Today we toured Santiago. Unfortunately, all the museums are closed on Monday, but we managed to walk through many of the interesting quarters, visit the oldest church, go to San Cristobal mountain, and have lunch in the central market. The weather is very hot, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city as buried in smog as this one (all the guide books say that the smog is heaviest in the winter ….. well, we’re here in the summer, and I can’t imagine it any worse than this!). The biggest contributors to the pollution seem to be the buses, which are thick in the city streets, very noisy, and apparently have no emission control requirements. You feel the smog ….. my eyes have been hurting, and I have a mild headache.
Other than the smog, Santiago has a feeling of prosperity. There are many new buildings going up, some quite modern and architecturally interesting, there are people bustling everywhere, there are restored mansions everywhere, and everybody seems to be driving new cars. I guess the economy has done well in the post-Pinochet era!
We got all dressed up and went to a nice dinner in the Providencia neighborhood restaurant called Aqui Esta Coco (“Here is Coco!”). For Portola Valley and Woodside blog readers, I must tell you that this restaurant is the “Bucks of Santiago”. Coco (their Jamis) apparently has traveled throughout the world, collected tons of Stuff, and has it proudly displayed throughout the restaurant. The collections include old coffee grinders, old hats, old French horns, and quite a few masthead statues from the front of boats (some having quite extraordinary anatomy).
My one conclusion from our visit here is that I will never again complain about having to get a smog certificate, and I promise that my next car will be a hybrid.
-- Donna
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