by the dance scene till 5am…….that is the Chilean way…….

Other facts…….most young women smoke, wear short dresses with heels, kissing on escalators is common as is showing affection common in public……..99 % of women under 40 have long hair ….most to or below mid back………

Santiago Days 65/67 Feb 17 14

 

 blurry, taken through my apt window…playing for $   Streetscapes, the last 3,  homes step built into the side of a hill 8 blocks from the hotel……..   How would you like cleaning this glass……. A street nearby with a number of sculptures With new construction taking the place of older neighbourhoods, great care is taken not to disturb the trees that are present…. Entry to an office complex….doors about 14’ tall…….

Remember click on the pics to enlarge

Santiago Day 64 Feb 13 14

 

 Spoke with Antonio today. He is in Sucre where he will leave his bike and most of his stuff at the Hostel. He has been experiencing the torrential rains I mentioned earlier though only for a couple hours each day. The trip into the Amazonian is off as other travellers have advised against it with roads muddy and washed out. He will take an overnight trip by bus to an interior city called Cochabamba……..thinks he will bypass the salt flats on his return as they are covered in water…….I will update when I learn more….

Dinner was light this evening along with a fresh bottle of Carmen…Cabernet Sauvignon…..which was on sale for $ 3.80……being the amateur I am after spending longer than the norm to get the wrapper of the cork, I learned that this was not a corked bottle but a cap….an open top cap with a foam stopper….which I literally destroyed…lol 

This night at exactly 8 pm the jack hammer was at it….looked out to see it wasn’t a vault they were breaking into but a hole in the wall……   The hammering has stopped ……it’s nine pm…last night it went until 10 pm………

Santiago Day 63 cont Feb 12 14

 

Chileans’ are a friendly and hospitable lot….while sitting waiting for the motto transfer a woman heard Felipe and I trying to communicate with one another and kindly interrupted and offered to translate for us…I learned that her grand daughter with her husband had moved to Vancouver….where both are professionally employed in the medical field…while telling her of my travels another well dressed fellow overhearing our conversation comes over holding his hand out / we shake hands and in English he apologizes to us but he was interested in my story as he and his son had done this trip on BMW GS 1200’s  and was intrigued that I did it with 200cc bike………it really is unfortunate that I am not able to speak Spanish……this trip would be so much more full filling……as I could have so many more great conversations……….I really think we should be teaching Spanish as a second language in our schools.

The kids at the Mall’s Dunkin Donuts are such a friendly lot and amused at me ordering in Spanish…..they know what I am likely to have and almost start preparing it before I order……lol….most of them speak English……The lady above had told me that her grand daughter wanted to be more fluent in English and this was one of the reasons for the move……..interesting.

Tonight, I am sitting here watching movies in Spanish and listening to what sounds like a jack hammer going steady in the building across from me….its 8.20 pm…..last night they went until 10 pm…..

Santiago Day 61/62/63 Feb 12 14

The last few days I have wondered to North a few blocks and just taken random shots of buildings in this part of the city….new commercial construction is everywhere…..so some of the older homes  I photographed will likely disappear in the next couple years…… Denny’s, Starbucks, Burger King, McDonalds, Dunkin Donut’s but no Timmy's’……. ……………… This I took by holding the camera above the fenced yard as most of these places are hidden by 8 foot walls. Many of these old homes have fancy entries…..the gate was open so I snapped this……

Good News…..The bike sold….I was talking to a potential buyer when the Policia came along and asked if I was the owner of the bike…at least I think that is what they asked….si I replied and the officer motioned for me to go with another officer……now I should mention that these officers spend all day and 1/2 the night at the end of the street I reside on……usually occasionally pulling a motorcycle rider aside and asking for papers……ok I followed the officer in utter silence thinking he is taking me either to the cruiser or an Officer that can speak English…so when we arrive at the cruiser, I ask the new Officer if he speaks English…he just shakes his head sternly and is staring at his I phone….the other officer says something to him…they ask me a number of questions…I just stare blankly at them….and tell them I went into the hotel to get the key for the parking lot…..my bike was on the sidewalk along with other bikes for a short while…….at least I think its a parking issue….the words en venta come up…..translates to For SAle , si I reply….none of us has a clue what the other is saying…the officer who started all this comes along and with the waive of his hand I am told to go….what the @@@@@@@

I go back and with the assistance of the Hotel Receptionist translating for us…we make a deal and today EUROMOT after 2 hours in the NOTARY office is now Felipe Eduardo’s stead……..350,000 pesos……..Felipe with his friend………..