It turns out, we were better adjusted to our new “home” than we thought we would be considering we flew in on a red eye just yesterday morning. I set an alarm for 830am, and that is what woke us up. We gradually made our way downstairs for a basic breakfast before heading back onto the streets to find the clinic that we had scheduled for covid tests. It is not required to enter the country of Chile (even though Nicole was gifted with that random bonus test yesterday). We are, however, required to provide a negative PCR test for Rapa Nui within 24 hours before boarding. The process was efficient, albeit a bit deep. We had our results within four hours, a feat that after 2+ years is still not perfected or reliable in the United States.
With another test under our belts, Nicole still needed to find a belt. I had done a little bit of research and found a handicrafts market to the east of the city in an area called Los Dominicos. It’s at the end of the L1 metro line and situated in the foothills of the Andes. Considering how far away it is, it was actually fairly easy to get to.
It was actually larger than I had imagined. It wasn’t too crowded, which was nice, and nobody was pushy for sales. It made for a fairly relaxed atmosphere. We ended up buying a handmade wooden head of one of the moai from Rapa Nui. While it may seem an odd purchase in Santiago, I was reminded of the fact that Rapa Nui itself didn’t have a lot of shops and such when I was there last time. It was cheap enough at the market in Santiago, that we can buy another later if desired. At least we have one that is handmade in Chile as opposed to China.
We took a break for a light lunch at a cafe inside the market area. They served mostly traditional food, and I ended up getting an empanada that seemed to be filled with whatever they had kicking around in the kitchen. It had some carne asada, a hard-boiled egg, lots of onions, and a single olive inside. It was a fully balanced meal if you will, all washed down with a coke with real sugar.
We then tried to resolve Nicole’s belt issue. There were a couple places that were selling handmade leather belts, but the sizing was a bit of an issue. They appeared to be made for larger waists. I inquired a gentleman if he had any shorter ones, but he said no. He later told us that he was able to cut certain styles to be more tailored to Nicole. That is the option we eventually went with. After using various tools, punching new holes, and doing something with a flame and hammer to refasten the belt buckle, Nicole had a custom leatherbelt for the sum of $15. You probably can’t even find a belt for that price at a Target, and definitely not one that’s actual leather.
Pleased with our purchases, we made our way out of the market and lingered for a spell near a church near the entrance to the market. I thought it looked nice with the snow-capped mountains in the background. I cannot emphasize enough how confusing the climate is here. Palm trees line many of the plazas and yet there’s a definite chill in the air.
We rode the metro back to our hotel to relax for a bit and made sure we have everything ready to go for Rapa Nui tomorrow. Being at the tip of the spear of their reopening, we are finding some conflicting information on what’s required and what isn’t. I get the feeling we won’t know for sure until we are actually there. We got dinner nearby at an Italian restaurant. There are a large number of Italian eateries around here, so we didn’t have to look far. Nicole had her first margherita pizza of the trip. I had some lasagna and a local red wine.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel to try and figure out rental cars for Rapa Nui, a nearly impossible task since their websites don’t work and no one was picking up the phone. In any event, we were able to print off our covid test results (negative by the way), and we should hopefully have everything we need for our journey tomorrow.
passports & pepto bismol 