Santiago, Day 4

We walked a lot more today. It's great, walking everywhere. We wanted to do both of the big hills today. We began with the smaller one - Santa Lucia. It wasn't that bad at all. And it provided some nice views of the city, once we got there. We got off the subway, walked around and around and around, only to find that had we turned around when we exited the subway, Santa Lucia was literally right in front of us.

We also made a friend. I know we're not supposed to pet the dogs, but he came right over to us wagging his tail and put his head right in my hand. He was really soft and sweet and a bit chunky, so he is clearly a well loved and happy dog. I don't mind that he followed us around the park. He didn't come with us all the way, though. But he was so cute!

We went to a couple more markets again, including one that featured indigenous art, particularly the Mapuche people. They have some beautiful work. But markets do not allow you to take photos of their stuff.

Because we walk everywhere, it sounds like we do very little. But we spent a lot of time at the market, and walking takes a long time. Anyway, we ended with San Cristobal, a huge hill with a statue of the virgin Mary at the peak. This is a much larger hill, and we didn't have time to walk up and make it back down before dark. So we took the bus and walked around up there, took some photos.

The smog in Santiago is pretty bad. You can see the haze that sits above the city. And the national park at San Cristobal is the largest green space in the city. This is something I'm really grateful for in Anchorage - small city with no smog, and lots of easy access to green space in and around the city.

But look who peeked out from behind then bushes to photo bomb our picture!

We came back to our neighborhood and ate (sigh) cheeseburgers. They are low price and right across the street from our hostel, and we were tired and hungry and broke. And damn it if they weren't delicious. :)

So now for a little more history.

I like to write down the names of people who have monuments dedicated to them or who appear multiple times around the city. One name I saw was Salvador Allende. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of his statue, but he was the president elect at the time of the coup (U.S. backed). He was more socialist than previous presidents, which is why many rich people and military didn't like him. Pinochet, however, the new guy, after taking over on September 11, 1973, led the country for 17 years in a military junta, ending 41 years of democracy. He dissolved the congress and murdered any supporter of Allende he could find.

Don Pedro de Valdivia is kind of Chile's version of Christopher Columbus. He came over from Spain, killed a whole lot of Indians, "founded" Santiago, went on to conquer south of his new city, and eventually several parks, cities, and monuments erected in his name. Definitely a guy worth honoring, right?

More to come tomorrow!

Oh, and please check out this awesome Chilean photographer at...

Www.natphoto.cl