Today we took a last look at the Christmas decorations on the Viking Jupiter and left Valapariso (translates to Valley of Paradise). We made our way to Santiago via motorcoach . It was a scenic ride through a valley full of grapevines, citrus trees and cherry farms. Our first stop was at the Plaza de Armas in the heart of Santiago's historic area. We toured the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral with its many statues and art. It was then on to the historic Church of San Francisco and the adjacent convent. They were founded by the Franciscans and are one of the oldest colonial-era buildings in the country. The convent next door is still active on the upper floor but the ground floor has been turned into the Museo San Francisco. There is a beautiful courtyard which supports peacocks, turtles and fish.
After lunch we visited the Santiago Bahai Temple. The temple is a large egg shaped building on beautiful grounds on the side of a group of mountains,
Our last stop was at the airport which started our all night flight into Miami (landing at 5:00 am) connecting to Orlando (landing at 8:00 am). We were happy to be back to The Villages. We are looking forward to get started training for our next adventure, cycling the across the US on the Trans America route.
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