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| Pots of Pomaire |
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| Curiosities of Pomaire |
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| Kitchen ware of Pomaire |
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| Pottery wheel on the streets of Pomaire |
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| Overlooking Santiago |
Morning Run Sunday
I had spent an afternoon in Santiago in 2009 on return from Patagonia and got to wander around the central area including Plaza de Armas. On this visit an eight mile run each morning provided a much broader view of the neighborhoods around the center; this quiet sunny Sunday morning brought me west on Merced again passed Plaza de Armas on to Compania which took me across the highway to Plaza Brazil along graffiti lined streets. The city started to wake as I arrived at the Parque Quinta Normal, a large green space north of the University of Santiago. A few homeless slept through the bright morning sun along the lake as a team of workers setup a play park for the upcoming new year's day celebrations. The head of an oil well stood oddly out of place before a classical building which was revealed as the Museum of Science & Technology. Across the water sat the Museum of Natural History. Rounding the back of the park the huge byzantine structure of the Bacilica de Lordes dominate the view outside the park and I was drawn through the gates to get a close look which revealed the forcefully cleansed lines of the post world war one era in which it was built. Further along at the south end of the park entering the University grounds I had to stop to admire the blue, yellow, glass and steel building of the current Museo Artequin. Originally the Chilean Pavilion at the 1889 Paris Exhibition to represent the prosperity of the country, it was dismantled and relocated to Santiago like a nomad's tent and still holding an elegant air of the closing decade of the 19th century. The campus was empty on this Sunday of summer holidays, but I was shortly hoping left and right through the busy streets around the central station (Estacion Alemeda), an impressive structure designed by Gustave Eiffel whose love of steel was clearly visible in the angular roof; steam and coal smoke were the only aspects missing from the era in which it was built.
Emerging from the park on the return the modern building of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights (Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos) which we would visit as a family later that morning. I found a roadway which was closed down for pedestrians along which I ran the route back to the city center; people biked, ran, walked and skated along the way which was a real indication of how Santiago has progressed over the years to become a modern livable city. Attracted by a street market, I diverted south to Park Agustinas along Avenue Portales where vendors has strewn their wares along the grass center and along the side streets. The city was alive by the end of my run, the many households displaying the sale of their odds and ends on the grounds of the Bella Vista park. On my return I passed the Japanese gardens with view of Castillo Hidalgo on a green hill peak above the concrete city. Starbucks was closed so it was Nescafe for breakfast.
Museum of Memory and Human Rights
All the progress on display on my morning run was washed away by the iconic scenes of the 1973 coup relived at the Museo de la Memoria y Los Derechos Humos; smoke billowing from the presidential palace under attack my the military while President Salvador Allende addresses his people for the last time in a gripping address. Finally concluding that he couldn't live as a leader disposed, he shot himself in the burning building as the forces of his foe, General Augusto Pinochet and the Junta of the Military, Air Force, Navy and Police took over power. Allende himself was an accidental leader, having run and failed many times since the 1950's on a marginal communist platform, he won on an unusual three way race. In power he nationalized private industry, so did not win friends or influence needed to retain power. Rather than let the unstable governance of Chile collapse on it's own merit, the US took an active role in supporting the military opposition via the CIA (mm$8 spent on Chile during his 3 years in office according to Church report) and the resulting takeover by Augusto Pinochet was not moderated by a hand back to civilian control; instead Pinochet implemented a reign of terror in which thousands of people disappeared and were killed and buried without trial or justice. Many more were tortured and went into exile.
In the west Pinochet is considered the devil incarnate and people generally give Allende a pass, so I was surprised to hear how a local man put it; "Allende was not taking the country in the right direction, Pinochet is seen as correcting that, but shouldn't have killed all those people, I can see both sides ........... he just shouldn't have killed all those people". Those who lost family during the Pinochet reign are generally more critical of Pinochet. A man spat on Pinochet's coffin during the funeral and attacked by Pinochet supporters; the insult was cast by the grandson of Carlos Prat, the head of the army under Allende who was assassinated by Pinochet's Junta by car bomb on the streets of Buenos Aires. The strains of Pinochet era still run deep in the country; the father of past and future president Michele Bachelet having been imprisoned and tortured by the Junta, dying of heart attach from his experience. From prison he and other prisoners made art, some of which was on display at the museum. Pinochet elected to be cremated rather than have a burial ground upon which the descendants of his victims could vent their frustration. "They Dance Alone" by Sting addressed the many women left wondering if their disappeared husbands would ever return, few did. All of this history is outlined at the museum and well worth a visit.
