We stopped at the beach first but it was so cold that by the time I fed Sam everyone was ready to go. We'll have to go back when Spring has fully kicked in. The water is never warm enough to swim in, but there are plenty of shells and rocks to play on.
Brrrr...even when you tell kids to not get in the water they always manage to get their shoes and pants wet and then complain they're cold.
Next we went to the mall, which is right on a bay and has a fish market right next to it. Per Mando's request we didn't go in any stores, but it was fairly modern, although nothing like the malls we're used to.
Checking out the boats from the safety of the warm mall.
After the mall we walked over to the fish market, which was quite the smelly experience. We didn't recognize most of the fish but it was fun to check them all out.
I thought these guys were looking at more pelicans, but I came closer and saw...
These fat sea lions were on the rocks right next to the fence and like the Pelicans were not afraid of humans.
One waddled right up to us and then barked in disgust when we didn't have anything to feed him, which my kids found very entertaining of course.
Some shots of fish and whatnot.
Mando thought it was hilarious that this woman was only Paul's height. She let Paul hold the crabs, which all the kids thought was awesome until they realized they were still alive.
For Dan & Lexie. See we're not the only people who neglect their dogs! This dog has even more matted fur than Ollie the Collie did.
There are stray dogs everywhere in the towns here.
Standing by the bay on our way out. Notice Joseph is still worried about stinky fish.
Goodbye San Antonio.
But wait, there's more. We decided to grab something to eat, get some groceries, and head home. So we went to a restaurant that someone Mando works with had recommended, but it was closed. No problem, we asked a random lady on the street where we should go and she recommended two places. We went to one of them and they let us in and showed us upstairs to a nice seating area with lots and lots of glass. Mando asked if they took Visa and they said no, but there is an ATM machine just up the street so I sat down and moved all the glass from our table and waited with all the kids. A while later he came back and said the ATM machine didn't work and the owner said no problem, there is another bank a little further away. So a frustrated Mando left again and we ordered some drinks and ate incredibly hard bread from the bread basket and waited even longer. Mando finally returned about the time Joseph accidentally locked himself in the bathroom and couldn't get out. The other ATM wouldn't work either. So Mando paid for our drinks with his few remaining pesos and we set off looking for a place that took Visas. By now we were all starving and Mando was beyond frustrated. We drove around looking for any restaurant with a Visa sign on the front door. We finally found one and parked a few blocks away since traffic was crazy and walked up to the restaurant only to discover they only took Visas after 7 and it was 6. Mando told them our story and they took pity on us and let us sit down and made us chicken and French fries and hot chocolate (we are from the United States after all). We ate and then went to the grocery store and tried to get cash at their ATM, which didn't work of course. Mando finally called and realized that only cash machines with a certain symbol on them would work. Then I looked online and found banks in the area with ATMs that had that symbol and that Saturday we FINALLY got cash.
Lesson learned: always carry cash in Chile.
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