11th & 20th February 2011 – Punta Arenas
Magallanes Province, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region.
Chile’s mainland southernmost city, located on the Brunswick Peninsula.
Friday, 11th February 2011
Tony in front of a monument dedicated to Ferdinand Magellan in the main square, Punta Arenas. Magellan is stood on top, while the monument is adorned at a lower level by statues of Patagonian natives. Ferdinand Magellan (1468-1521), Portuguese explorer who found a passage to the Pacific for the Spanish. The Strait of Magellan is named after him.
View across Punta Arenas main square. The Ferdinand Magellan monument is located in the centre.
Sunday, 20th February 2011
Tony back in Punta Arenas after visiting the Falkland Islands.
Tony sat on the front of a 4×4 car belonging to a fellow traveller from Switzerland, outside the hostel.
21st-23rd February 2011 – Santiago de Chile
Santiago: Chile’s sprawling capital city is divided into ‘comunas’ which are similar to large suburbs, each with their own city council.
Monday, 21st February 2011
Monument to General Manuel Baquedano (1st January 1823 – 30th September 1897 – aged 74). Located in Plaza Italia. The monument is topped by a cast of General Baquedano sat on horse back. Manuel Jesús Baquedano González was a Chilean soldier and Chief of Government, who served as Commander-in-chief of the Army during the War of the Pacific (14th February 1879 – 20th October 1883) between Chile, Peru and Bolivia.
Tony in front of a statue of an angel holding a torch standing alongside a lion, Plaza Italia. This monument is intended to symbolise the friendship between the peoples of Italy and Chile and dates from 1910.
Tony travelling on a funicular cable railway that takes people up San Cristóbal Hill (Cerro San Cristobal). San Cristóbal Hill is located in northern Santiago. The forest clad hill rises 880 metres above sea level and is about 300 metres above the rest of Santiago. The hill is home to Santiago’s largest public park, known as Parque Metropolitano (Metropolitan park).
Building housing the top entrance to the funicular railway with gargoyles on the roof.
Tony with a great view of across Santiago.
Another excellent view across the sprawling city.
Statue of Laura Vicuña (1891 – 1904). She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
Up hill above Tony is a 22-metre (72-foot) high Virgin Mary statue at the peak of San Cristóbal Hill (Cerro San Cristóbal).
Tony in front of a monument depicting Jesus on the cross.
Tony by a stone memorial in Parque Metropolitano.
Looking up at the Virgin Mary statue.
A dog sleeping near the base of the Virgin Mary statue – the dog is real!
Tony leaning against the base of the Virgin Mary statue.
Tony outside the chapel “La Maternidad de Maria”.
Tony by a small fountain outside the chapel.
Tony sitting outside the chapel’s doorway by a statue of Saint Teresa of the Andes.
Another statue on the opposite side of the doorway.
Inside the chapel. Looking down the aisle towards the altar.
Another view of the large Virgin Mary statue between the trees.
Tony back at the funicular railway building in Parque Metropolitano.
Waiting to board the funicular railway.
Tony at the other entrance to the funicular railway at the foot of the hill.
Tony sitting on a bench.
A wall in a side street decorated with graffiti. Located in Barrio Brasil, a bohemian neighbourhood and university area in downtown Santiago.
More interesting graffiti artwork on a wall.
La Chascona, one of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s three houses. Located at Márquez de la Plata 0192, near the end of Pio Nono and built on Cerro San Cristóbal itself. The home is open to daily guided tours, except Mondays.
Barrio Bellavista (Bellavista Neighborhood) is an area that lies between the Mapocho River and San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile. It is known as Santiago’s bohemian quarter, with new hip restaurants, boutiques, and avant-garde galleries occupying loft spaces and lordly mansions that punctuate tree-lined streets awash with colourful antique homes. Many of the city’s esteemed intellectuals and artists live in Bellavista, following in the footsteps of its most famous denizen, Pablo Neruda.
Exterior of a building painted with colourful graffiti.