La Chascona - Case Pablo Naruda
Next stop was the Santiago house of Pablo Naruda in Bario Bellavista. Naruda was a close friend of Allende and having died only days after the coup took over power the Junta raided his houses and flooded the house at Santiago. As a point of defiance, his widow staged his funeral there forcing guests to step over the muddy mess which revealed the Junta as thugs. La Chascona was originally bought for his last wife and the named is a native word referring to her red curly hair. Over time they added to the property in the typically eclectic Naruda style; grand views from the upper rooms, a number of bars and entertainment areas and a few ships artifacts. We lingered for a long time on the lower floors alone (as the crowd was awaiting more audio recorders) admiring the bar and collection of glass, departing through a small door to the upper floors which have broad open windows, however, some of the views are now blocked by new buildings nearby. La Chascona was not treated well by the Junta during the coup, but was restored by his wife Matilde since. If I were to rank the houses, my preference would be Isla Negra, then La Sebastiana followed by La Chascona.
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| Murals of west Santiago |
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| Basilica de Lourdes from Parque Quinta Normal |
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| Basilica de Lourdes imposing presence west of Santiago |
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| 1889 Chilean Pavilion Paris Exhibition; now Museo Artequin |
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| Central Station designed by Gustav Eiffel |
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| Parque Quinta National |
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| Joker 2963 |
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| Sunday street market near Av Portales |
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| One might want 5 satellite connections! |
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| Architecture of west Santiago |
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| House west Santiago |
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| National Congress |
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| Houses display their sales on Bellavista Sunday morning |
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| Castillo Hidalgo, Cerro Santa Lucia |
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| Plaza de la Constitution |
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| Museum of Memory and Human Rights |
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| La Chascona |
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| Lower bar, La Chascona |
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| Architecture of Bellavista neighborhood |
Morning run Monday
On Monday I ran another route south through Plaza de la Constitution south along Paseo Bulnes as the city emerged for the work day with the help of a brief street side espresso. Entering Parque Almagro I was confronted with a rough cut stone monument to Pedro Aguirre Cerda, President of Chile 1938-1941 who represented the Radical Party and progressed education and industrialization while in power. Behind him was a garden of rough cut boulders standing around a circular green. A swastika was sprayed on one of the rocks which struck me as unusual; Chile is one of the most graffiti liked countries in the world (after Greece) and people feel free to express themselves on other people's property, but this was the first swastika I had come across. Nearby the imposing copula and Byzantine structure of the Church of the Sacraments (Iglesia de los Sacramentinos) came into view and I continued my run south along Nathanial Cox through an old working class neighborhood lined tightly with low row houses with windows barred probably developed early 20th century. Turning west on Nuble the grand modern Center of Justice came into view as I crossed the Rodriguez highway and passengers crowded into the Rondizzoni train stop for their commute to the city. Turning north to my destination of Parque O'Higgins I came to a grand open oval at the center designed to accommodated the crowds for football stadiums there. A stretch of pavement long enough to land a plane was empty but for a few other runners and it brought me back to the north side with an inspiring view of the city and the mountains to the east. There stood the red castle like fortress of the military school. Meandering block by block across the busy workday city the late 19th century mansions and classical facades gave way to the plazas and buildings of 20th century city growth and I found myself back at Plaza de Armas where I found the Monumento a las razas indígenas, a monument to the native people of Chile.
Los Andes
We would stay at the Santiago airport Monday evening for an early flight the following day, so we decided to take a trip to the countryside around the city, departing southeast that morning to Maipo Canyon and the Andes. After a long drive through the city of 6 million people, we started to climb on a well paved two lane road up to Las Vertientes. The mud mineral water of the Maipo River kept a green strip of fertile soil growing fruit and trees on the valley floor while the surrounding terrain was an arid scatter of hardy scrub and brush to the low surrounding hills. As the higher mountains came closer they revealed themselves as treeless slabs of dry brown rock. As continued up the valley passed San Jose giant cactus started to populate the lower hills and the valley supported rich ranches of fruit trees actively irrigated from the river below. In contrast with the grand estates and holiday homes along the valley were the shacks of the farm workers along the roadside.
The green eventually tapered out of the valley and the river tightened up against the rocky valley around Puente el Jaboncillo. An unused railway tunnel bypassing the rocky point was all that remained of the early mining days of the valley, which is now transported by truck. Nearby an eclectic monument of religious curiosities glistened in the sun. We ended our drive at a mine just beyond San Gabrial where the paved road ended and the route splits toward lakes to the east and the high Andes to the south. Up the valley three large pipes descending from a high reservoir above revealed a hydroelectric power station. On the return down the valley we crossed the Maipo River at Puenta El Toyo with destination the wine country of the lower Maipo valley. The arid upper valley slowly opened up the more lush grass and trees along the way and an aqueduct emerged parallel to the road to route water from the river down to the vineyards and fruit tree farms below. Small conduits broke off the large water supply along the way and distributed water in all directions. In contrast to the arid scrub on the hills above, access to water brought the valley homesteads into full bloom their flowering bushes exploding through the fences. Old mud and stone walls lasted for years under the protection of sloped tile tops which diverted the winter rains off the fragile texture.
