Round the world in 90 days!

Travel time: December 2006 - March 2007 | by Carolina Martinez

More from Santiago . . .

After all our ailments (i.e. my flu and julius´s now removed wisdom tooth), we decided we should try to be tourists in Santiago. We even took the metro and found our way around ALL OURSHELVES!

One of the big tourist things to do is go to the top of a hill called San Cristobal. Up there one will find a big ol´ virgin mary and some pretty darn good views of the city (pity about the smog).

Oh yeah baby, I´m going up that there hill!

So, first of all you need to catch a funicular to the top of the hill. A funicular is a carriage on a train track that basically goes straight up (or straight down depending on which way you are doing it).

Outside the funicular.

Going up . . .

and up . . .

Finally we make it to the top and have a good look at the city my family call home.

I did say there was a virgin up here didn´t I?

and views

Once you walk around the top for a bit you get into a teleferico (cable car) and get even more good views.

Now for some more family shots - you getting bored yet? The following were taken at my cousin Carolina´s home.

Pablito

Diego, his hampster and Julius

mother, son and grandmother

Even on holidays a woman´s work is never done!

Family fun at my Tia Gaby´s house.

Cristian (cousin) and me

Out the front of my Tia Gaby´s house.

Well everyone knows that no travelling experience is complete without walking into the church.

Ticking that box that says ¨Church entered?¨

Tia Gaby and Gabyta

The boys showing off

And then we get back onto the whole food thing.

Me eating mote con huesillos. I don´t know how to explain it. It is sweet and yummy.

You just can´t come to Chile without eating Mariscos (seafood). Absolutely not allowed. On this particular day we ate pulmay which I´m pretty sure we call surf´n´turf back home.

First you need to wash.

Then you fry some stuff in the bottom of a pan.

Then you get a little bag and put a bit of everything in there including a bit of chicken, chorizo, pork and a potato (the only veggie present today)

put it all into the pot with some water, white wine and herbs

Cook it for a bit and then serve it up . . .

¡Bon apetit!

I popped in to see my 80-year-old Tia Chepa who I didn´t get a chance to meet last time I was here with my parents. She is the sister of my grandad (who died before I was born). She had loads of photos of my dad and the family from when they were young and loads of stories. I was a bit overwhelmed being there and was a bit teary most of the time.

me with Tia Cheap and Cono

We have been eating food in most of our time in Chile. The funniest thing is that the few times I have eaten out it has been asian food! Too funny! Below are some snaps of us out at a Chinese restaurant.

So, I had to do the obligatory walk through La Moneda. For those of you who don´t know much about the history of Chile check out these links:
September 11, 1973
this one I put in mostly for how shocked I was to read it. People really think that Pinochet helped this country into the 21st century??? The photos are good. . .
The right-wing version