With two days to tour Santiago, we hit the ground running when we got off the ship. Five buses of us to be exact!
The port was in San Antonio and we had an hour and a half bus ride to reach Santiago. Along the way we stopped at a local winery for wine tasting and a folklore show.
Back on the bus we reached Santiago and began our tour of the city. Santiago, with a population of over six million, is the capital and largest city in Chile. We had another fantastic guide who we were fortunate to have as our guide both days.
Santiago is a pretty city, but it was made clear to us from the beginning that safety was a concern. We stopped in a popular city center plaza and before we got off the bus, our guide said, “I beg of you. Please leave your jewelry and valuables on the bus”. This is the reason Bill and I always leave our wedding bands at home when we travel and wear no jewelry except our fitbit watches. Our guide also cautioned us about pickpockets who will grab wallets, purses and snatch cameras right out of your hand. They are clever and quick, including slicing handbag straps and grabbing handbags. When we got off the bus we were immediately joined by a plain clothes security guard who followed us around the plaza. Each of the five buses had their own guard. I believe I heard someone tell our guide there had recently been problems there with robberies and pickpockets. Our guard didn’t take his eye off us and kept a vigilant watch. We also noticed two policemen on horseback, policemen on foot patrol and a small police car able to easy navigate throughout the plaza. I guess five buses of tourists was a concern.
You may be wondering why we were even taken there. We visited a beautiful cathedral and there were many impressive buildings.
Life Sized Nativity Scene
The Monument to Pedro de Valdivia is a bronze equestrian statue in Santiago, Chile that honors the Spanish conquistador who founded the city.
The Tourist Office building was once the cells of the public jail until the end of the 18th century, while remodelling many forms of restraint were discovered along with instruments of torture.
The Central Post Office in Plaza de Armas has been remodelled three times. It was originally Pedro de Valdivia’s private home and served as the Presidential Palace until 1846.
Have ever seen a black necked white swan? We stopped by a pretty park to look at these unusual swans.
Gran Torre Costanera, 62-story Skyscraper
American Embassy
By now we were all getting tired and hot (86+degrees) and we were anxious to get to our hotel to get settled in and rest. We had a stop for a light lunch and entainment. 
That evening we had a nice reception with canapés and wine followed by a steak dinner. Entertainment was a fantastic series of folklore dancing.
The next morning after a buffet breakfast by the pool, we loaded the buses back up for a drive into the countryside to visit another winery. We have certainly learned on this trip that Argentina and Chile are very proud of their wine making and it is very good wine.
After a tour of the winery and time to sample wine, we had a huge early buffet dinner. We were then taken to the airport for our flight home.
It took us over ten hours to get home with one connecting flight in Miami. We were sad to see our trip end but at the same time glad to get home. After a month in the Southern Hemisphere where it was summer, it was a little disconcerting to come back to winter!
Thanks for following along. We have no future travel plans as of now but that tricky travel agent always manages to surprise us with something when we least expect it!
