Sunday 9am - Our teacher group is ready for an inspirational look to the past. We meet Andres and his daughter Paula who will be our personal guides for this retrospect journey. The chilean way of meeting is to beso everyone as we greet. It's a beso to the air while touching right cheek-to-cheek.
Andres is an ex-prisioner of the dictatorship regime who was held and tourtured during the 70s. His input on a first hand basis made the information come alive. The story of our tour today is best told by the pictures taken.
In a few words the tour started at Londres street where small marble tiles have been placed to commemorate the mudered men and women. Our group took a van with Andres and Paula to see the change of guards at the Presidential Palace (La Moneda). I have included a couple of videos that my roommate Grace graciously took. Enjoy!
We hopped into the van for the next place, the General Cementary. Andres mentioned the particular chilean way of configuring the tombs into a simulation city. One main part was the memorial walls with the lists of the dead who had been killed during the regime. Again the photos give a better description.
Once again we were driven to another location even more profound, it was to Villa Grimaldi. This location was the main torture center during the dictatorship. Andres and former president of Chile Michele Bachalete had been tortured here. The focus for Villa Grmaldi is to pass on the live stories to the next generation. Please view the pictures with this fact in mind.
4pm-Relax time, computer blogging, chit-chat 'til dinner.
7pm-Out to dinner to celebrate Ryan's birthday. All of us met at the lobby to walk to his choice restaurante DOS VACAS. After agood brisk half hour walk our surprise to see the restaurante closed! In order to not go in circles we asked at a hotel what good restaurants were open. The Castellanas was the recommended destination just a few doors down at the corner.
In we went with our birthday guy with anticipations of trying a typical chilean food. I ate the famous Cazuela de Ave (chicken stew/soup) as a few of us shared Ryan's Tres Medallas vino rojo (chilean red wine). Soon, Stephanie and Katie joined us since they had gone to Iglesia San Francisco for a short mass.
10:30pm- Lauren, Maureen and I took a taxi to get back to the hostel, the others were going to continue the night. Reflecting on today's inspirational tour along and the friendships I'm making has me thinking of how blessed I am to be in CHILE.
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