Hop on Hop off.

Today we say goodbye to our little ( very) home of the last few days. Our host Leo checked us out and kindly called a taxi for us. I wanted to use the app I had specially downloaded on my phone,Safer Taxis. This app did all sorts of things, except work when I needed it. Never mind. Next time.

We took our bags to the airport where we met Will. He sneaked them into his room at the Holiday Inn, directly across the road.

We then found a Centro Puerto bus, which runs every few minutes outside the terminal and only costs 1500 pesos each ( quite a big jump from 18000 pesos for a taxi). It made only a couple of stops before depositing us at Los Heroes bus station in town, half an hour later.  A 20 minute walk found us at Plaza de Armas once again.

"Goodbye comfy bed."

Leo chats to a friend while waiting for our taxi. He insisted on staying with us so he could direct the driver. He was very kind - or he just wanted to make sure we actually left. Rich lurking in the background.

Ah, the palace again.

The streets are beautifully tree lined. There are a lot of English trees, which Will commented on, saying it was a nice feeling seeing something familiar. Although the Melia, which we have on our back lawn, did spark our hay fever.

Coffee at the Museo.

Street artists in Plaze de Armas

The statue that honours the Spanish conquistador, Valdivia, who founded Santiago in 1541. The statue faces what was once his home and now serves as the main post office. I'm interested in this as I am reading a novel about him by a very famous Chilean author, Isabele Allende. Highly recommended.

We spotted a lad across the Plaza with a Turistik sign strapped to his back. He escorted us to the modest little office down some steps and issued us with our armbands and earphones, made sure we knew what to do and sent us on our way. 

We have done Hop On tours before, and find them a really great way to orientate yourself in a new city and get a feel for the spirit of the place. The best ones have live guides who can answer questions and make you feel you have met a local. Unfortunately this wasn't one of those. It's actually quite hard to concentrate on the canned voice and you are constantly fiddling with your earphones because they don't really fit. Also, it was quite chilly (yes Chile is chilly), and poor Will was dressed for Florida. I'm glad I had my 'warmies' on. 

The start of the tour covered a lot of ground that we had done on foot a few days previously, so we just rode them out; Mercado Central,( the markets) Plaza de la Constitucion, ( Palace), and St Lucia hill.

Carabineros, on horses, with dogs, are more than happy to pose for photos. This girl wasn't getting too close though.

Fish market

Selfie. If I don't put myself I a few photos, I'll never believe I was there.

Stop 5, Providencia. The history of Providencia dates back to 1897 and is directly related to the sisters of the Divine Providence who arrived in Chile from Canada in 1853.  We've heard this story a couple of times, and it's always described as 'amusing'! Didn't make me smile and I'm sure those poor sisters weren't wetting their pants laughing - although they may have been for other reasons. Originally they were supposed to land in Oregon, USA but it was flooded. Not knowing how to return home, they met a Chilean captain who bought them to this remote corner of the world. 

Yep, that's it - end of funny story.

The next couple of stops are in the El Golf district, which is also amusingly known as Sanhattan, a mixture of Manhattan and Santiago. The modern glass towers are mostly less than 20 years old, while the residential area could be up to 50 or 60 years old. It used to be rather exclusive and has a lovely established feel to it. And yes, there is a rather large golf course close by. ( Los Leones Golf Club)

talk about a 'green' building. Not sure how they managed this.

I knew I had a photo of that big tower.

By this time we realised that the tour was going to take longer than promised - probably due to the time of day and traffic, so we had to decide which stops we would stop at. We settled on Parque Arauco, a huge modern mall about half way through the tour. It was really lovely, as far as malls go,inside and outside, different levels, fountains etc,  but a little bit posh for us. We settled on a spot for lunch, right at the entrance. We were quite confused to start with, as to how it worked, but soon figured it out. Grab a tray, point to what you want, go to the cashier and sit yourself down. Unusual here, as even the most basic cafes, you take a seat and are waited on - no paying at the counter before you start.

I lucked out with my octopus. Really good.

Great atmosphere, and more importantly, it was warm

Often, when the bus stopped,some sort of street performer would rush out, hoping to pick up tips thrown from the bus. This girl is waving flags, but we also had various jugglers and dancers.

The zero point in the Plaza de Armas where all distances are measured from.

Kiwi nugget shoe shine guy.

Mooching around at the Holiday Inn while our pilot sleeps.

We managed to get Will back in time to have a sleep. Quite important as he was flying us to Panama in the early hours of the morning. We thought we would amuse ourselves until we flew by hanging out at the airport, the lounge of the hotel, anywhere really, but couldn't keep our eyes open so sneaked into Will's room and trying hard not to disturb him, curled up with him and had a little kip.