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Our last day in Santiago, and our final trip to the Mercado Central. Fresh Mussels in a spicy green salsa. Excellent! Chased down with a bottle of wine and lots of bread for dipping, the perfect starter to lunch.

We're window shopping along Alonso de Cordova in the Las Condes district, essentially the Rodeo Drive of Santiago. High-end shops with high-end prices. We can't afford anything but there's good people watching to be had. We duck into a shady restaurant to get out of the midday sun and have a quick bite. This was essentially a lox salad tucked into a pita pocket, but just what I wanted at the time so it tasted great. And despite the ritzy neighbourhood, the prices here were quite reasonable.

Occupying an entire block, the Mercado Central is an amazing structure. Built in 1872 this market is framed almost entirely from wrought iron. Inside there are several excellent seafood restaurants. We settle (should I say pulled, the restauranteurs here are aggressive) into one of the larger establishments. This spicy king crab appetizer was delicious, came with lots of bread to sop up the juices too.

You should have seen my wife's expression when they put this in front of her. She was first overwhelmed by the size, and then by the number of mystery items on her plate, "Oh right, different coast means different seafood." She tucked into her meal like a trooper though, only a couple of spongy, cone-shaped pieces she just couldn't eat. "It was delicious all the same."

The Mercado Central is a bit of a tourist spot, but we're tourist so what the heck. Grilled sole with a creamy seafood sauce and rice. The presentation left a lot to be desired, but the taste was amazing.

A mixed cheese and olive plate with saltine crackers. A nice way to spend a warm spring evening watching a lunar eclipse. The feta was a bit tasteless though.

My wife and I head back to Ta' Vake restaurant for our last night on Easter Island. Run by a very gay man who goes by Lamar, and his partner/cook. Lamar is aloof, uppity, rude and entertaining all rolled into one. By the end of the night we got along great; I guess you have to earn his respect by, uh, not storming out. We zero in on the Menu Completo - the full course meal. Kicked off by a delicious fish salad with a sweet vinaigrette dressing, dressed with avocado. Yummy.

A pretty decent meal topped off with a nice ice cream dessert. Lamar and I are now best buddies. He says he'll see us tomorrow. I tell him we're leaving. I want to hug him but think better of it after the Moosehead Beer Apron incident. I think it was the right choice.

Lamar is wearing a Moosehead Beer apron - the pride of Eastern Canada. I'm intrigued how a Canadian Beer apron makes it all the way to Easter Island. Lamar won't have any of it and deflects my question each time I ask it. As the evening wore on and the alcohol worked its magic on me, I'm determined. I ask again, Lamar ignores me. I ask again and this time I poke him in the arm to get his attention. I got his attention alright, he gets all giddy/flustered, flaps his hands in the air and shuffles off into the kitchen. I never did find out where that apron came from. Oh yeah the meal, grilled fish with fries. It was good.

I'm sure there's a Spanish word for Lobster, but that's the way Lamar described it as he threw it down in front of us. Clear broth made of mostly salt and a hint of lobster. I like salt as much as the next person, but this was undrinkable.