Traveling Tonya: Nov 13 - Chile, here I come!

So, I'd been in Chile less then 1 hour, and I had already lost three items from my luggage. I only brought a carry-on bag and backpack so everything I have is critical.

First, I left a pair of underwear and a tank top at my nieces in Virginia, then I left my winter coat on the plane. I bought replacement tank top on the way to the airport, but it's not nearly as good. I bought a windbreaker in Santiago. I'm hoping that, with 32° long underwater, I will be warm enough when we go south ans hit really cold weather. That, or my coat shows up.

Only 2 of us are going on the two extensions; everyone else is just doing the main trip. Luckily, I like Mary Jo, since we will be spending a lot of time together.

After settling in our rooms, we went for a walk. We took an elevator to the lookout deck of the Gran Torre Santiago, at 64 stories, it is the tallest building in South America. The lookout deck is on the 61st & 62nd floor. The view was amazing. It was a little confusing at first where things were, but in the end we got a better perspective of Santiago in short time.

Three city is huge - over 7M people!

1st half of the city - includes the old part

Newer part, on the other side of the river

Despite the size, their urban planning is fantastic. I didn't see any traffic jams. They make use of tunnels both for driving underground, as well as limiting "crosswalks". There were parks on top of some of the tunnels. What was interesting was the tunnels with grates overhead. Maybe to let the air or light in? I'm sure there's a purpose.

That's it for today. Tomorrow we're on to San Pedro de Atacama in the northern part of the country. It's almost 8,000 feet above sea level. (Coca tea, here I come!)

Bonus pictures: