Pablo Neruda, (1904-1972) the 1971 Nobel literature prizewinner, is a legend in Chile. His 3 homes are part of the Pablo Neruda Foundation and today we visited the first in the fascinating suburb of Bellavista north of the river in Santiago. Built into the hillside of Cerro San Cristobal in honor of his then-secret lover and later life partner, Matilda Urrutia, it is named after his nickname for her due to her red and untamed hair.
It is a fascinating collection of the many things he amassed during his consular appointments around the world, his books, his serendipitous living quarters - with secret passages and staircases and quasi ship-like characteristics, as he considered himself captain of the home.
A special portrait of Matilda by Diego Rivera was riveting.
I could not resist buying a small book of his famous 12 Love Poems (written by a prescient 20 year old Neruda) and a Song of Despair (showing Spanish and English versions side by side to improve my Spanish). I will attempt to learn about him through that as we travel around Chile.
We will also plan to visit the other two homes on the coast in and south of Valparaiso.
Ted found a small cafe in the area for lunch, an eclectic collection of wall writing and good fish soup and salads. Then we wandered in the amazing area of lively and artistic street art, murals and stylish graffiti on the walls and mosaics set into the sidewalks down every street.
We had planned to take the funicular to enjoy the view from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, but in 35 degree heat, a 30 minute wait in line was not on! Another day. It is holiday time here and many Chileans are visiting their capital city so perhaps once the kids have gone back to school (any time now) lineups will be less - and cooler!
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