Sunshine and museums
Hardly rained at all today, just the odd drop, so walked around town and visited a couple of the museums. First stop was the Casa de la Libertad, which has exhibitions about the independence of Chile with lots of battle paintings and blood stained uniforms. Also a collection of presidential walking canes, if that tickles your fancy. The staff here were extremely surly and, as we didn´t buy a camera ticket (forgot the camera), one miserable lady adhered herself to Melissa´s back and followed us around the whole place, just in case we tried to sneak one in. Most of the artwork was pretty amateurish, but had some interesting documents and the prototype of the Argentian flag used in one of the independence battles.
People-wise, the nearby National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore was 100 times better.
After lunch, we walked up to the Museum of Indigenous Art, which is also well worth a visit. It has many rooms full of local weavings and tapestries, plus musical instruments and local customs. They give you a very detailed guide book to follow in English, and you can spend a lot of time wandering about. There are usually local artisans there too, demonstrating the techniques they use. The pieces for sale aren´t cheap, but the money gets ploughed back into local projects and to the artists themselves to ensure that the techniques are not lost to the future. The free coca tea on arrival was also very refreshing!
