Plaza de Arma
Hotel Room
As usual, I slept sporadically on the plane, which
is normal for me. We disembarked and it
was quite warm. I stopped to pay the
entrance fee, but he young lady said that the fee I paid in ’08 on my way to
AntArtica was still valid. Consequently
the only visa fee that I’ve had to pay was for Argentina. This fee did not exist in ’08. As I was going through immigration, the
young man questioned me on the fee.
Fortunately there was a more experience agent next to him who pointed
out what the young lady had seen earlier.
After I got thru immigration, customs and baggage
claim, I found the SmarTour representative.
Waiting for other people gave me the opportunity to put my coat in my
suitcase, since it was quite warm.
Santiago has a population of about 7 million. The entire country has a population of about
17 million. Chile’s economy is in
reasonably good condition, because there principal industry is copper
mining. Tomorrow I will be going on a
extra tour which will show me the produce that is grown here.
Our first stop was on top of a hill that offers a
panoramic view of the city. It is part
of a park. We stopped in a restaurant in
the park for a light lunch (coffee, cheese sandwich and cookies). From there we went to see the outside of the
presidential palace. We also went to the
Plaza de Arma, which is the first plaza built in Satiago. Apparently Santiago was initially built on a
hill, but they moved down to where the Plaza de Arma currently is. There was an old cathedral there which was
built around the time the city was found.
It has been damaged by fire and earthquake and rebuilt. There is also the National History Museum off
the Plaza.
We were then taken to our hotel. I wanted to buy things, but (a) I was very tired
and (b) there was nowhere near the hotel where you could purchase
anything. I would up taking a nap.
We had our group meeting with Alex who is the tour
manager. He was emphatic about the issue
of security. Apparently Chile is
reasonably safe, Argentina and Brazil are not.
We were told not to wear Jewelry and to leave passports and extra money
in the room safe.
We had dinner.
I had ordered the Talapia and it was reasonably good. I am now off to sleep.
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