Best international signage

Ever get confused by the cryptic way bathrooms are sometimes identified? No confusion with these, found Saturday night at a place called Pub Licity:

Downtown Santiago

On Sunday I ventured out on my own and took the subway into Downtown Santiago. The subway was very clean and very modern, and though the signage left something to be desired, I ended up finding my way around pretty well. The big stops on my expedition were Cerro Santa Lucia and Mercado Centro. I also walked by the Presidential Palace where I ran into a large crowd of people engaged in a religious gathering and parade. That was interesting. I'll not belabor this posting with a lot of words, but enjoy the pictures. Cerro Santa Lucia was specatcular!!

Starting my way up Cerro Santa Lucia

The first of what turned out to be many levels

Towards the castle

Almost there!

At the castle level

More gardens

A chapel

Oops!! It keeps going higher!

Finally at the top

The guy that took the hill in the 1500's.

Another view of the chapel

Looking down on the National Archives

The University

Are we in Texas????

Tower reflected in a building

The posters on the columns are the new Lee Jeans ad campaign.

Mercado Centro (Central Market)

One of the many restaurants inside Mercado Centro

Fruits and vegetables at the market.

The open fish market at Mercado

A Lee Jeans poster in a Mall

Monument to something

The religious gathering. The Virgin Mary can be seen in the shed.

Lots of folks!!

The Wall Street of Chile

Neptune at Santa Lucia

I think is the guy atat the other guy took the hill (cerro)from

View from the top

Vina del Mar and Valparaiso

On Saturday I took an all day bus trip to the coastal cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. The are right next to each other and are about 100 kilometers, a bit over an hour drive, from Santiago. The day started gray and with a low overcast, but the skies continued to brighten as we got closer to the coast and by the time we reached the coast we had beautiful blue sky that we enjoyed for the rest of the day. On our trip, we learned that the valley in which Santiago is located has ideal climate for the red grapes used in making red wine. This valley is bordered to the East by the majestic Andes Mountains. As we headed West towards the coast, we crossed into another valley with has a microclimate completely unsuitable for the growing or any wine grapes. Only table grapes are grown in that valley. Then we crossed into another valley, which has a climate ideal for growing white grapes for white wines. We saw many vineyards through there. Then we reached the coast, to our destinations, Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Though situated right next to one another, the two cities could not be more different. Valparaiso is and old port town, and has been declared a Cultural World Heritage site, so little modern construction has been allowed. Vina del Mar is a very modern city, having only been built in the last century when its founder managed to acquire the land from a Portugese family through his marriage. Valparaiso was once the most important port on the Pacific side of South America,as it was used by ships traveling around the tip of South America, either to prepare for the voyage or to make repairs to the ship after a voyage. When the Panama Canal was opened, Valparaiso no longer enjoyed the important position and the city has struggled economically ever since. Enough writing. Now for the pictures.

Crossing the first ridge out of Santiago

The next valley where wine grapes are not grown.

Vineyards in the Casablanca valley, where most of the white wines are produced.

A winery

Another winery

The vegetation changes considerably as we get closer to the coast.

Entering Vina del Mar, looking towards Valparaiso.

Valparaiso

Quinta Vergara, the home of the founder of Vina del Mar. It had been used as the Fine Arts Museum, but was severely damaged during the February 2010 earthquake.

Next to Quinta Vergara is this large music performance amphitheater, which hosts South America's largest music festival every year. Seating capacity is 15,000.

The grounds of Quinta Vergara. Trees from around the world were brought in, presumably before Customs instituted rules that prohibits bringing in even processed packaged agricultural products.

Cathedral in Vina del Mar.

A Moai figure from Easter Island, which is about 4,000 kilometer to the West, and is owned by Chile.

Yours truly with dancers that demonstrated traditional dances from Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

The beach at Vina del Mar, looking towards Valparaiso.

River running through Vina del Mar.

Castillo del Mar, where we enjoyed a very nice lunch overlooking the ocean.

Valparaiso, from the home of Nobel poet Pablo Neruda.

Valparaiso is made up of 47 different hills.

San Francisco has nothing on this place!!!

Looking up the hills

The Wisteria was in full bloom.

An interesting home on a switchback. I guess there is only one way to put in the sofa.

Looking back towards Vina del Mar.

A beautiful old home on top of the hill, next to the elevator.

There are a number of elevators to move people up and down the hills. This one would hold 8 people at a time.

Looking down the tracks for the elevator.

The back of the Department of the Navy building.

Department of the Navy

The Port of Valparaiso

From the Port we boarded the bus for our return to Santiago. It was a great day.