The architecturally interesting La Casa Roja Lehuedé at Plaza Camilo Mori, Barrio Bellavista. The house was built in 1923 for Don Pedro Lehuedé by architect Frederick Bieregel. Today it is an art gallery and cultural centre.
Tony at Patio Bellavista. A plaza surrounded by cafés, restaurants and small shops, many specialising in art and crafts. Located in Barrio Bellavista.
A sculpture in Barrio Bellavista.
A covered plaza outside the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral. Hanging from the ceiling in the centre is an artwork that looks like a giant fish.
The Catholic University of Chile (Universidade Católica do Chile) with a statue of Christ with arms outstretched on the roof.
Tony holding a pet guinea pig named Lucy in the back courtyard of Don Santiago Hostel.
Painted walls in the hostel’s courtyard.
Tuesday, 22nd February 2011
A busy pedestrian street.
A fountain outside Santo Domingo church. Santo Domingo church (Iglesia de Santo Domingo) is located on the north edge of Santiago’s Centro Historico. The church’s origins date back to 1557, although the present building was built in 1747. The façade is austerely decorated with effigies of saints, and is crowned with two matching bell towers incorporated in 1808.
The side of Santo Domingo church.
Fountain in Plaza de Armas, Santiago’s main square, in the downtown Centro Histórico district. The plaza was once a military training ground, hence its name. Kilometre zero is located here, the point from which all distances in the country refer to. The plaza contains several notable buildings, plus fountains, sculptures, palm trees and a great spectacle of charlatans and bystanders held in the midst of local chaos.
Tony by the fountain, palm trees behind.
View across the plaza.
Looking towards the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago (Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago) and a tall glass-clad office building located along side.
Another view of people in Plaza de Armas.
Tony outside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. Four different churches have been constructed on the site of the cathedral. The present one was built between 1748 and 1775. However, the ornate façade wasn’t completely finished until 1906.
The cathedral, located in the city’s historic centre, faces Santiago’s Plaza de Armas and stands near the Palacio Arzobispal de Santiago, the administrative centre for the archdiocese. The cathedral is also close to the Parroquia El Sagrario, a Catholic temple and a Chilean national monument.
Tony outside the cathedral by a statue of Cardinal José María Caro Rodríguez, a former Archbishop of Santiago.
Tony by a pair of statues inside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
Base of an altar dedicated to Saint Teresa of the Andes, decorated with many flowers.
Looking up at the altar (Saint Teresa of the Andes).
Tony inside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
An altar adorned with silver decoration. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
Inside The Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
Another altar. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
Tony inside the cathedral.
Tony in front of a large tomb decorated with a metal-cast lion. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.
Tony with a Colombian guy he met in the cathedral. Behind is an unusual statue dedicated to Chile’s indigenous peoples.
Tony in front of Correo Central – Central Post Office – on Calle Rosas, north side of Plaza de Armas.
In front of the Former National Congress Building (Ex Congreso Nacional).
Tony in Plaza de la Constitucion (Constitution Square). Lots of Chilean flags.
Tony outside the Moneda Palace (Palacio de la Moleda). Seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. A neoclassical designed building, construction of which began in 1784. It opened as a colonial mint (‘moleda’ means coin in Spanish) in 1805 while still under construction. The palace became the seat of government and presidential residence in 1843 during Manuel Bulmes presidency. Plaza de la Constitucion was added on the north side of the palace in 1930.
Moneda Palace.
View across Plaza de la Ciudadanía (Citizenry Square), a new public square on the south side of the Moneda Palace. Construction began in 2004 and it was inaugurated in January 2006.
Looking towards an enormous flag pole flying the Chilean flag in Plaza de la Ciudadanía. The flag is contested as the World’s largest.
Tony in front of a statue of Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma, 18th president of Chile, first between 1920 and 1924, and then again in 1925, and finally from 1932 until 1938. Born 20th December 1868 and died 24th August 1950.
A closer look at the very large Chilean flag.
