We had one day in which to visit Santiago where we stayed at the Casa Roja Hostel, owned by an Australian chap called Simon. The hostel was an old home probably built in the 1870s, which Simon bought as derelict and was slowly renovating in its original style. The ceilings must have been 16 feet high, and there was plenty of room in the bedrooms. We asked Simon what we should see, and followed his instructions, which turned out to be perfect for one day.
We started by visiting the Palacio Cousino, originally built by the Cousino family in 1870 to 1878. The building had been preserved in pretty much its original state, and the attention to detail in the positioning of the mirrors and glass windows in order to make it look bigger was an exciting feature to see. The contents of the house came from all around the world including, Moorish, Chinese, European, but largely French. The Palacio was not listed in our guide books, but it was a gem.
Next we went through the courtyard of the Gov. Moneda Palace where Allende killed himself. A couple of the green uniformed, handsome, policemen offered that Ray could take my picture with them, which we did. We found the people in Santiago to be very friendly. For example, we were sitting eating a hot dog in the pedestrian mall Nueva York, and a chap from Santiago started up a conversation with us; as we stepped off the Truck on arrival, a chap from the gas station beside which we parked came out and welcomed us to Santiago.
We walked through the Plaza de Armas and noted the cathedral, the law courts, and the governor´s palace. All distances in Chile are measured from this point. Next, we caught the spotless metro to Baquedano and took the funicular railway up Cerro San Cristobal. At the top, there is a beautiful, white statue of the Virgin Mary and although you might want to compare this to the Statue of Christ in Rio, it is very different. There is small chapel at the bottom of the statue where people go to pray. Soft music is playing in the background, and the effect is one of absolute peace. All the fight is taken out of you. You could sit for hours daydreaming in the tranquility. Another area allows you to light candles for loved ones, and there are pictures, letters, and cards, drawings, poetry, and even a pair of baby socks, as people thank the Virgin Mary for looking after their beloved who have died. It is all too sad. Once we collected ourselves, we then took the gondola across another part of the mountain to a residential area. We looked around some of the beautiful homes then retraced our steps to the bottom of the funicular and the Barrio Bellavista. This is a funky area full of brightly coloured discos, restaurants, and pubs. Its a bit of a Bohemian area as the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda apparently lived there. Then it was time to catch the metro back to the Hostel.
We had a couple of group dinners in Santiago one of which at the Fracas Gordas (?)(Fat Cow) was excellent. This was our farewell dinner to the 7 members of the group who were leaving and to some of the new members who were joining us. We then had a birthday celebration the following night at a Chinese restaurant and all the new group members joined us.
For us, Santiago is not one of the more beautiful cities, nor does it have a lot to see. What it does have is simplicity in its buildings and parks, and a peacefulness that seems to extend from the Statue of the Virgin Mary throughout the city.
We started by visiting the Palacio Cousino, originally built by the Cousino family in 1870 to 1878. The building had been preserved in pretty much its original state, and the attention to detail in the positioning of the mirrors and glass windows in order to make it look bigger was an exciting feature to see. The contents of the house came from all around the world including, Moorish, Chinese, European, but largely French. The Palacio was not listed in our guide books, but it was a gem.
Next we went through the courtyard of the Gov. Moneda Palace where Allende killed himself. A couple of the green uniformed, handsome, policemen offered that Ray could take my picture with them, which we did. We found the people in Santiago to be very friendly. For example, we were sitting eating a hot dog in the pedestrian mall Nueva York, and a chap from Santiago started up a conversation with us; as we stepped off the Truck on arrival, a chap from the gas station beside which we parked came out and welcomed us to Santiago.
We walked through the Plaza de Armas and noted the cathedral, the law courts, and the governor´s palace. All distances in Chile are measured from this point. Next, we caught the spotless metro to Baquedano and took the funicular railway up Cerro San Cristobal. At the top, there is a beautiful, white statue of the Virgin Mary and although you might want to compare this to the Statue of Christ in Rio, it is very different. There is small chapel at the bottom of the statue where people go to pray. Soft music is playing in the background, and the effect is one of absolute peace. All the fight is taken out of you. You could sit for hours daydreaming in the tranquility. Another area allows you to light candles for loved ones, and there are pictures, letters, and cards, drawings, poetry, and even a pair of baby socks, as people thank the Virgin Mary for looking after their beloved who have died. It is all too sad. Once we collected ourselves, we then took the gondola across another part of the mountain to a residential area. We looked around some of the beautiful homes then retraced our steps to the bottom of the funicular and the Barrio Bellavista. This is a funky area full of brightly coloured discos, restaurants, and pubs. Its a bit of a Bohemian area as the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda apparently lived there. Then it was time to catch the metro back to the Hostel.
We had a couple of group dinners in Santiago one of which at the Fracas Gordas (?)(Fat Cow) was excellent. This was our farewell dinner to the 7 members of the group who were leaving and to some of the new members who were joining us. We then had a birthday celebration the following night at a Chinese restaurant and all the new group members joined us.
For us, Santiago is not one of the more beautiful cities, nor does it have a lot to see. What it does have is simplicity in its buildings and parks, and a peacefulness that seems to extend from the Statue of the Virgin Mary throughout the city.
Pictures posted May7th.
Palcio Cousino - Cerro San Cristobal
Gov. Moneda Palace -
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