Second Visit to Santiago

 I visited Santiago in February 2018 as part of my big South American trip.  Here is my impression of Santiago then.  During that first visit I had the benefit of having a tour leader to tell us where to go and what to do.  We also joined a Free Walking Tour that gave us a very good background and history of Santiago and Chile.  Unfortunately, because of the pandemic the tours4tips is not running.  I tried to remember the places we went but I couldn't remember much.  One place I remembered, however, is the Central Market.  There were many restaurant there and I had ceviche and another dish.  It was too much food but I enjoyed the ceviche very much. 

I was dead tired after I checked into the Sheraton Hotel.  I tried to have lunch but the restaurant was closed.  I went to take a long nap.  After I woke up at about 4pm I tried to go to the restaurant.  Again, it was closed.  I asked one of the receptionists where I could go for a meal.  She suggested walking to the Costanera Center Tower, a 20-minute walk away.  As I described in my previous post I had a very nice Peruvian dinner at the Tower.  

Sheraton Hotel in Santiago

I woke up fresh the next morning and had a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel.  The server staff was friendly and helpful.  After breakfast I was ready to set out on my walk to the Plaza de Armas, then to the Mercado Central.  Being a Sunday they closed one of the highways that runs next to the river.  This becomes a popular place to bicyclists, runners and walkers.  I was able to enjoy my slow walk towards the Plaza.  I got detoured a few times but finally found my way to the Plaza.  The central square is a typical feature of towns and cities that were occupied by the Spanish, whether it's in Mexico or anywhere in South America.  It's the gathering place for the locals and where a lot of are happening.  You find people justing sitting around, playing chess, musicians playing, etc.  It was busy 4 years ago when I came as it is this time.

Bird's Eye View of Part of Santiago

Plaza de Armas

Pedestrian Walkway to Mercado Central

From the plaza is a pedestrian mall that takes you to the Mercado Central.  On this Sunday there were many vendors selling things:  electronic stuff, food, clothes, etc, and even crooks playing a dice game.  As you get closer to the Mercado you start to see fruit and vegetable vendors.  My plan was to have a seafood lunch at the Mercado.  But after checking out the seafood vendors I wasn't hungry.  

Variety of Seafood Sold Here

Mercado Central

I saw other street vendors across the street and started heading there.  Then I realized I was going into another market, this time the Mercado Vega or vegetable market.  Not only were they selling fruits and vegetables but one part of it also sells meat.  Being a Sunday it was very crowded.  On a mezzanine level there are many local restaurants.  I wished I was hungry at that time because all the food looked delicious.  They have Chilean and Peruvian food.  All the vendors were very generous in allowing me to take pictures of them.  Some of them even posed.  As I've mentioned in other posts I love going to the local markets.  It gives a view of how the locals live and what sustain them.

Fruit Sellers

Spices

I stopped a couple of times to have something to eat and drink.  The first was an empanada stall.  Empanadas are baked or fried turnovers with some kind of fillings inside.  It's very popular in south America.  Almost every culture has something similar to an empanada, and with different names.  It can be a snack or a meal.  I think I paid about 12,000 chilean pesos or about US$1.50 for one.

On the way out I saw a stall selling smoothies.  I was more interested in the fruits that they put in the smoothies than the smoothie itself.  I ordered one with papaya, cherimoya,  guanobano and milk.  Cherimoya and Guanobano come from the same family.  The former is sweet and the latter is sour and is sometimes call soursop.  When I saw the lady put frozen instead of fresh fruits in the blender I was a little disappointed.  It was almost tasteless.  

Woman Selling Smoothies

I walked back the same way towards Plaza de Armas.  Midway through I saw a small crowd surrounding a man playing with 3 cups and some dices.  Gamblers are to guess which cup contains the dice.  This is a familiar con game that is played around the world.  I've seen them in Berlin, Barcelona, etc.  Like the saying goes, "there is a sucker born everyday."  I took a picture of the scene and as I walked away someone stop me asking me to delete my pictures.  He took my phone and I showed him that I took only 1 shot but he insisted on going through all my pictures.  That was a close call that I wasn't expecting.

I wish they were still running the Walking Tours.  It would have given me a better appreciation of some of the places in Santiago.  Overall, it was a long and wonderful day exploring Santiago.