Tony by a fountain (a cascade of water) in Plaza de la Ciudadanía.
Tony in front of the fountain with the Colombian guy he met in the cathedral.
Outside the Centro Cultural Palacio de la Momeda (La Moneda Palace Cultural Centre) – a large underground cultural facility.
Wednesday, 23rd February 2011
Tony and Anna, a fellow traveller from the US, taken in the main lounge of the Don Santiago Hostel.
Tony lying down, the wall behind decorated with photographs, art prints and maps. Don Santiago Hostel.
The same room with more decoration on the walls and musical instruments.
Tony at the bottom of a staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Don Santiago Hostel.
Tony inside an impressively decorated bathroom/toilet. Don Santiago Hostel.
Colourful tiles and other decoration.
Tony outside Don Santiago Hostel, preparing to leave. Hostel staff seeing him off!
23rd and 24th February 2011 – Isla Negra, Chile
23rd February
Isla Negra is a coastal town in central Chile. It is located about 95km (60 miles) west of Santiago. The town is known for being the residence of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904 – 1973). The area was named by Neruda himself, after the dark outcrop of rocks just offshore. Isla Negra means “black island” in Spanish. Neruda’s house (Casa de Isla Negra) is now a museum.
Tony on a road, near “La Locura del Poeta” Eco Hostel, where he stayed. He is with Sandra, the hostel manager, a man and two young girls, all local Chileans.
Tony with Sandra, another woman, the man, and one of the girls.
View along the unpaved sandy residential road lined with trees.
Tony with a woman at the side of the road.
A tall thin wooden sculpture of a man with a long beard. This is at a house located five-minutes walk from the hostel – a kind of hippy arts centre.
Tony touching a wooden sculpture of a pregnant woman.
Another view of Tony by the pregnant woman sculpture.
Tony in the sculpture garden with a local man and girl, plus two dogs.
Tony by another wooden sculpture – a female nude.
Tony spinning a large wooden disc, which is attached to a tree.
The wooden disc again. It has stopped spinning, so it is now possible to see various shapes that are carved into the front and painted in various colours.
Tony holding a life-sized wooden eagle. Its spread wings are hinged and attached to cords so it can be made to bob up and down as if in flight.
Tony by another female nude.
Tony playing drums inside the house where the sculptures are located. The local kids practice their music there. A boy is sitting at the side holding a guitar.
A closer view of Tony at the drum kit.
A teenage boy and girl: the girl is holding a microphone and the boy playing guitar.
Another guy playing guitar.
Looking from behind Tony, who is tapping a drum and cymbal.
A group photo in the music practice room: Tony, a man and woman, and six teenagers.
Back at the hostel. Sandra and another lady.
Tony sitting on a cushioned seat inside the hostel. Assorted ornaments, rocks, and other objects are behind him.
Tony holding a wooden piggy bank.
A patio area outside the hostel. A table and chairs with a sun umbrella in front.
The main entrance into the hostel.
Tony and Sandra inside the hostel.
Tony with Sandra and two girls on a small wooden bridge in front of the hostel.
24th February
Tony in a courtyard area at the former residence of poet Pablo Neruda. The site is now a museum. Around the wall there is a mosaic depicting fish.
Tony in front of a number of bells of different sizes, which are hanging from a framework of wooden beams. The sea can be seen behind.
Tony on a sandy path that leads from Pablo Neruda’s house down to the beach below. A ship’s anchor sits at the side of the path further down.
Looking towards the house. Tony in front of some plants by a path in front.
Tony with other visitors at a lookout point. The sandy beach, rocky shoreline, and the ocean beyond, can be seen.
The grave of Pablo Neruda and his wife Matilde Urrutia located near the house.
Tony in front of a white-painted wooden boat located immediately next to Pablo Neruda’s house.
Tony sitting on a wooden fence. The same bells as previously are in front. A large bell is in the centre with several smaller ones at either side. A good view across the beach below.
An old English-made steam engine outside the house.