Santiago, Chile, Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Monday, 1995-12-25 12:00 local (Z-3)
It's Christmas. I thought I'd better start a new message rather than adding to the previous one. There is a maximum message length on Compuserve, but I can't remember what it is.
I walked for a solid 8 hours yesterday, really pooped myself out. The first thing I did was try to buy some sun screen. No luck, there wasn't anything open that sold that on Christmas Eve, so I had to keep a shirt and my hemp hat on the whole time. Unfortunately I forgot about the back of my neck, and that spot is really hurting now. Since I don't have anything to conveniently cover it, I'm staying in today until late afternoon. C.J., remember to put sun screen in your bag for our trip.
The trip I'm talking about is a tentative week-long Caribbean cruise. In theory I'm supposed to have January 5 through 15 off on vacation, and they're supposed to honor that. I hope it actually happens. On January's bid sheet the vacation dates are listed on the first sheet. Mine was there, so it's looking good at the moment. Of course, this is a company that, during this trip, has revised our schedule at each stop.
Santiago is at 33 degrees south latitude. Los Angeles is at 33 degrees north latitude, so it's not surprising they're climatologically much the same. Yesterday the temperature was about 85, but the humidity was low. There's a mountain park near the city center. It reminded me a lot of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, even smelled the same (pine) while I was hiking to the top. There's a big, white statue up there. I assumed it was another statue of Christ—they're big on those down here. Surprise. It was that gal who got knocked up a couple of thousand years ago and managed to convince people she was still a virgin. At its base is a sheltered area with close to 500 candle holders. You light your candle and post your petition or thanks to the deity there. Some of the posts were in English, all were very short and simple, so simple that even I with my limited Spanish could read them.
American and German tourists are here in abundance. Hmmm...the Japanese must not have discovered Santiago yet. I talked to two American couples. Both had been on a tour to Antarctica. You fly to Tierra del Fuego (southernmost tip of South America) and take a luxury cruise ship from there. Luxury cruise ships in the Antarctic. I didn't know they did that. They don't get to actually land there, though, just cruise to the edge of the ice pack.
I got the most unique line I've every heard from a panhandler. This rather good looking gal stopped me and started talking in Spanish. I understood enough to realize she was requesting money, and I tried to beg off by saying I didn't speak Spanish. She immediately switched to excellent but accented English. Then she gave me a line that she didn't have any money, and she needed to get some so she could buy a gift for a friend. I don't know, maybe gift giving on Christmas is that important down here. Anyway, I just said I didn't have any local money (which I didn't). I could have said that I wasn't about to give her money to buy a gift for her friend when I don't think enough of Christmas to buy gifts for anyone.
Speaking of money, the hotel's location is excellent. There are 3 ATMs within a block, also a Kentucky Fried Chicken (my supper last night). What more could an overnighting pilot ask for? <g>
I like Santiago a little better than Buenos Aires. It's more informal. In Buenos Aires people tend to dress formally—long pants, dress shoes. Here there are lots of people in shorts, sandals, running shoes. You see leather shoes too, but they're likely to be casual rather than dress. After I got away from the immediate downtown area, I found a park with a crowded outdoor market. That surprised me, it being Christmas eve.
A river runs through the town. It's small, but it has more water in it than the Los Angeles River. Like the L.A. river, it's totally unnatural in that it's completely rocked and concreted. I noticed the water was very muddy, also running fast with small rapids. Santiago is at about 1800 feet (the airport), but the ocean is only about 60 miles away, so the river has to drop fairly rapidly. There are some nice, narrow parks along the river. They make great running areas.
Well, I'm going to see if Kentucky Fried Chicken is open on Christmas day. <g>
Terry