Today brought our first port of call since that incredible day in the Chilean fjord, and it couldn’t have been more different. Instead of the isolated and stark majesty of glaciers we experienced the urban crush of Chile’s capital city. Not my favorite stop on the cruise, but interesting nevertheless. Here’s how it went.
We docked in the city of Valparaiso, once one of the world’s most important ports, but now more than a century away from those heady days when ships rounding Cape Horn stopped here before crossing the Pacific Ocean with their cargoes destined for Australia or Asia. The same applied to ships going in the other direction, but that ended abruptly with the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Hard times followed, but Valparaiso remains a major South American port, and I would have liked to spend some time exploring its hilly neighborhoods. However, with only one day here, we chose to go inland and visit Santiago.
Depending on traffic, Santiago is a little less than two hours from Valparaiso, and our early start meant that our bus reached the Chilean capital near the end of rush hour, a little after 9:00 am. Santiago is a big city, with a population of nearly seven million, and our tour guide wasn’t shy about telling us that the city suffers from overpopulation and pollution. Heavy traffic and smog will be two of my enduring memories, and the parts of the city we saw as our bus made its way downtown lacked the charm of other South American cities we’ve visited.
Eventually, we reached Santiago’s central plaza, the Plaza de Armas de Santiago de Chile, which like other South American cities we’ve visited, is ringed by several important buildings. The central post office, national history museum and municipal government office building all have interesting architecture, but the crown jewel is the Cathedral of Santiago de Chile. And while the exterior draws your eye, it’s the interior that really wows you. I’ll let my photos below do the talking, other than to say that I could easily have spent a couple hours there admiring the artwork.
A few of us also made a quick dash through the national history museum, though it wasn’t on our tour, and I’m sorry we didn’t have more time, because the displays looked interesting and I would have enjoyed a tour (by an English speaking guide, if they have one).
Then it was back on the bus, which transported us back to 1990 with a stop at a huge, multilevel shopping mall. Unlike so many American malls, this one is clearly thriving—bright, sparkling clean, and packed with the stores of major American and multinational brands. It was busy, too, which was impressive considering that we were there at midday on a Tuesday.
As it was lunchtime, we made our way to the large food court, where all of the big American fast food franchises were represented. Indeed, if this mall is any indication, American culture is alive and well in Chile. However, we took our guide’s advice and tried a local chain, where we could try the churrasco. Churrasco is grilled beef, and it is popular in many parts of South America. It can be presented in a variety of ways, and in our case it came looking a lot like a hotdog, though so covered with guacamole, mayonnaise and tomatoes that we could barely see the beef underneath. It was sloppy but absolutely delicious, and I’m glad I skipped McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and all the other U.S. chains.
After lunch we wandered around the mall, which has at least three levels, and possibly a fourth, for all I know. I could easily have gotten up lost, given how large it is, but fortunately Michele has a good sense of direction and got us back outside to reconnect with our guide and the bus.
From the mall it was a short drive to the city’s outskirts, where we visited a charming little village of craft shops. It was fun to stroll through the winding alleyways and poke around in the shops, where most of the items were crafted by the shop’s owners. Michele scored a cool hoodie in one shop, while I bought a handmade toquilla straw sun hat. I’ve been looking for one, as we’re going to be spending a lot of the next few months in places with hot, sunny weather. Besides, I really liked it.
Afterwards, it was back on the bus for the long ride back to Valparaiso and the Serenade. My verdict on the day: I’m not sure I’d do the same excursion over again if given the opportunity. Because of the travel time to and from Santiago, our tour ran a full eight hours, with stops at the city’s central plaza, a mall more American than some I’ve seen at home, and a craft village. Knowing what I know now, I’d probably pick an excursion closer to Valparaiso,where I could probably see more things in less time. Still, it was an interesting and full day in Chile, and we have another Chilean port of call tomorrow, which will be very different. Can’t wait. La Serena beckons, and I’ll be back with a report afterwards, so stay tuned.
Santiago’s central plaza has three large brass plaques in the walkways. They’re very old, and all three depict early versions of the city map. We were told that two of the three were pretty far off what the city looked like, but all three were impressive and fascinating.
The national history museum. Michele and I made a quick dash through it, and would have loved to spend more time admiring the exhibits.
Michele and I did have time to have our photo taken in the museum courtyard.
The fountain in the center of the plaza. What makes this fountain interesting is that it’s considered to be the center of Chile, kilometer zero, and all points in the country are measured from there.
It wouldn’t be the central plaza of a major South American city without a statue of a hero on horseback. This one honors Don Pedro de Valdivia, one of the nation’s founding fathers.
The cathedral from the plaza.
Closeup of the cathedral exterior. The Virgin Mary adorns the center.
It’s the interior that really blew me away. I could have taken a couple dozen photos of smaller shrines, paintings and stained glass windows. Actually, I did, but they would be too much for this blog post.
One more photo of a separate area of the cathedral. I really could have spent hours in here admiring the artwork and architecture.
Then it was off to the mall, which was nicer and more American than a lot of malls I’ve been in back in the States. I was reminded of the time a few decades ago when U.S. malls were in their heyday. This one is certainly going gangbusters.
We passed on the American fast food options and went with the churrasco, which is very popular here.
The verdict? Delicious, highly recommended. Ask for extra napkins.
Our last stop was at a handicraft village on the outskirts of the city. It was fun to wander around the narrow alleyways and poke around in the shops. Michele is smiling because she just bought a nice sweatshirt.
I’m really going to need a sunhat later in the cruise. I’m giving this one a hard look. What do you think?
Well, I bought the hat, and also sucked down a local beer. Hard to go wrong with beer brewed from glacier water.
Back to Valparaiso. The port city is packed onto the hillsides, where there are several operating funiculars.
Another view of Valparaiso from our ship in the harbor. I would have liked to spend some time exploring here.
One last photo from our ship. I thought this four-master was gorgeous.
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