Santiago

In Santiago for a couple of days. This is Barrio París-Londres, which is a nice cobble-stoned area.

In this area is a building called London 38. It was a detention and torture centre under Pinochet. Outside the building are the names and ages of those who died inside it. 219 people died or disappeared.

 

This is inside the San Francisco Church, which was consecrated in 1622. It is the oldest building in Chile.

 

A photo of some of the roof tiles.

 

 

This is the back of La Moneda Palace, the office of the President of Chile. It started construction in 1784.

Underneath the palace, is the Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda.

Two of the presidential guards. Note they have daggers, not guns!

Inside the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral which began construction in 1748. Its predecessors had somehow angered God who destroyed them in earthquakes.

A view of Santiago from the Santiago Metropolitan Park. It is very smoggy here, but still a great view of the city nestled behind the Andes. I’m told the view in winter is absolutely spectacular.

In the afternoon we did some wine tasting at Concha y Toro. It is the second largest wine producer in the world.

The best wine is kept down in the old cellars. Each barrel of wine is worth around $45,000.

In the old days, the owner spread a rumour that the devil lurked down in the cellar, and it seems this was enough to deter would be thieves. Today it would probably attract them!

Snakes on a plane!

This is the wine blackboard at the Bocanariz Restaurant. It is one of the top restaurants in Santiago, and we managed to get in without a booking. Highly recommended. Rated No 4 out of 1,404 on Trip Advisor.

This is in the Parque Forestal, which is opposite the hotel we are staying at. We’re at the Su Merced Boutique Hotel which has just nine rooms. The rooms are quite spacious and nice, and the location is right in the centre of town.

My first ever time in Latin America. Having a direct flight from Auckland helped.