We only had two items on today's itinerary: visiting La Chascona (Pablo Neruda's last house) and viewing Santiago from Cerro San Cristóbal. As we made our way from the room to the exit of the hotel, no fewer than three employees asked us what we had planned for the day and offered recommendations. The last to do so was Humberto, who suggested that we get the metro at Torrelaba instead of El Golf, and recommended a place to eat on Pio Nono, the street from the metro station to the places we wanted to visit.
We made the leisurely stroll to Torrelaba and caught the metro to Baquedano. Bellavista had a personality much different than any of the other areas we had visited in Santiago. We could tell it was different, even though it was not yet alive at noon. We stopped at Empanada Todo and ordered a couple of combos. I got the Salque (salmon and cheese) and Queron (cheese and shrimp) along with a drink. We got a table on the sidewalk and waited for our fried turnovers to be made. It took at least 15 minutes, a sign that they were being made to order, and they were worth the wait. A tasty, inexpensive, and filling lunch:
With our bellies full of fried dough and cheese, we continued on our way to La Chascona. Like Neruda's house at Isla Negra, you're not going to find La Chascona unless you are looking for it and have a map. We were looking, and we had a map, so we found it with no problem. We arrived at 1:10 p.m., and it occurred to both of us that maybe we should have checked beforehand to see when the tours in English were being conducted. Fortunately, the next one was at 2:00 p.m., meaning that we would have to wait for a little less than an hour. We went to the little cafe upstairs and ordered beverages and enjoyed them.
As we waited, a couple approached us and asked if they could borrow our
Lonely Planet guide for a few minutes. They were from Brazil and headed to Easter Island, and they had not seen any guides to Easter Island. We were happy to loan them the guide, and told them we were jealous that they were going to Rapa Nui, because we had unsuccessfully tried to work it into our itinerary. Our conversation with them, along with watching others at the cafe, helped pass the time.
The tour of La Chascona was excellent. The setting of Isla Negra was much more spectacular, but his Santiago house reflected as much of the quirkiness of the poet, if not more, than the other one we visited.
Claudio, our guide, did a great job of discussing the history of the house. Even more interesting, he was not shy about discussing Neruda's politics, giving us some insight into the man.
After the tour was over, we lingered to take pictures and visit the gift shop. Then we made the short walk to Cerro San Cristobal. We stopped at the information kiosk, where we learned that the teleferico (gondola) was not running. Bummer! We bought our tickets for the funicular and waited for our ride up the hill. Unfortunately, the front car was packed, so we settled for the view in the back. While the more spectacular view is looking downhill, looking uphill was pretty good, too.
After the ride up the hill, we took lots of pictures and relaxed. After a cold drink, I wanted to try the mote con huesillo (corn and dehydrated peach with a very sweet peach-flavored water). It was good, but a little too sweet for me. I preferred the lucuma popsicle!
We walked a little farther up the hill and took pictures of the status of the Virgin Mary, then took pictures of the city below. The lack of snow in the Andes and haze in Santiago didn't provide much of a contrast, but we got the best photos of the city we had taken during our stay.
After shopping for postcards and a couple of souvenirs, we realized that it was 5:00 p.m. Where had the afternoon gone? We took the funicular back down, once again missing a shot at the front car. The walk down Pio Nono seemed longer than the walk up, and we caught the metro back to Torrelaba.
Because we are leaving for the airport at 5:00 a.m., we decided to have an early dinner. After we returned to the hotel, we went back to Dominó. Somehow, we figured that a couple of dogs would be the best last meal we could have in Chile!
We've both enjoyed our much too brief stay in this wonderful country. We could happily spend another six days here, but Argentina awaits!