Last writings from Chile

I spent quite some time in Santiago while in Chile. When I stayed at Helene and Alex, who lives in the middle of a wonderful nowhere close to some mountains in the Maipo Valley 50 km south of Santiago, I went with them to Santiago in the mornings, so they could go working and I could go exploring...



Santiago is essential when trying to understand Chile. Just the fact that more than a third of the country's population is living in the city makes it important, but also the history and political influence is crucial. Santiago isn't easy to get in to as Paris or Barcelona. It doesn't have lots of obvious sites or characteristics, so you start out walking a lot without seeing much. After a couple of days of walking around, the city starts opening and then it kept showing new aspects.

I was particularly moved by the symbols, squares, museums etc. related to the coup in 1973 and Pinochet's dictatorship following it - not least Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, where I spent more than 3 hours, even if everything was in Spanish. I only knew little about this period before arriving in Chile, but it definately still affects the country immensely.





As the last of my writings from Chile, I want to say a million thanks for housing, fantastic company and terrific recommendations to Helene, Alex and Dante - and of course Bonini!


So goodbye to Chile for now - I'll be back!

Location:Somewhere in the air between Chile and Panama