Wake up at 8am, take a shower and have breakfast at 9am. There are a new group of travelers arrived in the B&B already, this round is all German. There is still an American couple who I got to know the past few days there at the breakfast. This two are actually quite interesting, I can tell you that the guy is either madly in love with his woman or he is just enjoying being the subordinate one. The woman kind of makes all the decision where they want to go everyday. Sometimes he would have some ideas what to do, but at the end, the woman gives a look, and then he will be like, or you might want to do something else, let's do what makes you happy. They are actually nice people, it is just something I notice.
After the breakfast, I pick up my backpack and head to the bus stop. Taking my return bus back to Santiago is easy and faster than the bus coming from Santiago. It takes less than 2 hours. My new hostel is in the Paris-Londres neighborhood, where is famous for its tiny street, perhaps like Paris. Taking the metro train to Universidad de Chile, walk for maybe 5 mins, I am there at the hostel. Easy. The room is not ready though, so I have to wait for another 15 mins before I can get in. After settling down, and get ready to go out, it is already 2pm. I am getting very hungry and need to find something to eat.
The busy streets of Santiago centro, people coming out from offices are hurrying in and out of restaurants, cafes, shops and buildings. Avienda Estados, the walking road, is as crowded as the Michigan Ave (in Chicago) on a Saturday or Causeway Bay (in Hong Kong). I look at a few restaurants, filled with people. I intend to go into a quiet one, so I can try to order without making a scene for not knowing what I am saying. At 2:30pm, nothing is called a quiet restaurant. It is getting into 3pm, at the end, I just satisfy my hunger at McDonald's again. My second McDonald's meal in South America.
Today's plan is to visit the Parque Metropolitano where has a small hill with the Virgin Mary statues at the peak, from there, there should have a clear view of the city and the snow cap mountains behind it. Santiago is a big city, and is surrounded by a good number of snow cap mountains, they look really majestic and dramatic almost. From Lonely Planet, I learn that there are two cable cars to go up to Virgin Mary (actually the place is called San Cristobal). It is recommended to take one way up and the other way down. So, I decide to go to the Providencia entrance, to take the cable car up and come back down to Bellavista entrance. First of all, getting to the Providencia, I get lost a couple times on the roads (because I try to hide my lonely planet map to pretend I am not such a tourist even though I really am). I just always pick the wrong directions to go and have to turn back after walking past 10 blocks to the opposite direction. Get to Providencia entrance, find out that the cable car on that side is not working today. Oh shit.
Don't want to head back to the metro, so I decide to walk to the Bellavista entrance along the side of the hill, on the map, look like there is a road, I keep walking and it gets to a point there is no sidewalk anymore. I keep walking on the road for a while, at least the road is kind of quiet, so I can walk on the road and no one bothers me until a bridge where looks more like a highway, I turn back and ask a guy standing under the tree if I am on the right direction. He said Si, just keep walking 6 more blocks going down that bridge thingy and then turn at that corner and 3 more blocks, you'd be there. He is very friendly and seems to be giving helpful advice, except when I walk further, there is really nothing to walk on, until I am walking with the car flying by. Instead of going down like he has suggested, I turn into the park area, and there is a gate locked, occassionally the guard let some cars to get through. I take out my Lonely Planet, and ask the guy how I can walk to the other entrance. He let me through and says walk down this path, 15 mins I will find it. I keep walking and walking, pass by a zoo and see no cable car for which I assume it is hanging on the sky. Turn out the cable car is on wheel over at this side, and I totally miss the cable car station. When I walk back to it, it's almost 4:40pm, I must hurry since I want to visit the Pablo Nerude's second house in Santiago too, which is just near by the park. Get my ticket to go up, see the views I expected to see, and there I am, right next to the immacculate Virgin Mary. The views up high is amazing, I have a coconut popsticle and then I head back down already. Get to Pablo Neruda's house, the daily English tour is over already, and one is only allowed to get in with a tour. So, I cannot visit the house after all.
It's getting onto 6:30pm, I am heading back to the hostel, hitting all the after work crowds on the metro, this woman with a hot and sweaty back (in a bad way) just stuck herself against my arm. Want to tell her, lady, this isn't cool, but I keep my mouth shut. Just get off at Universidad de Chile, find myself something to eat and then back to the hotel. Oh, I have also taken out CHP120,000 from my checking account for Easter Island too. That amounts in Pesos look huge but it's really only equivalent to US$220, probably not enough for my 3 nights in Easter Island, still have some US dollars left in my secret pocket, so hopefully I will spend less than US$300 on Easter Island. Flight to Easter Island is scheduled for 9:30am, I must get up at 5:30am and try to get to the airport before 7am by the airport bus.
More on Easter Island, I supposed.
Photos here: Day 46
