Final Day in Santiago

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day in Santiago - perfect for a day of exploring on our own. We checked out of the hotel at 10, and after taking a few photos on the street my new friend Jaime met me to take me to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. It's a fairly new museum documenting the human rights abuses of the Pinochet era, from 1973 to 1990. It is a beautiful space with incredibly moving exhibits, which I'm sure would have had even more of an impact if I had a better grasp of Spanish. Jaime helped explain a few things, though. It was a great experience which I would recommend to anyone visiting Santiago.

Next we went to the Cultural Center at la Moneda, the presidential palace. This is an underground collection of galleries, the national cinema, and restaurants. We had lunch there and looked at a Chilean craft exhibit a gallery before Jaime had to leave. On my own I explored the temporary exhibit of Art of the Americas. There was some great stuff there, including a Keith Haring "Free South Africa" piece.

When I left the cultural center I had about an hour for shopping before we needed to reconvene at the hotel. I finally went into the Santa Lucia craft market, and I discovered it was very big and really good. I ran out of time before seeing everything.

Everyone showed up on time at the hotel. We packed up our last-minute purchases and loaded the bus for the airport. Upon arrival we encountered a ridiculously long line for check-in. When my turn came, I had a very flirty Delta agent. Apparently he liked me - he gave me 5 free drink vouchers! Unfortunately, I couldn't use them on this trip. Well - I really _could_ have used them, but I wasn't allowed due to the fact I was working. Now I will have to fly somewhere else on Delta this year just to get the free drinks!

We made it to the gate with about 15 minutes to spare, where many of us used the rest of our Pesos to load up on Duncan Donuts.

I counted everyone from the group get on the plane, then counted again once we were on. I didn't want to leave anyone behind - but it was difficult to count because we were spread all over the plane. Indeed, everyone was accounted for, and we finally took off over the brilliantly lit city of 5.5 million people.

The rest of the trip is kind of a blur... There was an airplane meal of chicken, an uncomfortable, fitful sleep, an unappetizing breakfast sandwich around 4:00, a really, really long immigration and customs process, an uneventful layover, and another short flight. Now we're on the bus about 15 miles from Bloomington. Part of me wishes I were still in Sunny warm Santiago, but I will be glad to see Barry, Gromit, and Lefty again very soon.

Stay tuned for a recap of my Chilean gastronomical experience, a couple of short videos, and links to Facebook photo galleries. I may also add links to some of the places I visited.