As our first stop on the South American leg of the tour, we were very excited to touch down in Santiago. We were suffering a little as the result of a 16 hour time difference between NZ and Chile (meaning we landed before we left, despite an 11 hour flight) but were determined to press on regardless and make the most of our few days in the capital.

We were staying in the Barrio Brasil, the artsy (cheap) district, and on our first day we kept our explorations within that neighbourhood. Starving after the long flight, we grabbed empañadas for lunch – deliciously hot, although with surprise fillings including an olive and a slice of hard boiled egg. From there we ventured on to the newly-opened Human Rights Museum, which documents the period between Pinochet's coup in 1973 and his eventual defeat in 1990's first democratic elections in years. During this time, more than 3,200 people, including many children, were killed or disappeared and over 28,000 people were arrested, many of whom were tortured until they agreed to all manner of 'war crimes.' Over 1500 of these people are still missing, with no answers forthcoming as to their whereabouts. The floor to ceiling montage of their photos was very moving and served as a stark reminder of Chile's relatively recent dark past.

On a lighter note, the next day dawned bright and sunny and so we headed into the city centre proper to explore. As we wandered around the main squares, Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Libertad, we were struck by how familiar and strangely European it felt: surrounded by ornate buildings and statues of figures on horseback, we could easily have been in Madrid, Paris or Rome. Except perhaps for the Chilean flags adorning EVERYTHING, ready for the Bicentennial celebrations of the founding of the country on the 18th September. This was a pretty big deal – 5 days of national holiday were planned to mark the occasion, and there was a really festive atmosphere in the capital in the days leading up to the big day.

It was too nice a day for museums, and so instead we headed for the parks, starting with Cerro Santa Lucía. Formerly both a convent and a military bastion, today it offers one of the best viewpoints of the city, the snow-capped peaks of the Andes rising majestically behind modern skyscrapers. It's an impressive sight, and it's only up here that we got a feel for how vast and sprawling the capital is. From there it was on to the Parque Metropolitano, the largest open space in the capital. Its highest point is Cerro San Cristóbal, reached via a very rickety cable car. At the top we were greeted with yet more stunning views, and also an enormous open-air church, complete with statue of the Virgin Mary and slightly creepy choral music played from hidden speakers in the trees. Apparently during the Spanish conquest, crosses were often placed on top of hills to show that the area had been 'won' for Christ against the infidels, so I guess this is the modern-day equivalent.

The following day was a little more overcast: perfect for museums! We initially had little success on this front – the first place we went to (the Palacio Cousiño, one of the grandest houses in Chile) was shut for refurbishment, and the second (the Palacio de la Moneda, the site of Pinochet's 1973 coup) was closed for Bicentennial celebrations. But it was 3rd time lucky with the Palacio de Bellas Artes (art musum to you and me). The incredible building was modelled on the Petit Palais in Paris, and was built to commemorate Chile's centenary in 1910. To celebrate the bicentenary, there was an exhibition featuring artists from 20 different countries ruminating on what Chile meant to them. A lot of it was crap. Better were the portraits of the improbably-named Bernardo O'Higgins, who is considered one of Chile's founding fathers. We also paid a visit to the Precolumbian Art Museum, a collection of artefacts from civilisations which predated the Incas. We were fascinated by the chinchorro, cadavers subjected to a form of mummification where the internal organs were removed and replaced with plant matter, before the skin was sewn back on. Nice.

But probably the best bit for us about Santiago was just wandering around, trying out our pigeon Spanish and getting used to being in a new continent after more than 2 months in the 'familiar' Antipodes. We discovered several cafés con piernas (literally: cafes with legs) where the female waitresses don short skirts in order to show off their assets to the largely male clientele. The cafes grew up as a reaction to both the strict dictatorship and the conservative religious norms here, but today they just look rather sweet and innocent, especially in comparison to the exponentially more filthy strip clubs which have sprung up more recently.