Sunday, December 17, 2017

Santiago, Chile, December 17, 2017

I had a great sleep in a bed and this morning did a tour of markets and the cemetery.  We started at the Museo de Bella Artes and because it's an Election Day - I know, these countries are always having elections which means no booze is sold, no stores are open- it's just a sleepy day.  This also means museums are closed and they're also closed Mondays so it looks like I'm going to miss museum visiting here.

The Museo de Bellas Artes building looks very nice, at least from the outside-


We started our walking tour and headed for numerous markets to see how the real Santiagans live.  Our first stop was the main market-


which is mainly a fish market-


Brown eel (congrio) is in the centre-


In the centre of the market-


Is a beautiful roof imported from France and the most expensive restaurants.  The cheaper ones are against the outside walls.  

The second market was mainly vegetables and fruit.  I bought a huge basket of blueberries for $2.  It's a popular place-


After the markets, we went to the Cementerio.  Outside, they were selling gift sticks one could add to a bouquet of flowers to leave on a tomb-


More than 2 million people are buried in this cemetery.  They buy the cubicle and have it forever.  They're also supposed to maintain it but some looked like they hadn't been visited for years-



The area for the burial of children is well decorated for Navidad-



The more money one has and the more one wants to show off, the bigger the mausoleum-



And the crazier the decoration.  Are we in Egypt?


Unions are very important in Chile and if you belong to one you can be buried in their building.  Police are buried here-


And the Sociedad Espanola de Sucorros Mutuos-


Allende was the socialist president until 1973.  He killed himself or was killed during the coup in '73-


People pray to Jesus and other saints.  So many candles are burned around the area that the ground gets really slippery-


Romualdito was a poor man who died in 1930.  His life work was to help other poor and today he's seen as a saint-


People still visit his grave and leave flowers and other offerings.  When prayers to him are answered, people put up a plaque-


During the dictatorship of Pinochet, after the coup in 1973, many people disappeared.  This poster is in the cemetery-


After the tour, we went back to the fish market for lunch.  I had Pailla Marisco and there was enough to feed a family-


Santiago is trying to be a bike friendly city and likes to know how many bikes are passing by-


After lunch I visited the Barrios Brasil and Yungay to see some street art.  it was awesome-





















Coming home I stopped at Plaza des Armas.  Lots of food is available, such as a completo - a hotdog with mayo, mustard, ketchup, avocado, tomato salsa and Hickory Sticks-


The Catedral Metropolitana is in Plaza des Armas.  It's neo classical and was built between 1748 and 1800-


The main post office is also in Plaza des Armas-


I made my way back to the hostel after a hot and busy day.  I'm not looking forward to visiting the Canadian Embassy tomorrow to see about extending my passport.

























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