January 11 - I Made It!

So, here I am in downtown Santiago.  It's warm - 33 degrees so I'm melting and trying to stay in the shadows.

A couple of quick stories about the trip down.  My first flight to Toronto was cancelled while I was on the ferry to Vancouver (mechanical problems) and I was re-booked on an EARLIER flight.  I don't carry a cell phone (last of the Luddites) so I was lucky Laura got the call and contacted Daphne.  Also lucky I had taken the early ferry, otherwise it would have been dicey.


Then I'm in Toronto and they load us up for Santiago.  Except one of the engines on the jet won't start!  A while later and they've solved the problem so we're off (I never saw the guy with the Bic).

First photo - this is the B&B where I'm staying - the VilaFranca.  Near downtown and easy access to buses and the subway.  Gloria is the manager - I assault her with my bad Spanish so she switches to English pretty quickly.  Santiago is a real mixture of old and new architecture all built side by each.  I saw some tin shacks on the way in from the airport. 

I'm just on a walkabout near the B &B and look!  The first candidate for the ugly fountain contest.

Continuing along, this a picture of the river through town - hot running mud.  The picture has the colour correct.  I don't know anything more about it.  Lots of modern skyscrapers in Santiago.

Here's my funky picture of the day.  Certainly a modern building in the background.











And today's last photo is of a small market behind the main shopping street (Avenida Providencia).  Check out the bicycle - the frame is bamboo.  

So, that's it for today.  I'm rapidly succumbing to jet lag.  Tomorrow I brave the subway and some of the historical sites.