South America 1

 Departed Atlanta for Viking S. American cruise Jan 30 arriving Santiago Chile early the next morning, weather there was warm, sunny and dry in the 90’s. After an early check in we joined up with a walking tour via Uber. The group, Americans mostly visited a few public buildings and churches, we were running on fumes having slept little on the flight.


As usual, pictures are not in chronological order, I have not mastered this program so I’ll just deal with it. This post covers departure thru day 3 of our cruise.

The day after arriving Santiago we explored on our own before heading to Valparaiso where we boarded Viking Jupiter. Santiago is nestled between to mountain ranges, Andes to the east and Coastal Range to the west, it’s hilly, on the largest hill is a statue of the Virgin Mary, we went up via funicular, great views of the city. Early afternoon we took a van to Valparaiso, about two hours and boarded Jupiter.


Hotel in Santiago.


Feb 4 was our 47th anniversary, had a nice dinner with friends we met on the cruise . A nice cabernet too.
With friends Paula and Ron from Cleveland.
In Valparaiso we toured to local volcanos and rivers. Above shows walkways over river rapids, it was very crowded, lots of people taking summer vacation.
More rapids.
Volcano bombed our selfie. Lots of volcanos in Chile, this one last erupted in 2006.
Tour included a boat ride on Emerald lake.



Old home in Valparaiso that is now an art museum.
Mask from natives who lived in the region before the Spanish arrived and conquered them.
Statue from Easter Island which is a possession of Chile. It’s 3000 miles away in the Pacific, we met people who planned to visit. It is still a mystery how first settlers arrived and from where. Also, how the statues were moved into position, there are over 500 around the edge of the island all facing inland. 
You can also take a cable car/gondola to the top of the hill in Santiago.
Church atop the hill in Santiago.
There is an area near the base of the statue of Mary where people leave tokens and light candles seeking blessings. There were thousands of beads, rosaries, bracelets, etc like on the wall above.
Same area, memorials to lost loved ones.
The racks hold candles the faithful place there.
The funicular.
View from hilltop in Santiago.


Several churches.


Presidential palace in Santiago.

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