Idiots at the End of the Earth Ep. 7 Day 2 in Santiago

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jgh
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Idiots at the End of the Earth Ep. 7 Day 2 in Santiago

Post by jgh »

Idiots at the End of the Earth Ep. 7 Day 2 in Santiago

On their first day in Santiago, the Idiots learned how to walk around their neighborhood and to order a hot dog and a special hamburger... and they adjusted to life in an older urban apartment building, full of the sounds and smells of everyday working-class life in the city.

On the second day they took on the Metro – the extensive subway system. With a little research and a little help they managed to purchase a BIP! card. One puts money on a BIP card and then waves it in front of a sensor to open the turnstyle to get to the train. Why “BIP!”? In Spanish, 'I' is pronounced “ee”. When you say it, it is a BEEP card – because the sensor goes “BIP” when you have enough money to open the turnstyle!

They didn't ride far – just two stops to Plaza de Armes. Spanish colonial cities all follow a pattern. At the center is a plaza – a common gathering area, often called Plaza de Armes – literally the place of weapons. The cities were laid out in grids, following the ancient Roman pattern... and the middle block was left open as a place to assemble – and a refuge in to fall back to in case of attack. Around the plaza are the primary government and military buildings - and always a church.

Two years earlier, the Idiots spent a weekend in Hanoi and joined in as Vietnamese families entertained themselves on the streets and in the parks. This was Saturday – so the Idiots headed to the Plaza to spend some time with Santiaguinos enjoying their weekend.

But first they needed coffee. Good coffee – something not very common in Chile and Argentina. They found it at the surprisingly trendy little neighhood coffee shop, Cafe Tricicio. No idea why the name – no tricycles in sight – but lots of intimate little spaces and art work and an atmosphere that implied buying a coffee meant you could spend the day there if so inclined. Idiot She enjoyed her iced coffee and Idiot He seized the opportunity for another very bad selfie.


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After negotiating the multiple levels of the Baquedano Metro station... just a few steps from their apartment, the junction of two major subway lines... they emerged in the bustling Plaza. Like similar “plazas mejor” it was full of people and fountains and green spaces and art – and, of course... pigeons. The Idiots were a bit concerned to see a police car in front of the cathedral with its lights flashing, but they found that this was just so that people could find the friendly officers more easily as they really were there to protect and serve.


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You can tell a lot about a culture by their cathedral. In many European countries, the cathedrals are magnificent works of art – but they often seem to be more like museums than actual places of worship. The endless tour groups coursing through Notre Dame and Chartes cathedrals are impressed with the beauty, but not many are inspired to pray. The Santiago cathedral is different. Oh, it is beautiful... resplendent in the ornate Colonial Barouque style... but it is clearly still a place of reverence and worship. Visitors are discouraged from interfering with the spiritual experiences of those for whom this is still primarily a place for prayer.


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Outside, the contrast between the old and the new is accentuated as the Cathedral towers are reflected in modern class fronted buildings housing the bustling economic life of this great capital city.


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Bustling, indeed! Crowds of people moving in and out of retail stores offering every kind of goods and services. It seemed to the Idiots like many were enjoying hours of “recreational shopping” - not necessarily buying stuff, just looking at all that was on offer and scoping out trends and styles.

As one would expect in a world capital city – street performers, art and greenery enrich the public spaces. Idiot She found she had not brought a light sun dress – and Santiago in summer can be HOT – like 100 degree hot – so She did some shopping while He did people watching. What are trendy young Santiaguinos wearing? T-shirts featuring locations in the US!


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The Idiots took a break from the crowds and visited a very impressive collection of Pre-Columbian art. As they wandered through art spanning thousands of years, they once again reflected on the almost nonsensical version of history they were taught regarding the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The Idiots were brought up on the myth of two continents thinly populated with primitive peoples... pretty much an open slate waiting to be civilized by European culture. One only has to see the artistic mastery to know that these cultures were not “primitive.” And the similarities among the styles and motifs from Tierra del Fuego through South and Central and North America, all the way to the Innuit peoples of the north make it obvious that these cultures interacted for millenia before the European invasion destroyed the cultures and European diseases killed off the majority of the Natives.

Many Americans have no idea that in some areas, imported diseases killed as many as 90% of the indigenous people before the Europeans even got to their areas. Diseases were carried ahead of the invasion by refugees and by the ongoing active Native trade routes. The invaders often found cities far too large to house the current populations and assumed this meant cultures had collapsed long before – when actually the indigenous cultures were being destroyed simultaneously with the invasion.

So much of the art in the Santiago museum would be right at home in the museums of Mexico City... and Santa Fe... and Anchorage... A Mapuche bowl from Tierra del Fuego would have been right at home in the remote Mibres valley in New Mexico. The indigenous peoples of the southern seacoast of what is now Chile represented the sea and its creatures in a fashion very similar to the First Peoples of northern Canada. These were not a bunch of small, disjointed “tribes” - the Americas were populated by large cultures who communicated via trade across the full length of the continents. It is so easy to see in the glimpses into the past provided by their art.


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After the museum, it was once more out into the bustling life of the plaza... ice cream cones and kids playing in the fountains and people crowding every shaded space to avoid the brutal Santiago summer sun. The Idiots never did get a clear sense of why there were four different franchises centering on small stuffed horses. It seemed like these must be for posing children for photographs – but in all their time there the Idiots never saw a child approach any of the stuffed horse concessions...


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A flawless subway connection and a five minute ride back to their station was followed by 20 minutes of wandering the four levels of what is effectively a small underground city attempting to find the handicapped elevator to the surface that would allow them to avoid some very very long stairways. They finally managed to board one such elevator – but only after passing through a Do Not Enter maintenance gate and watching the subway authorities rushing to prevent their illegal activity. Once again, the Idiots narrowly avoided arrest – and following the Idiot Travel guidelines, they smiled and nodded at the authorities as the elevator doors closed.

And then they found a local restaurant with sidewalk seating. Idiot She got her first opportunity to try Chile's excellent sea food – a Reineta fillet – and Idiot He was able to identify chuleta as a pork chop and ordered one that was a “full chop” and had some additional words that he didn't know. What came to the table was an immense double-chop smothered in green peas. He was able to eat about half of it – and the waiter managed without any English to ask if there was something wrong with the chop – or with Idiot He.

A successful ending to a lovely Saturday in Santiago, Chile.


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kHT
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Re: Idiots at the End of the Earth Ep. 7 Day 2 in Santiago

Post by kHT »

Thank you for that adventure, loved it!!
karma 'Happy Toes' (kHT)
The Goddess is Alive and Magic is Afoot!!!!
I'm just a simple housewife.
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