Santiago de Chile 03.02.2023

After arriving in the intense heat of Santiago, we took a quiet day. Franziska was at work and we enjoyed her apartment. Karin visited the pool and I wrote. Around noon, we set off to do some shopping in Providencia, as Karin's attempt to shop around the corner was not successful. So there are two small shops here at Franzi's, like mini supermarkets. They also sell coffee and snacks, as their main customers come from the office building right next door. We have seen such small shops several times on our trip. The opening hours are usually aligned with the working hours in the high-rise building. Unlike the malls, these shops are never open on Sundays. They are like an external canteen. It's interesting to watch how people with their access cards for entering such an office tower gather around these shops during their breaks. Talking, smoking, eating, and drinking, many people in suits or other office outfits stand there with cards around their necks, taking a break.

On the other hand, we walked towards the supermarket to post our postcards and buy dinner. Along the way, we came across a street vendor pushing his offer (peaches, avocados, lemons) in a shopping cart through the streets. Of course, he also had a scale with him, which he placed on the sidewalk and calculated everything precisely. During this time, we got in touch with another customer who could explain to us in English that there were no more mailboxes. She couldn't remember the last time she consciously saw one. That's when you realize that with our quirk (the kids love the colorful cards from around the world!), we're pretty far from reality in the times of WhatsApp and Facebook. Who knows how long there will even be mailboxes? She recommended going straight to the post office, but that was too far away for us! We made it to the supermarket before heading back home, fully loaded.

The dinner, without meat and fish, tasted good and Franziska was delighted with the ready-made meal her mother had cooked. And she particularly liked the shared meal. On the balcony, which was always comfortably cool in the evening, we began the search for tomorrow's tour, of course, as always, with a chilled Pisco in hand!