Making up with Santiago

Yesterday Sara, another volunteer Martha, and I, did some more exploring around Santiago. We walked around the Bellavista neighborhood, a bohemian part of town with artesan fairs, shops, music, and one of Pablo Neruda´s houses. We were in search partly of the famous lapizlazuli, one of the minerals that´s mined here in Chile. Sara found herself a ring, Martha a necklace and earrings, and I've been collecting various pieces of jewlery to give away as gifts. I also found some great postcards displaying anti-government murals painted during Pinochet´s regime, before they were destroyed.

Sara and I have now seen 2 of the 3 houses Pablo Neruda had here in Chile. This one´s name is La Chascona, named for his third wife who apparently had crazy hair. "Chascona" is a slang word that means "bad hair day". All three houses were built to model ships; Neruda loved the ocean and ships, though he was terrified to be in a ship on the ocean. To his friends he explained it in these words more or less: "Why go out on the ocean, when you can get just as seasick on land?" Neruda was a facinating person, someone to look up when you get a moment. He was a poet rock star--because his poetry was so accessible and because he was so friendly and charismatic, he was immensely popular with the people in Chile. He could draw 80,000 people to a poetry reading, and really, who goes to poetry readings??

After lunch we went to an artesan fair...I don´t know what it is about artesanía, but I just can´t get enough. I taught a woman in one of the booths the names of her jewelry in English, and got flirted with at another booth ("pinchar", it´s called here in Chile) as I was buying some necklaces for souvenirs. We had fun, and no one tried to steal anyting from me, so I suppose Santiago and I can be friends again. Tentatively.