Well, we don’t have 36 hours here in Santiago – only this day and an overnight. We combine essential sleep, a long walk home from the museum through the Lasstarria neighborhood with book stalls and colorful musicians, cafes and lots of young people walking the streets.
We are two hours ahead of NYC where we left last night on the over night flight. A driver transferred us to the hotel in center city. We sleep off the jet lag through the morning. I’m so tired I promise myself I don’t have to do anything for a day. The system works. We recover in about 4 hours and are ready to go by 2.
It is a remarkable experience at the renowned and finally renovated Museo de’l Arte PreColombino. Closed the last two times we were here, the collection and presentation do not disappoint!
The exterior of this renovated court house is almost on the Plaza de Armas, but we still find the entrance hard to find. A classic courtyard houses a gift shop of beautiful (heavy) books and a cafe. We pay 10,000 pesos for both of us to enter – my first transaction this trip. I think the cashier is returning the money to me when he pays me back 1,000 peso bill! Ah a mere 0! The education begins. 9,000 is $13. Got it?
I download the museum app thru their wifi system. This will be a helpful resource, tho all the information is bi lingual and well written. At each station, there is a bar code that is quickly scanned by my phone (I’ve never done this before) and audio descriptions play , tho the recordings don’t seem to distract other visitors.
The stairs lead us by an enormous slate gray map of the Americas that stretches from Alaska up on the ceiling to Tierra del Fuego that touches the floor boards. The pre Colombian cultures from Mexico to Patagonia are marked with red dots, while red wires encircle the combined cultures of the Maya’s, the Aztek and the Incas, among others. The rivers are a lovely pattern of cut away slips in the slab. This huge relief is lit by tiny bulbs that make shadows on the wall and ceiling. The crisp edges seem to blur in the photo!
The sophisticated Mochica culture (that we visited about 3 years ago north of Lima in Chiclayo and Trujillo) is carefully described. The ceramics are excellent specimens- the best in the world are here – a stunning a double jug with a bird propped on one side could be filled with water on side. When the mouth was blown, the sound of the water inside could warble and whistle.
The lower floor is for Chilean objects. Here small mummies are on view and the process is described. There is even a pre natal skull!
The surfaces of the ceramic a could be polished or smooth or rough creating different characteristics – for instance representing the skies versus the human condition.
An enormous quipu from the Inka culture is here with the Chilean objects. They could record over 15,000 items including what type of item it was.
We finish our visit with huge Mapuche carved wooden statues that look a little like the stones of Rapa Nui, Easter Island.
The beautifully presented rooms are a salve for jet lag.
We end our visit with a crystal clear mineral water and I have a coffee – my first since long before we left home.
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