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Final day of the trip: Santiago again.
Santiago is just another big city. Everybody speaks Spanish, but aside from that it’s hard to tell where you are. There’s nothing really distinctive about the place. I have gone out for a walk to Starbucks so I can buy a souvenir cup. I love my collection of Starbucks cups from around the world because every morning when making coffee I can ask myself where I would like to go that day.
When I got close to Starbucks I discovered it was on the other side of a huge intersection with no pedestrian crosswalks. I did manage to find a way across at street level, but it turned out that this wonderful elevated crosswalk had been available for me if I had just been able to figure it out. I safely walked back to the hotel with all that traffic whizzing beneath me.
Now all I have to do is find my way back to the hotel. It's over there, somewhere.
Alvaro waited in the lobby with the rest of us until our bus pick us up about 3 PM. I didn’t take this picture only to help remember Alvaro, though. I took the picture because I also wanted to remember that interesting artwork behind him. It’s a map of the world with words instead of drawings of the countries. And OK, sure, one more picture of Alvaro wouldn't hurt.
Told you I'd get a picture of Suzanne!
I think that little grocery would probably either pick a new name or go out of business quickly in the USA.
See what I mean about Santiago being a big city? Alvaro made an interesting comment about the big buildings. He said that many of them are office buildings that are vacant. He said that on the surface everything looks great, but there are problems behind the scenes.
Well I guess I was wrong about Santiago not having distinctive landmarks. It does have the Andes mountains in the background. Alvaro said the better the view of the Andes, the more expensive the neighborhood.
That's where we're headed: the Centro Artesanal Pueblito Los Dominicos
This place is a favorite with tourists and with locals as well. There are over 200 shops here, all containing handmade artisanal goods. It was a side stop on our way from the hotel to the airport. Wikipedia says: In 1544, the lands that now hold the ‘’pueblito’’ were bestowed upon the female Spanish conquistador Inés de Suárez by the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia, and from then were passed several times to different families. During the Chilean War of Independence, it was a favourite hiding place for the independence leader Manuel Rodriguez, and later the well-known Chileans Diego Barros Arana, José Manuel Balmaceda and others would occupy these lands for the same purpose. Finally, the lands fell into the possession of the Cranisbro family, who were great benefactors of the Dominican order that had a monastery on one side of San Vicente Ferrer Church. The church is characterized by the copper domes that top its two towers, built in memory of the death of two Cranisbro children. The church was declared a National Monument in 1983 and the surrounding area was listed as a traditional heritage site. The modern market in Pueblito Los Dominicos was born in the late 70s and early 80s to house the workshops and stores of craft workers and artists. Over the years, and after having been named a traditional heritage zone by the Chilean government, the place became popular among Chilean and international tourists. The park that holds the modern market was once part of a “fundo”, which gives the market its rural, rustic look. In the 80s, artists and artisans took over the farm’s old cellars and stables and built more small shops using traditional, colonial-style adobe.
So let's go have a look.
It does have a peacock.
But aside from that, it was just one shop after another, all containing things I did not want.
But if you like trinkets, this is the place for you.
Trinkets over here.
Trinkets over there.
Trinkets everywhere.
These must be "tinkle trinkets."
And there are copper trinkets.
This shop at least offers ice cream.
More trinkets down here.
OK, I'm getting tired of this.
Him too.
Alvaro said he misses the Andes when he is in foreign cities because he doesn’t have an easy point of reference to help him figure out where he is. All that snow is left over from the winter which has just ended in the southern hemisphere.
The Road Scholars have arrived for departure.
Say goodbye, everybody.
Bill is sitting in a fancy departure lounge, contemplating the long ride home. It's been a fantastic trip.
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