At last, something in English...

Jet lag still had the better of us as we lay awake at 4am, although our attempts at sleep weren't helped by a steady stream of revellers returning to the hotel and then using the noisy facilities or whistling as they came up the stairs (Suz especially loved that).

We did manage to get some rest and thought that we should take a look around the Museo Chileno De Arte  Precolombino,  a collection of artefacts from the era before Chile was colonised by the Europeans featuring different exhibits for different indigenous cultures. This is obviously a tourist Mecca as the lady on the front desk actually spoke English and with great pride told us that the displays were also in English. Result! We therefore weren't surprised to see as we walked up the stairs a busload of Americans, all wearing name tags. Still, they didn't spoil our enjoyment of what was a fascinating museum which kept us entertained for over two hours, with some beautifully detailed gold and some very amusing looking figurines. They also had a collection of Chinchorro mummies which date back thousands of years before the Egyptian versions. We were amazed at some of the detail that had been preserved on the pots and the peoples' dedication to cats made for some very funny looking creatures. They also seemed to have an obsession with pregnant women and giving birth and were quite graphic in their depictions of such things. 

As well as the permanent exhibitions, there was also a temporary display charting the history of the South American hat. Not especially interesting although there were a few cool little video screens which showed a digital version of how the various head dresses were put together. As we left the museum we were stopped by a group of school children (who appear to spend their days wandering around museums and historical sights as we bump into them everywhere we go). They are obviously also learning English as they started shouting Hi! to us. Sensing an opportunity to practise Spanish I went and introduced myself and managed to find out that one little boy's name was George. After saying 'Pleased to meet you' (Mucho gusto) we walked away as all the kids started taking the mick out of my pronunciation. Oh well, we tried!

After a very educational morning it was time for lunch. We've come to the conclusion that Chileans, or at least Santiaguanese, don't really eat Chilean food. Every other shop you pass either sells burgers, hot dogs or chicken and chips. So, we made like natives and had a hot dog (hot dog in Spanish!) which we ate outside the reassuringly-named Cafe Derby, getting many funny looks from the locals in the process (we stick out like sore thumbs here as the tourist industry seems yet to take off in the capital).

We wandered back to our hotel and caught up on a couple of hours' sleep. Another benefit of having cable TV is the amount of movies that are shown. I managed to catch Dodgeball, before it was time to run the gauntlet again and find something to eat (sadly, the language barrier and lack of interesting food has made this process a bit of a chore). Our guidebook mentioned a sort of food court near the Plaza de Armes (our favourite square) so we decided to give it a go. It was Suz's turn to order and she made a really good go of asking for un cuarto de pollo con papas fritas (chicken and chips). Even the waiter remarked that her pronunciation was 'Perfecto'. It was nice to at last get a good plate of food down us, and we were also given a plate of small bread rolls and something which is described as 'Pure', a kind of Chilean salsa which is absolutely delicious. It was all going really well until Suz asked for the bill with a triumphant 'La cuenta, please' (she keeps forgetting what 'please' is and often says the French instead!). Still the waiter smiled and brought us our bill - four quid for both of us. Another bargain! After a celebratory ice cream (single scoop this time; we've learned our lesson) it was back to our room for another restless night, a spot of The Untouchables (Les Intocables) on TV and a bit of a read.  

We forgot to tell you our fantastic news (no, not that!). Suz has at last finished War And Peace, all 1,315 pages. She's now moved on to George Eliot's Middlemarch (after devouring a John Grisham in just two days). She's certainly got a taste for the epic classics (only 792 pages in this one, though).