Amy's Rule, Fog, and An Awesome Mall

My first week in Chile endeth with a lot of walking, some climbing, some riding, lots of obscured views and a really big mall.  When I interviewed a retired officer this morning (yes, a Saturday!), it was beautiful.  So nice that Deadpool and Spider-Man swung by.  Then I went back to my hotel room and changed for a day of adventure.  As I left my hotel room, I realized my sunglasses were not necessary--the fog had rolled in. 

Do I continue my plan to go to the top of Metropolitan Park, complete with a big Virgin Mary statue OR do I skip that and find some museums?  Amy's rule kicked in--when you can climb while touring, do so (Amy is a close friend of my wife and they explored Europe together long ago when there was still a wall and there was not yet a Euro and Donald Trump just a frickin joke). 

So, off I went to test at maxim--you can't have a funicular without fun!  And it was a delightful ride up despite having a lousy view.  I then went on the paths and steps to get to the top, passing by a group of hip young folks swing dancing. 

Most brutal
pendulum

After seeing Virgin Mary covered in fog, I took the gondola to the other side of the park.  I got off at the wrong stop, but had a pleasant walk down the hill.  I checked out the Open Air Museum--a statue park with more dancers (belly), and then hit a mall.  No adapters for the strange Chile plugs (a row of three prongs), alas, but lots of choices of everything.  It was vast, and it tended to keep like stores together--sports clothes in one spot, electronics in another, etc.  One of the outdoor sporting clothes store was called Canadienne!  The food court and restaurants at the top were massive.  I got to watch the last 5 minutes of the Portugal-Uruguay game and then highlights of today's games as I feasted. 

What did I learn along the way or forgot to mention in earlier posts?

• There is a much higher likelihood of a busker (begger with talent) on a subway car here than anywhere else I have traveled.  They are friendly and vary in the aforementioned talent.
• The dogs tend to have coats, whether they are stray dogs or not.  Santiago is not that cold--30s-50s right now (yeah, I can do metric but I still think in F).
• Johnny Rockets was either amazingly popular or very slow or both.
• A recurring theme this week--lots of public displays of affection.  Unlike Budapest where it is concentrated on an island, I saw couples necking pretty much everywhere.  And the age range was broader than one might expect.  
• Twas easier to navigate Asian subways despite the foreign alphabets.  Yes, it is easier to read the signs here, but they tend to put in less than visible spots. Tonight's adventure was walking into a station that had signs for where line 6 was but was also a line 1 stop.  I had to ask for help.  Never had to ask for help in Tokyo or Seoul.

Anyhow, it has been a productive, enjoyable week with much awesome food.  Tomorrow, I try to ski in July to celebrate Canada Day.  Ok, to see the Andes up close and have some fun.  Ciao ciao.