Exploring Santiago Chile after the 2010 8.8 magnitude earthquake.
I visited the Museum of Natural History (Museo Nacional de Historia), which is a huge building. Massive cracks in the walls were evident. In the centre of the museum a large whale skeleton was once stretched across the room. At the time of my visit it was shattered into pieces on the floor.
There is an upstairs room at the museum dedicated to Easter Island display of artefacts. I was very keen to investigate and photograph particularly Rongorongo inscriptions. Easter Island (Rapa nui) is located a short 6hr flight west of Chile and belongs to Chile.
While at the museum our Brasilian Tour Guide (Yes Brasilian in Chile) was able to convince the museum staff that I was a famous photographer from Australia who was doing a piece on Easter Island and allowed me to access the Easter Island museum room upstairs. It was off limits to visitors due to the extensive damage from the earthquake that had made it unsafe!
It was dark but I did my best to photograph everything quickly. I was also given the business card of the Director of the Museum and said that if I email him I could be sent images of the Rongorongo inscriptions, that are housed in a safe location off limits to visitors.
I visited the Museum of Natural History (Museo Nacional de Historia), which is a huge building. Massive cracks in the walls were evident. In the centre of the museum a large whale skeleton was once stretched across the room. At the time of my visit it was shattered into pieces on the floor.
There is an upstairs room at the museum dedicated to Easter Island display of artefacts. I was very keen to investigate and photograph particularly Rongorongo inscriptions. Easter Island (Rapa nui) is located a short 6hr flight west of Chile and belongs to Chile.
While at the museum our Brasilian Tour Guide (Yes Brasilian in Chile) was able to convince the museum staff that I was a famous photographer from Australia who was doing a piece on Easter Island and allowed me to access the Easter Island museum room upstairs. It was off limits to visitors due to the extensive damage from the earthquake that had made it unsafe!
It was dark but I did my best to photograph everything quickly. I was also given the business card of the Director of the Museum and said that if I email him I could be sent images of the Rongorongo inscriptions, that are housed in a safe location off limits to visitors.
While in Santiago a visit to Plaza de Armas (The Plaza of Arms) is a must. There is a plaque on the plaza floor that shows the original native settlements before conquistadores civilized them. Across the plaza is the Metropolitan Cathedral, Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago, the beautiful Correo Central. A museum is housed here with artefacts.