Flying Over the Andes Mts.

Day 1: Most of today was spent in the air and at airports on my Gate 1 South America tour. We flew from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile, on Lan Chile Airlines. Quite thrilling to fly over the Andes Mountains.

Flying Over the Andes Mts.

More of the Andes.

Flying into Santiago

Coming into Santiago. My cold that started in Buenos Aires had become worse. When we landed in Santiago, my ears were quite congested and I had much trouble hearing. I am writing this two months later and my hearing is still not back to normal. I have seen an EMT doctor who said that it may take a couple of more months for my ears to clear up. I have heard of people flying with colds having much worse reactions.

My ear congestion was caused by the descent of the plane, and for me, not taking adequate precautions when flying with a cold. So here is what you need to do when you have a cold: 1. the old standby, chew gum or eat something that keeps your jaw working while the plane is descending; 2. use a nasal rinse before flying; and 3. use a decongestion or an antihistamine as well. It also didn’t help that I flew two more times coming back from Chile to LA, and then a very short time later, six flights to and from Vieques Island in Puerto Rico. No doctor restrictions as to flying more, just to use her advice.

There are a number of food items you cannot take into Chile. Some of them are listed on the customs form that you fill out on the plane. But I did not know about the one that affected me until it was announced on the terminal’s loudspeaker: no raw almonds. At customs, I had to fill out a new form and claim my raw almonds, which were confiscated. Raw almonds, it seems, could be carrying all kinds of nasty insects or diseases.

Santiago

Traveling from the airport to our hotel, the Hotel Kennedy. Worker statue.

Santiago

Many murals in Santiago, even along the road.

Santiago

Coming into Santiago and its many modern skyscrapers.

Santiago

The Gran Torre Santiago; at 64 stories, it is the tallest building in Latin America.

Sanhattan

Passing by a section of Santiago nicknamed “Sanhattan.”

Sunset Over the Andes

A beautiful sunset seen from our hotel.

Sunset Over the Andes

More of the sunset.

Sunset Over the Andes

More of the sunset.

Sunset Over the Andes

One more.

Santiago

Day 2: An optional tour to a vineyard was offered by Gate 1 for this morning. I opted not to take it as I have been to many vineyards before.  Instead, I went on a Tours 4 Tips tour with four of my tour mates. Toni, one of my tour mates, had found the tour online. She made a good choice as it was a very good tour. Some people have told me that they very much enjoyed the vineyard tour as well.

Photo: Statue  in front of a mural seen from the taxi we took to join the tour.

Tours 4 Tips

We met the Tours 4 Tips guides at the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, built 1910. The tour company says this is a “Santiago Offbeat” walking tour. It took us to four markets, which were crowded as this was a Sunday and a major shopping day, and to the Cementerio General de Santiago, one of the largest cemeteries in South America. We also saw interesting buildings and sights along the way. The company also offers an afternoon tour with a different itinerary.

I have put my photos of the tour on a slide show (with separate slide shows on the markets and on the cemetery). Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/santiago–tours–4–tips/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Santiago: Tpurs 4 Tips”).

Tours 4 Tips

The Mercado Central, one of the markets that we visited.

Tours 4 Tips

Inside the Mercado Central, a very big market. Easy to get lost in it, which three of us did––the rest of the group was just walking too fast and suddenly they were no where to be seen. We looked for them and then just waited to see if they realized we weren’t with the group any longer and came to find us. They did.

I put my photos of the markets that we visited on a slide show. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/santiago–markets/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Santiago: Markets”).

Tours 4 Tips

After visiting the markets, we took the subway to the Cementerio General de Santiago, where it is estimated that there are 2 million graves. There are numerous tombs here including ones of all the Chilean presidents except for two of them, one of those being the military dictator Pinochet.

I have put my photos of the Cementerio General de Santiago on a slideshow. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/santiago–cementerio–general/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Santiago: Cemetery General”).

City Tour

In the afternoon, we went on a City Tour with Gate 1. We had a local guide along with Silve, our tour manager. On the tour, we saw colonial architecture such as these buildings.

City Tour

We viewed the Palacio de La Moneda, Chile’s presidental headquarters, built between 1784 and 1799 by the Spanish.

City Tour

We also walked a bit around the Plaza de Armas, the main square in Santiago.

Before we arrived here, I spotted a farmacia (pharmacy) and asked Silve if we could stop at it so I could buy some cold medicine. The farmacia was nothing like our great U.S. drug stores: no over–the–counter medicine on shelves so you can self–mediate your cold with one of many choices. No, here you had to line up to talk to a pharmacist, who then told you what you needed. There were only two choices: one that I could get over her counter or one needing a prescription. I chose the former––it was similar to Dayquil. Silve had come inside the farmacia with me to interpret. She was greatly needed.

City Tour

The last stop on our City Tour was at the Blue Stone lapis lazuli store. Lapis lazuli is a deep blue semi–precious stone that is mined in only a few countries, one of them being Chile. The stone is supposed to have healing energies and metaphysical properties.

I have put my photos of our City Tour on a slide show. Go to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/santiago–city–tour/

(Slide Shows, South America, Chile, “Santiago: City Tour”).