Museo Chileno de Arte Precolumbiano, 1

The cultural highlight of our visit to Santiago was the national museum of pre-Columbian art, off the Plaza de Armas. Pre-Columbian art is a subject about which we knew little, but learned much, and were quite impressed. The museum is organized into "Chile before it was Chile," temporary exhibits, and the larger permanent collection which is primarily South and Meso-American. The display and organization are superb. And in English, too.

In "Chile before Chile"

Large wooden scultpture, Birth of Venus pose

Eyebrows and nose thus depicted; Picasso?

Exactly like the things one might see among
Maori artifacts in New Zealand; in jade too

Silver

Remember these earrings

Chileans began the practice of mummification
about 6,000BC, some time before the Egyptians

Snorting device and bag for snorts (used by
shaman, so it said)

Exquisite textiles

Late stone age geometrical figures, ritual use

For us, the piece de resistance...a real quipu...

No Rosetta Stone as yet found

Closer up

Moving upstairs to the permanent collection

Look familiar, Rebecca? Dancing figures

I know almost nothing of ceramics, but these works struck me
as comparable to pre-Classic Greek items we have seen; same age

Wait a second... I didn't think they did wheels in this hemisphere

Similar to Greek

Ditto

Wearing flayed skin; one of the more charming
practices

Modeling new head-gear fashion

Santiago Food: The Bad And The Ugly

Poetic license...we didn't actually eat any of these offerings, although I think the sandwich I had in Puerto Varas was in fact one of the heart-attack-on-a-plate variety...

Never did figure out what this was

Not to disparage street food, but the hand-cranked ice shaving
machines everywhere were interesting

Hearty fare

Most of these shops were around the Plaza de Armas

Mussels

Pizza is the most adaptable of food

Leonardo-style pizza?

KFC struggling to keep pace

You saw it here first: meat-filled wraps with Cheetos...crunchitos!

Santiago Food: The Good

One evening we walked over to Bellavista and a nice restaurant,
Elado

And had perhaps our most decadent meal yet;
here the remaining grilled provolone so beloved
in Argentina and Chile

My Arrullado Huasco...pork loin baked in a huge roll of pork 
fat; two full-grown potatoes that I didn't even touch

Her enormous steak au poivre

Enough frites for a family; it's the portion-sizes
that are decadent

The art work all around was great

Another day we went to the Central Mercado, which is these
days pretty much seafood market and restaurants

Still life

19th century market building 

Several restaurants

We opted for a little hole-in-the wall place

Where I had the best ceviche ever, a whole meal, mixed fish
and shellfish; not pictured: Vicki's frites; the menu advertised
both chicken and beef dishes, but the waiter said they really
don't do anything but seafood...

We also ate at the Tony Roma's at the Costenara Center another day, but didn't take any pix...except of the whole floor of the shopping center that was a food court.