I ventured out yet again to drop in on three museums near Plaza de Armas, incidentally free on Sundays! I took the metro to the Plaza and from there went to the Museo Historico Nacional. There were two guards standing out in front and I thought I saw them turn two people away. My Spanish is next to nil so I went and parked myself on a bench trying to look as cool as possible until I saw some tourists make their way into the museum. I put away my guide book (which I had been "reading") and went into the museum. No photography signs greeted me at the door. I have to say that nothing was that intriguing inside to have warranted pictures. There were lots of paintings of men of whom I knew nothing. I wandered the rooms at a pretty quick pace (thinking, good thing this was free) with a German couple who evidently had the same opinion. The final room on the ground floor had a display of what a colonial kitchen would have been like and there was seaweed! Dried kelp was next to the stove ... I lingered trying to get up the nerve to take out my camera, but there was a security camera right above the display and I did not feel like having to explain myself to some guard who spoke no English whatsoever.
I wandered across the Plaza, with the pale lavender Jacaranda leaves fluttering down about me, to Casa Colorada. It is the best preserved colonial house in Santiago. The museum is filled with models of the city at different stages, from when it was founded to the 1800s. Since the Rough Guide was published, there was English commentary added to the signs around the models so it was easier to follow. At this one exhibit, I really expected a pirate to run out because it looked just like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.
I ended the museum adventure with the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. This museum also allowed pictures and one room in particular made me very happy about this rule. The statues from the different empires of South America were interesting, but not knowing enough about any of these cultures many of the statues looked similar after several rooms. In the central Andes exhibit area, there were masks made of copper that have turned a beautiful jade green over the centuries. The room dead-ended into the textile room. The vibrant colors on some of the woven blankets and tapestries were amazing. Some were hundreds of years old, yet they looked as though they were woven yesterday. The picture on the left of the hat was more vibrant in real life, but the lighting is so low that it was hard to get decent shots. It was easy to spend 45 minutes in the room perusing each piece. It was easy to miss as you entered the room, but as you approach the display at the end of the room, there is this finely woven piece. It looked like cobwebs against the glass. The geometic shapes in the intricately woven square became easier to see as you moved closer and farther away from the glass. 
Across the patio, there was an exhibit of Incan artifacts, but sadly no pictures were allowed, although it would have been fantastic to photograph the teeny tiny woven garments, bags and hats for the little carved statuettes. I ended up buying two postcards so that I'd have a picture of sorts. There was a French tour discussing the Incan hats and other textiles, so I lingered at the back of the group to follow what the guide was saying. It was a simply amazing museum and definitely worth a visit, even if not on a Sunday. The previous two museums were fun, but only if you have plenty of time in Santiago, but the Pre-Columbian Art Museum is a definite must. I also bought a button at the gift shop ... I should have bought several at the price they were ... perhaps I will go back before I leave to buy a couple more!
