Day 9, Part 1: Santiago de Chile

The first time that I heard about the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos was when my friend Kyle wrote about it in her blog. I knew that if I ever went to Santiago I had to go see it. Maybe you've heard about the Coup d'etat in Chile during the 70's and Pinochet ruling the Country until 1990. This museum is about the abuses of the dictatorship and the lack of human rights during that time. When I was growing up in Colombia, I always heard about how horrible Pinochet was, but how good he was for Chile's economy. I was intrigued to learn more about it. I love history and I didn't know much about this period of time in Chile before visiting this museum. We learned a lot about Chile, Pinochet, and Allende. I bought a book that I have on my reading list. 

Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

The entrance to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

Outside the museum there was an exhibition of posters from the 70s. I'm not sure if this is permanent, but even before starting the tour I wanted to cry. Compared to the holocaust, the 3,000 "disappearances" in Chile is almost "nothing". However I don't think anything will ever be compared to the holocaust. 

There was something extra that made me love this place even more. My favorite Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, had an exhibition at the time of our visit to the museum. The paintings were about the tortures in the Iraqi prison of Abu Ghraib. I didn't know that Botero created a collection of paintings about it. You don't get to hear much about Abu Ghraib in the US. To learn more about Botero's Abu Ghraib paintings click here. 

Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib show in Chile

You can't take pictures inside the museum and there is so much that I want to show. I definitely recommend that if you are in Santiago, save a couple of hours in your itinerary to visit this museum. We spent at least 3 hours or more inside following the audio guide and watching the videos. It is free and there is a metro station (Quinta Normal) that is connected to the Museum. To read Kyle's post  and see her amazing pictures of the museum click here. 

Day 8: Back to Santiago De Chile

This was one of my favorite days of the trip. Not only because we were back in a City that we wanted to explore more, but also because we were meeting my friends Kyle and Emily for lunch. Lunch was also exciting because we were going to two of my favorite Colombian places. As soon as I heard that Hamburguesas el Corral had a franchise in Santiago I knew that I had to go. Juan Valdez Cafe is next to it so it was perfect after lunch.

Juan Valdez Santiago

After lunch, we went to Los Dominicos to see the craft's market. We took the subway to Los Dominicos station and after short walk we were at the market. We were still full from our big lunch and decided to see down for a while. We didn't do much shopping.  

Iglesia Los Dominicos

Centro Artesanal Los Dominicos

We took a taxi towards the entrance of Cerro San Cristobal. I was afraid to ride the funicular because of my fear of heights. I was relieved to see that I was confused with the teleferico and the funicular is not the hanging cable car that I'm so afraid of.  

The funicular had this sign saying that the pope rode the same car in 1987

Santiago from El Cerro San Cristobal

My favorite sight of Santiago: The Andes Mountains

This dog reminded me of Lola, Emily's dog, drinking from the fountain. I tried to make him drink from there, but he wouldn't do it. Andre gave him water in his hand until the dog was happy and left us behind.

We walked uphill to see the Virgin upclose. We couldn't see much of the City because of the fog (or pollution). This really reminded me of Bogota and El Cerro de Monserrate. Many things about Santiago made me feel at home. 

On our way down, we made a new friend. I bought him food and I ended up giving him half of my ice cream. This dog was adorable. I wanted to bring him home. 

The most famous Chilean: Condorito

When we were on our way to Cerro San Cristobal, the taxi driver showed us the street where Pablo Neruda's house, La Chascona, was located. We decided to go after we came down the Cerro San Cristobal. It was a very short walk and I was curious to see this famous poet's home. Unfortunately, we were too late for the last tour of the house. 

La Chascona

Sunset in Santiago

We kept walking and found a nice place called Patio Bellavista. We stayed for dinner and drinks. I did some souvenir shopping. According to our map, the closest metro station was a few blocks away across the river. We made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up walking a lot to get to the metro. It was a nice way to see more of this nice area of Santiago. We asked for directions and eventually found the station. We were pleasantly surprised to find that everyone in Chile was extremely nice to us. 

Day 7: Last full day in Buenos Aires

This was our last day in Buenos Aires and I didn't have the energy to walk as much as we did the first couple of days. During our trip to Colonia the day before, I started to get sick. 

We decided to walk Avenida de Mayo towards the Congress. The congress was absolutely beautiful. This is probably my favorite building in Buenos Aires. 

We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon shopping. We returned to Galerias Pacifico and Florida Street. 

For dinner, we got many different kinds of empanadas to take to our friend's house. We were happy to have seen everything that we wanted to see in Buenos Aires during our trip. I was sad to leave my friends behind, but happy to have spent 6 days with them. 

Martina, my friend's cat loved to sleep on the modem

Day 6: Colonia, Uruguay

On this day we took a ferry boat, Colonia Express, from Buenos Aires to Colonia. The trip was only one hour long across the famous Rio de la Plata. We woke up at 5:00 AM this day to catch the Ferry. I tried to stay awake to take pictures, but I was too exhausted. I took a short nap. When I woke up, my throat was in pain and for the rest of the day I couldn't talk.

Colonia del Sacramento is the oldest town in Uruguay. This historic quarter of this beautiful town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We decided to rent a gulf cart to see the City. I'm glad that we did since many of the roads were uphill and I was feeling sick.

Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento

Typical Street Lamps in Colonia

Inside the Basilica

Rio de la Plata

While we were taking pictures of the river a cute dog started to follow me around. She was very sweet and wouldn't leave my side. I was sad to get back on the gulf cart and leave her behind. We went to one of the restaurants near the main plaza to have breakfast. I was happy to see my new friend again at the restaurant. We asked the waitress if they knew her because she had a big cut on her leg. She told us that her name was Rosita and that the town veterinarian takes care of her and the other street dogs. We gave Rosita bread and she didn't eat it. We later found out that she only eats meat. Rosita is probably spoiled by all the tourist like us. 

My friend Rosita

Colonial City Gate

The most beautiful street in Colonia is La Calle de los Suspiros (Street of Sighs). I took many pictures of the colorful houses.

Calle de los Suspiros

The old Pier 

Colonia was my favorite City of our South American trip. It was beautiful and different to any other place that I've seen before. Make sure to plan a day trip to Colonia if you ever visit Buenos Aires.