costaricamia: Santiago - Up and Running

The first woman I met at the airport as traveling with this little pink unicorn stick horse, and you know most people would just titter, whisper and walk away. I had to ask, and I'm awfully glad I did because unicorn stick horse is a prop used by a world famous horse photographer who flies to photograph special horses (she had just finished taking pictures of the one who wond the last races, triple crown perhaps?). She has done this for such a long time that she now requires her customers fly her first class, and she carries on board this little stick horse. She was low key but full of energy and stories.

After my flight on United was cancelled because of weather in Chicago, I was put on Delta, which is my new favorite airline; they are accommodating, funny and efficient. I urge you to fly with them and see for yourselves. We arrived on the Delta flight even before I would have landed on United, and we left early and less of a connection in Atlanta, bringing me to Santiago at 8:20 this morning. I took the Transvio mini van into the city for $11.00 and was in the lobby, waiting for my Air BnB connection by 9:00. He didn't come, but his mother did, and she spoke no English and had forgotten her glasses, so we laughed at our feeble efforts to figure out our cell phones, shared photos of our grandchildren and bode our time until the daughter arrived and took me through the drill. The apartment is teeny but neat, on the fourth floor of an apartment building on Amunatequi, a little loud, but with the heater on, it is cozy as the dark settles over the city.

I took off in my sandals and socks and incredibly light but snugly parka Lisa gave me, and I walked to the Plaza de Armas where I went to the Museo Historical Nacional where every school age child seemed to be in tow with some bedraggled teacher who herded them along as best she could, as they used their cell phones to photograph those peculiar looking early inventions - the cameras! This is a painting of Bernardo O'Hjggins, a name j thought was rather funny for a Chilean heavyweight.

And there was a little diorama of a famous ruler's dog, which j thought was worthy of inclusion.

From this historical survey, all of which was free except for the small expense for the headset in English which ran out of battery power midway through the tour, I moseyed over to the Bella's Artes barrio where I ate lunch at the Cafe des Artes, at least that is what I think it was called, and then nipped into the museum which was chockablock full of old and new, all vying for space often on the same walls. Two of my favorites were these:

A woman related to Ponce de Leon, and this man who seems to be floating out of billowing black clouds, and I just wonder what the significance could be. His expression is worth noting, for what purpose, I cannot yet say.

I then walked over to Bellavista to Pio Nono Street which is where the night life seems to occur - WAY past my bedtime, but I thought it was interesting on this grumbly rainy, cold day, the joint is all set up for partying, making it look desolate but hopeful...

Finally, without offending anyone, I include two photos of the graffiti that met me at the beginning of my day and hit me at the end of the day. These are symbols of that universal word that seems to be a stand in for any old thing that strikes its user's fancy. Take a look.