January 13 - More about Santiago (mas alrededor Santiago)

So, first things first.  I'm going to call this segment "Adventures in Eating" and this probably won't be the last entry under that title.

I told you yesterday that I was worried about finding a place to eat on Sunday.  As luck would have it, I ran into the manager of our B&B (Vilafranca) on my way out.  Her name is Gloria and she is wonderful.  She told me where to go (for food, that is) and off I headed.    

I got a table and the waiter, sensing  my "aura" asked if I needed an English menu.  Hey, yes - great.  So he brought over this badly typed menu:  English on the left column, Spanish in the middle and German on the right column.  The wine was easy - Red Pinot - I could do that in any language.  I ordered Smoked Pork loin.  Yes, I know I was doing that, but the accompaniments didn't make sense.  Turned out I got 2 smoked pork chops (tasted like ham), boiled potatoes, and sauerkraut.  Now, I love sauerkraut, so this turned out well.   Maybe not the best choice for red wine, but the wine was good, so who cares?   Next time I'll order "un medio de pollo y ensalada" (1/2 chicken and a salad).  BTW, sauerkraut is 'chucrut' 

I forgot to mention: the previous night at a different restaurant (no english) I ordered seafood pasta, salad and a beer.  Great beer and I recognized everything on my plate except for one vegetable in the salad which tasted similar to water chestnut.    

Now for today - I fought with technology for a couple of hours trying to get an airline reservation, but they wouldn't accept my credit card.  I look honest over the Internet, don't I?  Turns out you can't charge Pesos to a non-Chilean credit card.  I switched to their US$ site and things were golden.  I'm booked for Punta Arenas.

 Here's a subway station.  The trains are long and often plugged.  The subway is efficient and not expensive.  There was a group of buskers on one of the trains today.

 Statues, statues and more statues.  Note the contrast between the old statue and the new tower in the background, bristling with antennas.

I'm having trouble with the Internet, so I'm going to try and publish this post and start again with a new one.