Jan. 5



Today was a bonus day in Santiago. We were originally supposed to fly to Santiago on Jan. 2, but Air Canada cancelled the flight and rebooked us on the Jan. 1 flight. So today was open to do whatever we chose to do. 

We put in a lot of steps over the last few days and even though I was wearing a pair of sandals that I have worn a lot, I developed a major blister on my left foot. We were unable to find a store around the hotel that had bandages after we returned from our trip to Valparaiso yesterday, so a trip to the mall was the top priority for the day. 

Uber is easily accessible and very reasonable in Santiago, so we ordered one this morning. You put your destination address in the app and request a ride. Drivers who are in the area are shown in the app with the price to the destination displayed. You choose what level of service/ size of car you want and confirm your selection. You then receive the profile of the driver, a description of the vehicle and the license number. Your credit card information is stored in the app for easy payment. You can even add a tip through the app. 

The mall was a 15 minute drive from the hotel. The road by the mall was blocked off for bikers and joggers. This is common on Sunday mornings in many South American cities. However, the driver was able to get us right to the mall. 

It is a large mall with 5 floors and is still beautifully decorated for Christmas. Most stores were offering substantial sales. Every time you make a purchase using a credit card, there is a prompt for full payment or installments. I have no idea what the interest would be, but it seems like a quick way to stay permanently in debt.

We returned to the Lastarria area for dinner, this time at Casa Lastarria. We shared a meal of shrimp in a garlic sauce, a flat iron steak and a salad. Back to the hotel to pack and get ready for boarding the ship tomorrow. 

This is Neptune’s Fountain on the south end of Cerro Santa Lucia that we pass on the way to Lastarria. 

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