Santiago - Day 4 (Final)

I spent my last day in Chile running errands, which is appropriate, as that's how I began my trip down here in the US.  Running around like crazy buying last-minute equipment and making sure all my bags were packed.  Luckily today wasn't frantic at all.  We had breakfast as usual, except with the addition of "medialunas" which are Argentine (and very similar to a croissant).

First, I went to a store that Ljubica owns and rents out to customers.  It used to be a laundry, but we were there to meet future renters that want to turn it into a supermarket.  It was neat to be in a different part of town and see the inside of a laundry (now closed).  From there, Ljubica dropped off Ricardo and I and we took the metro into downtown Santiago so we could run some more errands.

We went back to the Plaza de Armas, which we figured was touristy enough to sell post cards.  Sure enough, we rounded a corner and found some for sale.  I went into the post office with the post cards, wrote them, bought stamps, and sent them off.  Good riddance!   Hahaha...I love sending postcards to family and friends, but no lie, I think I wrote 50-60 of them this trip.  My hand hurts.  But it was neat to be in the old post office (and basically the main one in Santiago, maybe even the first one!).

Afterwards, we went into the Bank of Chile for Ricardo to send some money to Felipe, and I wandered around the lobby area.  Definitely the headquarters of the bank (the place was huge!) and still had the "old bank" feel.  I liked it a lot.

With nothing else to do, we walked some more and found a cafe for lunch, and at some caldo (basically chicken broth with cilantro, green onion, and egg; no egg for me, of course), and empanadas de pino (ground beef and onion) and queso (cheese).  It was very good, even for a simple lunch.  And made me feel better, since lunches are so extravagant here!  Haha.  We walked through a bunch of malls that connect the downtown, and it was kinda neat to see.  In this way, were able to walk all the way from the Plaza de Armas to a bus stop in front of the University of Chile by only going outside to cross streets.  The university, which Ricardo said he attended, was neat to see as well - it's the biggest one in the country.  We then headed back to Ñuñoa once the bus arrived.

There, I made sure I had everything packed, relaxed a little, and had a snack of banana and honey (miel) from the Chilean palm trees we passed on the way back from Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.  Delicious!  Wish I could bring some back, but I'm pretty sure you can't bring anything like that into the states (as in raw plant / animal products).  Oh well.

And so now I'm just getting ready to leave.  Ljubica will come back from her parents' house in a few minutes and we'll head to the airport, and then my plane leaves at about 8 PM eastern time.  And at 5 AM, I'll be back in the states and in Miami.  Hard to believe this adventure is coming to a close...it's been a fantastic one.