Deane's Motorcycle Trip In SOUTH AMERICA
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Deane's Motorcycle Trip In SOUTH AMERICA |
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April 1, 2 - Santiago, Chile |
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Here I am - in Santiago, Chile!! This is a Central Plaza.
(The photos of Santiago are all fuzzy-bright because of the lighting that day - high fog with sun behind the fog.) My flights started with Albuquerque to Dallas-Fort Worth, and then continued on to Santiago. Taking an overnight flight isn't great fun, and one doesn't get very good sleep, but I made it. It's interesting that to get into Chile, the first thing one must do is pay the "Resiprosity" Tax (Chilean spelling). Apparently the USA has a charge for Chilean citizens entering the US, so Chile applies a similar tax for US citizens entering Chile. As of now it is $100 US dollars (and is good until your passport expires). With that paid, and some currency exchanged, (500+ Pesos per US dollar) going through Chile Customs was a breeze. - They just x-rayed the baggage, and let you on through with no opening of bags. I wanted to spend a day in Santiago, just to see the city and absorb some of the culture, and that turned out to be an excellent decision. As it turned out, none of the other motorcycle touring group could come a day ahead of the tour, like I did, so I was by myself. I had a talkative taxi driver taking me to my hotel, so I got my first chance to use my rusty Spanish. Santiago is a very large city - about 6 million people. I had made a reservation for a hotel in the "Centro" (downtown, where many government and civic buildings are). This turned out very well, as I wandered the streets there is a wonderful mix of historical buildings and very modern glass buildings.
The architecture of the historical building is fabulous, representing the times when more elaborate decorations were done. Santiago citizens must love their statues of heroes too, because there are many of them.
The day was a Sunday, and all kinds of people were out, families, couples, teenagers, and anybody else. Lots of vendor stands were set up, offering everything from candy and cookies to books, to ice cream, so it was fun to be part of a happy crowd. This guy was particularly interesting, being a Mime and a Magician.
It was a great day!! Tomorrow I go back to the airport, to meet the tour guides and the rest of the tour riders. |
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