David and Julia's Living Book

Santiago, Chile

Sightseeing

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It was a long flight down below the equator.

I left San Francisco for LA today. The cab ride to Oakland airport was uneventful, and the flight from Oakland to LA was mundane. I’m writing this while sitting in the LAX international terminal, waiting for my flight to Santiago, Chile, where I’ll spend two days before heading to Valle Nevado ski resort. There's been lots of snow in Valle Nevado, and I can't wait to get there. I have a 10-hour flight ahead of me.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The snow-capped Andes provide the backdrop for Santiago.

It took 11 hours to fly from LA to Santiago. I slept only an hour or two on the flight. We landed at Santiago airport at 6:30 AM local time. My transportation guy was there to meet me, and it was a quick trip to the Sheraton downtown. I arrived at the hotel by 8:00 AM, but my room wasn’t ready, so I left my luggage and headed out for a walk.

The walk offered excellent views of the city, including the hill with a statue of Mother Mary, known as the Immaculate Conception. I met my first friend in Chile, a stray dog. Since he didn’t speak English, I called him El Dogo. He didn’t seem to mind and followed me throughout the walk. People thought he was my dog. We parted ways when I boarded the gondola to ride up the Immaculate Conception hill, where I had more great views of the city.

The statue of the Virgin Mary.

At the top of the hill was a large statue of Mother Mary and a church. When I came back down, El Dogo had disappeared. I returned to the hotel and had lunch. My room was ready, so I slept for a few hours before getting up for dinner. Afterward, I went back to bed for a full night’s sleep until 10:00 AM the next day.

My new friend, El Dogo.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

I woke up feeling good and well-rested. After breakfast, I headed out to explore Santiago's El Centro, which is the center of town — see how my Spanish is improving already? I walked from the hotel to the Metro and along the way came across a curious sight: a young girl performing a show in the middle of a busy intersection. I had no idea what she was doing, but she seemed to be having fun.

A curious tradition of waving flags at cars.

In El Centro, I passed by many churches and museums. In the heart of El Centro was a large hill, similar to the one with the Immaculate Conception, called Cerro Santa Lucia. I assume these hills around Santiago are volcanic cinder cones. At the top of Cerro Santa Lucia was a fortification and a church, not quite a castle but close enough.

A castle-like fort on a hill in the center of town.

There were more great views of the city, but the Andes were partially obscured by Santiago’s typical midday smog. As I sat in the park atop the hill, enjoying the peace and quiet, I suddenly heard a very loud explosion! Startled, I looked at the guards nearby, but they just smiled and didn’t seem concerned. I guessed it was a ceremonial cannon shot or something of the sort. On my way down the hill, I met my second canine friend in Chile — another stray dog, whom I named El Pucho. He followed me around like I was his master.

Dressed-up llamas — very cute!

After following me for a few blocks, El Pucho lost interest and left. I ate lunch in the Barrio Bellavista, an old part of town on the other side of the Immaculate Conception hill. I ordered what I thought would be a glass of wine, but the waiter, who spoke no English, brought me an entire bottle. Not wanting to fuss, I drank half and felt very merry for the rest of the afternoon. At the zoological gardens, I encountered llamas dressed up by street vendors trying to get tourists to sit on them for photos. While I didn’t sit on one, I did take a few pictures.