The Final Week-Tuesday

Monday was a day to hang out in Santiago, get a few groceries, do homework and take a nap.  The temperature is normally in the low 90's at this time of year and full sun.   The overcast days and high 70's were cool for swimming, but perfect for exploring.
Tuesday I woke up not feeling well and almost cancelled our touring plans, but decided I would push through it and go.

Turistik has a Hop On-Hop Off tour of Santiago that I thought would give us a good idea of the city and take us to some of the places that stand out in Santiago.  

Callie was super excited to have her first experience riding a bus...any bus...and this one happened to be a double decker!  

 

 The Grand Torre Costernara Center is the tallest building in South America.   

 Parque Metropolitano was the first time we hopped off.   They had city zoo here, which a taxi driver later told me "No muy lindo!"  He was not proud of it's beauty, but had several other recommendations.   But let's back up.
So, the girls begged to go to the zoologico.   A few things to note... the dog.  I don't think I've talked about the dogs yet.  Puerto Rico has a stray cat problem.  Chile has a stray dog problem.  I guess we never had any problems with the strays, other than a lot of barking at night.  As in this picture, they could be found sleeping, walking, playing, all over town.  Since many restaurants have outdoor seating, it was not uncommon for dogs to make their rounds through the dining area.

Dog + pigeon =typical park

 The girls enjoyed the zoo, even though many exhibits were empty and the animals looked like they would rather be dead....and some looked close.  The views above the city were great and we'll chalk it up to another experience. 

Just ask the girls how camels chew.

Another overcast day...Strange

 San Cristobal Hill would have been interesting to me, but we had to keep moving.  Jason biked up it earlier in his stay. It provides an excellent overlook for the city and has a famous statue of the Virgin Mary.   It also has the longest funicular (cable car) in South America to take us to the top...This is the start.  We almost took the ride, but needed to catch our bus.

Madelyn was very interested in the castle as they are studying medieval history.  There were plenty of opportunities to buy from these little stands.  The girls favorites...popsicles.  For 300 pesos (less than $0.50) I was glad to oblige.

 The rest of the tour involved so much exquisite architecture.   Passing by beautiful museums, government buildings, and churches made me wish we had a few more hours to investigate on the tour.

Museum of Fine Arts-

The Cathedral de Santiago
I would have loved to take pictures of the interior as it was ornate, but I wanted to respect those worshipping!  I was able to introduce the girls to holy water, confessionals, and the tombs of several saints important to the Chilean people.  The girls were interested in the flowers left on the tombs and the kneeling benches. Madelyn was trying to figure out if the people were praying to God or to the saints we saw. She asked several times if we all prayed to the same God. It was a good time of discussion, though brief.

 Plaza De La Constitution- This is the equivalent to our "White House."   Although Congress meets elsewhere, I believe the President of Chile does reside here. 



I forget the significance of this building, but it boarders the "White House" and looked cool.

 This is the other side of the Plaza de la Constiticion.  This was about the only permanent "gate" keeping people out of the lawn.  Although security was present and visible, access would be fairly easy.

The guards

The security gates preventing access to the front lawn of the "White House."

We hopped on the bus after this stop and headed back as we had run out of time to explore.  I had not felt well all day, but being on top of the bus, winding through the city in rush hour traffic, and inhaling the fumes made for a long last hour.  In fact, I became quite sick (virus sick +motion sick) and hardly made it off the bus at our final destination before throwing up in the bushes.  I was bit embarrassed. Maddy was grossed out and Callie, well matter-a-fact.  She just wanted to know what I had eaten. 
I had promised the girls a taxi ride home, but didn't think I'd better get in another vehicle so we walked the 25-30 minute walk back home, with a few stops.   Let's just say we were all glad to be back to the apartment!
By the end of the night, Madelyn had thrown up too.  Jason stayed home from work on Wednesday with fever, fatigue, and body aches and Callie somehow avoided all sickness again!  I'm not sure how. She doesn't eat fruits and vegetables, stole drinks from all of our water bottles, and eats things off the floor of places she shouldn't be eating from and swims when it is way too cold!  She is lucky to have an excellent immune system!  
Our adventures in Chile are nearly over, but we have a few more to share.