Sabbatikos

It looked to be another hot and humid day in Santiago, so we decided to head first to Cerro Santa Lucia and hike to the top of Fort Hidalgo for exceptional views of the city. While only 226 feet above the surrounding area, the steps and steep and uneven the hike proved hard (and hotter) than we had anticipated. But the views from atop were an ample and well-earned reward.

While the breeze atop Fort Hidalgo was cooling the sun was quickly melting our resolve. We retreated down the many winding passageways exploring the gardens, churches, statues and fountains along the way.

Clara had heard about the Museo Violeta Parra, because she had studied the folk artist in a “Protest Music” class she had taken in high-school. It seemed to be only a short walk away through the neighborhood of Lastarria on our way to Bellavista where we had caught the funicular to the top of Cerro San Cristóbal the day before.

We arrived where Apple Maps had told us to go, but we couldn’t find the entrance to the museum. We asked a nearby shopkeeper and he pointed around the block, saying the entrance was on the other side. While there was some graffiti and poster art denoting this as the site of the museum, it didn’t appear to have an entrance or a sign with hours. It was very confusing. We rang the bell of where thought the museum was but it turned out to be an apartment building and the residents insisted the museum was just down the street or around the block, depending on who we talked to. It was a mystery, especially since we could see the poster denoting a new exhibit from March 1st – 31st. Today was March 2nd…

The building we believed to be the museum looked like it had burned. Which was odd because we had walked past a burned down church on our way here. As we walked around the block looking for another entrance we found another burned out building. We were flummoxed and decided to continue walking further into Lastarria and find a place to sit down, have a pint, and consider our options.

As we rested in the shade and cooled ourselves with a cold cerveza Cristal, we did a quick Google search on fire and Museo Violetta Parra and found out the poster was from March of 2020, not 2024, when in February of 2020 protesters set it (and other buildings) afire during the Plaza Italia riots.

We finished our cerveza and continued our walk towards Bellavista to get some lunch and visit the Casa Museo La Chascona of Pablo Neruda. While walking through Bellavista’s shops and boutique we stopped and purchased several souvenirs along the way, such as this little chanchito:

After shopping, we stumbled upon Selvado for a fine lunch of pisco sours, fried plantain balls, and fresh tuna carpaccio.

After lunch we walked up the street to visit the home of Nobel prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda. While pictures weren’t allowed inside his home, they did allow pictures outside. Highly recommend this interesting self-guided tour of a fascinating man who led a fascinating life and an important contributor to the politics and history of Chile.

We returned to our hotel for a quick rest before heading out to Pinpilinpausha, a fantastic restaurant where we enjoyed a fusion of Chilean and Spanish dishes.