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| Plaza de la Constitution |
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| Paseo Bulnes |
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| President Pedro Aguirre Cerda |
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| Iglesia de los Sacramentinos |
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| Central Court of Justice Santiago |
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| Parque O'Higgins |
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| Cupula Santiago Arena |
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| Military School Santiago |
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| Local School |
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| Old unrestored building of Santiago |
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| Monumento a las razas indígenas, Plaza de Armas |
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| Imposing rocks of the upper valley |
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| Mineral rich Maipo river |
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| Faint traces of snow on the summer Andes |
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| Upper Maipo River |
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| Farm worker's house up in the Andes valley |
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| Inhospitable dry rock of the Andes |
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| Eclectic monument of curiosities along upper Maipo |
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| Old country church up the Maipo valley |
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| Serious cactus take over the arid highlands |
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| With water from the river the homesteads bloom |
Concho y Toro
I would prefer to visit some small wine producer, but the Chileans don't do wine in small measures; it's a business and it is big volumes which drive their success as well as good quality. We visited Concho y Toro, a fine old estate founded 1883 by politician and business man Don Melchor Concha y Toro. It was built for success and grandeur from the start as he imported grapes and talent from France. The estate house and gardens themselves are worth a visit. Channels of gray water from the mountains bring moisture which make the trees and flowers bloom in an otherwise arid climate. Beyond lay acres of grapes to the horizon each irrigated with it's own dedicated water supply optimized to maximize effect with minimal water loss to the atmosphere. Inside the modern upper cellars spray jets of water were used to keep the temperature moderate and humidity right for the oak barrels made of American white oak. Further below ground the original arched roof brick cellars are naturally moderate in temperature and retain reasonable humidity. We tasted some whites and reds along the way and the tour was well organized as one would expect from such a large operation, although it was a little corny on the story of Castillo de Diablo (Castle of the Devil), but they do their best. The company truly has a global reach of exports with some 9000 hectares in production. One risk which they bare is access to water which allows their production to thrive under the conditions of sun and soil; if the Andes in the region become snow free they may lose the Maipo River which is a lifeline and unlikely wells could keep up, a similar dilemma to California's wine regions. Late afternoon we left the winery and made our way across the Maipo Valley back to Santiago and checked into the Holiday Inn at the airport for a 7:00AM flight to Rio de Janeiro.
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| Gardens of Concha y Toro |
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| Estate of Concha y Toro |
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| Well irrigated vines of Maipo Valley |
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| Healthy grapes on the vine |
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| Eighteen glasses of white |
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| Modern upper cellars, cooled with moisture spray |
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| Eighteen glasses of Castillo de Diablo |
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| Original below ground cellars |
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| The spirits of Diablo take over the cellars |
Another Day in Santiago
A month later I returned to visit Santiago for a day alone while returning from Balmaceda Patagonia arriving late afternoon Friday 7th February I stayed two nights at the airport hotel. That evening I caught the local bus which departs every 10 minutes for city center ($5 return), alighting at the end of the line at Plaza Los Heros and walking into the city. I bought food at the Merced stalls along Plaza de Armas, but the plaza itself was closed, so I wandered through the busy weekend streets to Parque Forestal at Bella Artes. A team of professional beggars came buy asking for money; I handed the pregnant one a bag of cashew nuts which she took, although disappointed that no money was forthcoming. Up by the classical museum of arts I sat eating and watching the Friday evening scene; city residents emerged from apartments to walk their dogs and many picnicked in the evening sun. A drunk didn't bother me, but made his rounds to all those seated nearby, receiving no donations. As soon as the sun lifted above the park a chill came in the air, indicative of the dry desert like conditions of the region during summer months.
As I departed I passed the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts I felt out of place in my rough hiking gear a week old and they celebrating a black tie event. Wandering through the lively night streets of entertainers I came across the Astronomical Club with a set of telescopes to allow the public to view the night's sky.
