Barb joins us for Day 3 in Santiago.

     Dan and Jay were up and out by 6 AM to meet sister Barb at the airport.  Her flight from LAX included a stopover in Lima, Peru, so she was ready for a nap when they got back to the hotel at 7:45.  We  had a relaxing morning in the hotel and picked up Mauricio at 11 AM for a quick trip to "the MALL".  As Mauricio  says, "GUAU" - - translation WOW!  It was the biggest mall we'd ever seen.  Three levels and every standard mall store we know, like GAP, Esprit, Timberland etc, and thousands more.  We were in search of a SIM card for our "unlocked" Bahamian cell phone to use while we are here.  It took visits to several different kiosks before we succeeded, but succeed we did, we are now "connected"   We also wanted a small step to help get Grandma up in the van.   We solved that problem with a small cooler, that can serve dual functions!  Dan, Mauricio and I were together and were running late to make the rendezvous with the others, so I decided to head back ahead of Dan and Mauricio to meet up with the rest.  Well, long story short I got lost!  Ah but now I had a cell phone,  BUT Mauricio was in a dead zone.  Small panic, but eventually we connected.
     We dropped Mauricio at home after the mall and drove up Cerro San Cristobal, a famous mountain park in the middle of the city.  We enjoyed a light lunch on the veranda of a very nice restaurant with a wonderful view of the whole city, with the Andes as a backdrop.  All but Grandma hiked to the top observation spot for an even better view.  We then headed back to the hotel to regroup and get ready for supper with Mauricio's family.  It's hard not to keep using superlatives to describe the enjoyment of  getting to know his whole family.  A great evening!   Buenos noches, D,M,J,P,B and Grandma P
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~~~_/)~~~D&M

We revisited The Grange School here in Santiago where Jay attended boarding school in the 1950's.

After lunch near the top of San Cristobal, all but Grandma Peddie climbed to the spot of their last visit there in 1955.

Another great meal to end another great day. Mauricio took us to a restaurant at the base of San Cristobal that specializes in Chilean food. Hard to tell which was better, the food or the company. Mauricio and Carolina's three children are amazingly well behaved and didn't quale at the two and a half hour dinner! They did play outside the restaurant some of the time.