Day of the Dead

The distant Andes
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Flying over the Andes was a sight to behold. The huge, snow capped peaks seemed an arms width away and many a time I found myself gazing at one of the lovely stewardesses, wondering which one I would have to eat to stay alive if we crashed. My thoughts must have been shared, because the plane erupted into applause when we touched down safely in Santiago. I still gazed hungrily at the Lan Chile girls though!

After a short ride from the airport we arrived at our hotel of choice, the Hotel Americano. The owner was a 6 foot 6 giant of a man who wouldn’t stop smiling, hence his nickname Mr Smiley, or the Smiling Assassin. There was an English guy staying in the hotel so we joined forces and hit the bars. It was my birthday eve so it had to be done. All in all it was good night. Shame about my birthday however! Little did we know when we awoke and hit the town that it was National Census Day. There were huge signs up all over the city (in Spanish of course) with my birth date plastered all over them. I had assumed it was just a happy birthday to me from the city of Santiago. No such luck. The day had been set aside for all citizens to remain indoors and complete their census papers. No one was allowed onto the streets until the night time – essentially it was a curfew! Wandering around downtown Santiago was like a scene out of a nuclear holocaust movie, or better yet, one of Romero’s zombie flicks. Not a soul, save for some army and police. Tourists were left alone but there wasn’t anything open anyway. On the rare occasions locals did venture out, they were quickly bundled into a police van and driven off when the police spied them. It was all very Big Brother and I am not talking about the crappy reality show! Things did liven up at night, but the constant walking had exhausted me and I went to bed early – I was definitely getting old.

No one was allowed onto the streets until the night time – essentially it was a curfew!

Chile is quite famous for its wine and nearby were some wineries. What better way to immerse ourselves in the experience than do our own wine tour. Catching a bus to Pirque we then walked the short distance to Vina Concha y Toro, a lovely little winery that did daily tours. I merely drank, but Pete, in his wisdom decided to buy 6 bottles for his sister. We spent half a day trying to get the postal service to send them back to Australia! Once back in Santiago I climbed up to the top of the Santa Lucia park castle for views of the city. I topped it off by then finding a pub.

Check out time soon arrived and Mr Smiley showed his true colours by revealing that if we paid the bill in local currency we would have to pay 18% more. A mad rush to get US dollars to shove down his throat followed.