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| Classical building along Av Liberator O'Higgins |
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| Entel Tower Santiago; communications and television |
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| Outdoor exhibit at Belle Arts Museum |
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| Chess players on evening streets of Santiago |
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| Cathedral of Santiago |
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| Monument to native tribes at Plaza de Armas |
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| Iconic symbols of Santiago; Metro and Communications Tower |
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| Graffiti looks more sinister at night |
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
In the morning I returned to the city on the bus and found a Starbucks before visiting the Cathedral and an Internet cafe nearby to research some places to visit that day. My first stop was the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (Pre-Columbian Art Museum) which tells a truly fascinating story of the native peoples who first set foot in Chile 14,000 years ago as the last ice age retreated. As humans migrated south through Chile and Argentina to Tierra Del Fuego they would reach the furthest point out of Africa from where all humans emerged A few tens of thousands of years ago; a total migration of 21,000 miles would have brought peoples from Africa to Tierra del Fuego. As the ice thawed the sea rose and isolated the inhabitants of the Americas who spanned out across the entire length. Numerous advances cultures rose and declined over the millennia until a new era was swept in with the arrival of Columbus. He wasn't the first outsider to arrive, there were Norwegians, Icelanders and possibly Irish who made contact northeast over the years and surely Polynesians explorers who missed the few islands on the east pacific made landfall on the continent, but none of these had any impact. Columbus himself never made it to the continent itself, but his ships swept in a very different western culture with it's religion, greed and disease as well as advanced technologies in the art of killing and distilling alcohol which all were a detriment to the native peoples. Not that the natives were peaceful in themselves, as there is evidence of significant warring among cultures on the continent, but the methods all changed after East met West. To understand native peoples requires one has to look at the period when they were without western influence and the museum has an excellent collection which provides a view into that time.
Triangular and pentangular stones shaped with concave sides as well as circle disks and even ten sided disks were found in North Chile dating from around 10,000 years ago; no function purpose has been deciphered for these objects which were exposed to fire and died red and it is speculated they were of some ceremonial function, although they could also have been early exploration of geometry and art. From around the same period were found the mummified remains of children whose bones were removed and replaced with wood before being decorated and wrapped tightly. Textiles which have survived, especially in the arid desert regions, show an innovative array of shapes, designs and patterns. The Inca tied lengths of string with knots of various lengths and positions to keep accounts probably of trade debts of taxes. Large wooden figures carved by Mapuche representing the spirit of the dead were located on tombs. Flutes, shaman figures, pipes and containers for hallucinogenics from nature combined with exceptionally artistic clothes and pottery reveal a society in prosperity and relative peace. It was inevitable that east and west would eventually connect across the Atlantic after the pacific bridge closed fourteen thousand years ago. The artifacts found in European museums of the millennium before Columbus reveal a different story than that of the Americas; although art is represented, there is a significantly more striking presence of the tools of war and agriculture. Europe through the Middle East has a more people on less resources and sedentary agriculture to protect, so the culture more belligerent. Upon meeting the natives of the Americas fared less well in the exchange.
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| Many types of hats of South America |
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| Early Geometry of North Chile, from 10,000 yrs ago |
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| Inca Knots, or Quipus, accounting methods of the Inca |
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| Rapa Nui - Easter Island skeletal spirit figures |
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| Large figures carved by Mapuche |
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| Mapuche vase |
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| Feline duck shaped pitcher (1000AD) |
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| Infant Mummy, bones replaced with wood, of over 4 millennia ago |
I took the metro Line 2 north to the Cemeteries stop and wandered through the General Cemetery, an enormous property set aside by Bernardo O'Higgins in 1821. It is so large that it is the dominant cemetery of the city still today with many notables resting there. Large mausoleums house the wealthy and notables, but the majority are stacked in walls of tombs. Nearby is a Catholic and Jewish cemetery also. Returning to town I switched to Line 5 eastward and the passengers already revealed their wealth before I got off at El Golf stop. The Las Condes neighborhood is the rich and best developed part of the city and could have been the wealthy part of any US city, with a range of fine restaurants, Mercedes dealerships and one of the few cigar shops in the city. I walked the four miles back to he city under the shadow of the 300 Meter Costanera Tower and along the sculpture gardens (Pareque de las Esculturas) by the Mapocho River. I left the modern buildings behind as I crossed the river to the old Bella Vista neighborhood which was dominated by fine architecture of century old town houses. Tens of shops specializing in Lapis Lazuli, a deep blue precious semi-precious stone found in Chile and carved into art and jewellery. The sun and blue sky of the Santiago summer must become monotonous to the locals, but I basked in it as I relaxed and picnicked at the Park Forestal late afternoon thinking of the snow storms in the US and the hurricane force wind and rain hitting Europe. As the light faded I caught the bus back to the airport hotel for an early flight back to the US the following morning.
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| A wall of tombs, General Cemetery Santiago |
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| Costanera Center Tower, 300meters |
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| Parque de las Esculturas |
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| Fine old townhouses of Bella Vista, street of Lapis Lazuli |
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| City University & Cerro San Cristobal |
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| Japanese Gardens & Castillo Hidalgo |
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| Century old architecture of Santiago |
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| Speech in the park exhibit |
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| Museo Belles Artes |
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