Friday 27th January 2017
We had the chance to explore Santiago on our own on Friday. It was typically very hot so going far didn't seem like a good idea. The hostel helpfully supplied free maps of the town centre which was good, so we felt confident that we wouldn't get lost. The funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal and the famous statue of the Virgin Mary seemed like a reasonably simple walk, just straight up the road the hostel's in .....
Having had a good breakfast in the hostel, all we needed was a snack lunch for later and a great value empanada (Chilean version of a pasty) from a tiny shop fitted the bill perfectly.
Crossing the river, we were amazed at the fast flowing liquid chocolate, unlike anything in Britain.
The bridge itself was interesting as well, sparkling in the hazy sunshine.
Close up, the source of the sparkle became evident .........
Thousands of padlocks, a curious trend as such padlocks are relatively expensive. We'd seen similar trends in Germany, but not on this scale.
A longish queue for the funicular greeted us, but despite having to wait some of the time in the hot sun, we were determined to get to the top. An hour later we at last boarded the train and rapidly ascended the steep hill, the views expanding magnificently second by second as we rose through the tree lined slope.
It was still hot at the top, but a bit fresher with a little more air movement, so noticeably more pleasant than the stifling city far below us. A significant haze over the city, much of it due to the fires all around, reduced the visibility significantly. It's much better after some rain we were told.
A walled pavement offered great panoramas of Santiago, emphasising the mountain ringed bowl in which the city lies ......
and most people seemed to need to take selfies with the view behind them. I suspected that in most of their pictures, due to the very bright city below, they would just be silhouettes as in this view .......
The famous Virgin Mary statue was still some way above us but the additional climb was not at all arduous, and the view of her steadily improved ......
until .......
TV and mobile phone transmissions would seem to take precedence over aesthetics it would seem! Then after a coffee, another empanada and an ice cream, back down to the busy streets and colourful cafés, this one with especially nice tables.
And this is not a stuffed llama. I wouldn't have got that close to it, given their reputation!
We had the chance to explore Santiago on our own on Friday. It was typically very hot so going far didn't seem like a good idea. The hostel helpfully supplied free maps of the town centre which was good, so we felt confident that we wouldn't get lost. The funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal and the famous statue of the Virgin Mary seemed like a reasonably simple walk, just straight up the road the hostel's in .....
Having had a good breakfast in the hostel, all we needed was a snack lunch for later and a great value empanada (Chilean version of a pasty) from a tiny shop fitted the bill perfectly.
Crossing the river, we were amazed at the fast flowing liquid chocolate, unlike anything in Britain.
The bridge itself was interesting as well, sparkling in the hazy sunshine.
Close up, the source of the sparkle became evident .........
Thousands of padlocks, a curious trend as such padlocks are relatively expensive. We'd seen similar trends in Germany, but not on this scale.
A longish queue for the funicular greeted us, but despite having to wait some of the time in the hot sun, we were determined to get to the top. An hour later we at last boarded the train and rapidly ascended the steep hill, the views expanding magnificently second by second as we rose through the tree lined slope.
It was still hot at the top, but a bit fresher with a little more air movement, so noticeably more pleasant than the stifling city far below us. A significant haze over the city, much of it due to the fires all around, reduced the visibility significantly. It's much better after some rain we were told.
A walled pavement offered great panoramas of Santiago, emphasising the mountain ringed bowl in which the city lies ......
and most people seemed to need to take selfies with the view behind them. I suspected that in most of their pictures, due to the very bright city below, they would just be silhouettes as in this view .......
The famous Virgin Mary statue was still some way above us but the additional climb was not at all arduous, and the view of her steadily improved ......
until .......
TV and mobile phone transmissions would seem to take precedence over aesthetics it would seem! Then after a coffee, another empanada and an ice cream, back down to the busy streets and colourful cafés, this one with especially nice tables.
And this is not a stuffed llama. I wouldn't have got that close to it, given their reputation!
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