Santiago Week Four - Murals and Ferias

This week I passed by one of Pablo Neruda's three houses; La Chascona, in the bohemian Bella Vista neighborhood. It's
two blocks from my spanish classes. The museum is closed
on Mondays, to my luck, but I'll return this week for a look
inside. I'm told he was a packrat with beautiful collections,
which doesn't surprise me at all, given his incredibly refreshing odes to ordinary objects. One of my favorite poems is Ode to An
Artichoke.

This photo is of the upper portion of the house; it must have some four floors. It's on one of
the very steep hills (cerros) that dot Santiago.



Non-wealthy Santiago is full of murals. This is Bella Vista, on the main street with all the pubs, which is thick with tourists during the day. I've seen less homeless people than I expected.







One of the tourist areas - little shops/posts with silver work, boots, copper trinkets, traditional indigenous knittings and weavings...

Few posts were open that Monday, and the beautiful murals
on the doors (?) were revealed.





Wednesdays I go to the Feria with my Aunt or her friend whom I get along wonderfully with.
How much do you think I can get with $13?

1 Kilo Tomatoes
5 Peach yogurts (yum!)
2 Kilos "Banana" Peaches (I really like peaches, if it's not clear).
1 Kilo Grapes (they still have frost on them. right off the vine.)
1 Zucchini
1 rather large Avocado
2 chunks Carribean Pumpkin (the every-day savory pumpkin here.)
1 soap holder
1 large good quality but inconspicuous tote bag with a zipper and outer pocket (necessary for some parts of town).
1 small bag with lots of pockets, also good quality. Perfect because it can be worn across the body, with lots of space inside, but again, inconspicous. It acheives the balance of practical invisibility by being neither ugly nor expensive.

As you might imagine, it is terribly difficult for me to justify buying anything from the shopping malls in the wealthy districts here. All I can think is: Look at that price tag! I could find that for 1/4 the cost in a feria.

Needless to say, Chile is a fabulous place for fruit addicts. My skin hasn't turned orange from excess beta carotene yet, but I'm probably pushing it.