Marina pretending to be a guard at one of the old churches in Buenos Aires. 

Donna with her mother's first cousins, who visited us at the hotel. They had lots of stories and information for the family tree. 

The view of Buenos Aires from the window of our top-floor 2-story suite. 

Stanley's close encounter with a museum exhbit about kitchen activities in colonial times. 

From Santiago to Buenos Aires

We did another half day of touring in Santiago before leaving for Buenos Aires. The highlight was seeing the changing of the guard at the Moneda Palace where the president works. This was an elaborate ceremony with a full military band that culminated with the two fellas who were on the podiums beside the gate stepping down, and two others stepping up.

We also visited the stock exchange (which was a bunch of computers looking at each other in a magnificent domed room … apparently the people actually work elsewhere), the national history museum (where we got many good shots of Flat Stanley), the central cathedral, and the shopping district.

The flight to BA was short. We arrived at our hotel to find out that our reservations had mysteriously been cancelled. The staff was helpful, and ended up giving us a few options, and we selected a two story penthouse at the very top of the building. Although it is quite an elegant room, it’s actually very small (in spite of being on two levels), and we realized in looking at photos of the building that it is where the building becomes very narrow … there are only two rooms on our floor!

We walked to the Racoleta section of town for dinner where we had a casual meal outside. The weather is very pleasant, and this city seems to have nowhere near the smog problem that they have in Santiago. The Racoleta district is quite upscale – stately apartment buildings full of night watchmen. Night watchman seems to be a major career opportunity in Buenos Aires.

-- Donna

Buenos Aires

We went shopping yesterday before we went out for dinner. Today we are going to be taking a tour around the city just to get to know it a little bit better while we’re here. Mom’s relatives are also going to be coming to see us. Mom has been dying to finally meet her moms’ cousins. Which would make them my cousin 2ce removed.

Mom’s still talking about the hole in the ozone layer.

Everywhere we go, she just has to tell the whole world, saying,

“Hey, did you here about the hole in ozone layer?! You better be putting on more sunscreen more often, while you’re out there in the sunlight.”

I can’t believe that everyone that she has told, did not herd about the hole in the ozone layer yet. It’s like no one ever reads the news paper anymore.

MARINA DUBINSKY

The Santiago stock exchange -- lots of computers but no people, even though it was open. From the status board there seemed only to be a few trades a minute. 

Marina helping Stanley learn to be a guard. 

The changing of the guard at La Moneda in Santiago. 

Santiago, Chile

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

The weather in Santiago

I am boiling hot in this weather. It is hotter than it was in Patagonia. Mom keeps getting very hot, I am just fine in this weather, and dad says that his body can get used to things much quicker than our bodies can. I think that he’s just bragging to us about himself. He says that it’s just like in New York, where, your bodies have to get used to the cold weather. I agree with him, but my body gets used to any kind of weather that I go in. just like when I went to Yosemite with the rest of my grade for a five day field trip. I got used to the weather after two days just being there with all of my friends, being with me.

When we went to go take a walk, our bodies were producing lots of heat within us.

-- Marina

The trip to the top of the mountain is on a creaky old funicular railway built in 1925. 

Looking down from the San Cristobal mountain to the terrible smog sitting on top of Santiago.  

Marina and Lenny at the famous Statue of the Virgin on San Cristobal mountain. 

Donna eyeing the fish at the Mercado Central in Santiago.