Sleep Deprivation, Southern Hemisphere Style
Did you know that at 84 degrees 23 minutes West, Atlanta is further West than Detroit's 83 degrees 5 minutes West position? I didn't either, until Ward Elwood pointed that geographic tidbit out. The other surprise is that Santiago is two time zones East of Atlanta, which is in the furtherest East time zone in the United States. What a misperception that South America is directly under North America. All this adds up to the remaining fact that a 9:20 pm redeye flight arriving at 8:50 am the next morning in Santiago is still brutal on the circadian rhythms.
The good news is that the flock of "taxi touts" pretty much left me alone with a few "No, gracias" replies to their sales pitches. One man was particularly persistant though, asking questions concerning every leg of the planned commute from bus, to metro, to finally walking five blocks. With that he admitted defeat and graciously put out his hand for a hearty shake and wished me happy travels.
The EcoHostel de Chile is not in the greatest neighborhood but promised a calm, clean, and quiet environment.
After checking-in and ditching bags it was time for lunch and this corner cafe looked promising.
After ordering a beef steak sandwich with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and mayo (otherwise known as "Italiano"), the waitor brought a knife and fork. When this mounded delicious concoction arrived the reason was apparent. There was no way that two slices of bread would be structurally sound enough to hold this monster together. In the end, this was six bucks worth of delicious.
Santiago is a mish-mash of architectural styles from many varying periods. The key factor is which earth quakes were survived by which buildings. The structures surrounding the Plaza Central are a perfect testament. New sky scrapers are tucked right between the Museo Historico National (right) and the Catedral Santiago (left) built in 1748.
This ended up being a perfect day for the National History Museum, as entrance was free of charge and worth the price of admission. Santiago was searingly hot in the early afternoon so the darkened halls made for good shelter none-the-less.
The National Cathedral definitely reflects the Spanish influence and ...
... inside reveals a striking resemblance to the style employed in the cathedral in Zaragoza, Spain. The decoration was almost more "stately" than ornate religous relic in tone.
Traveling the world, it has truly become a source of facination to collect photos of the different personages of both Mary, Jesus, and others. I still hold the greatest appreciation for the Eastern European "still movement dancing style". Granted, I'm tired, hot, and cranky but it is a serious improbability that Mary and the infant Jesus ever wore anything slightly resembling this "get-up".
Fading remarkably fast, I was back at the hostel by 4:00pm for a two hour siesta in the hammock, currently being modeled by a traveling German woman.
Oh, as a side-bar, just in case anyone was wondering if South America (Chile specifically) has a different perspective on our president than Australia, Asia, Africa, and Europe. These two photos should settle the question. We, as Americans, are in serious need of international "reputation repair" and I hope that whomever is the next president will make this a priority.
Ok, you asked for a little unvarnished truth, so here's the PG-13 version of a very interesting next couple of hours. Waking from my nap in the hammock and stumbling into the male only dorm room, imagine my surprise to walk in on a bearded Italian servicing a young woman. So I did the only logical thing and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, promised I'd only be a moment, and left with the salutation, "Well then, carry on."
A trip to the grocery store promised to be a little less invasive, until a prostitute grabbed my bicep as I walked past with a bag full of groceries. Needless to say, I didn't extend the effort to try to translate beyond what was bouyantly clear and simply replied, "No, gracias" and beat tracks back to the hostel to cook dinner.
There is always a bright side and today it was the colored sunset on the return from the grocery. Hopefully, with a good night's sleep, tomorrow will bring at least a little more open perspective from me.
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