Santa Lucia

It was going to be a warm, beautiful, sunny winter day; I wanted to be outdoors so got the directions to go to Santa Lucia, a famous hilltop park on the 2nd largest hill in Santiago and right in the middle of the city. Historically,  it was at the foot of this hill that Pedro de Valdivia, a Spanish Conquistador, founded the city of Santiago on February 12th, 1541.  

After the founding of the city, the Spanish conquistadors used Santa Lucia hill as a lookout point for the planning of the city.

The triangular park has a hodge podge of structures that range from statues, fountains, ornate architectural buildings and even a Castle that are joined together by steps, caves and winding pathways. Here is the reason why:

Between 1814 and 1817 royalist troops built the castle as a defense fortification and at the same time, part of the hill was used as a cemetery.In 1872, the mayor Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna decided to give the hill a new look and attraction, so  plants, trees, vegetation, etc. were planted.  Plazas (squares) with fountains and numerous lookout points were connected by a labyrinth of stairways and paths to make the hill a lovely place for a stroll. 

At the bottom: Plaza of Neptune

Steps going up

Halfway up is a church and statue. I believe that the mayor responsible for the updates to the park, B. Vicuna McKenna is buried here.

Hidalgo Castle

Winding pathway going up to the Castle

Have no idea what the importance of the dog was: no plaque or anything...?! I couldn't resist imitating the dog...

Nice view of the city from the top

San Cristobal Cerro on the left; the highest hill.  You can see the polluted air of Santiago since it sits in a valley surrounded by the Andes Mountains.

Since it was such a gorgeous day and in the middle of the winter, I wanted to do some more walking, so took off with my tourist map(does not show all the streets) and followed the river. My map showed the river Mapocho leading me back towards my home. What a nice walk I was having:

One of the parks near Santa Lucia 

Statue at Baquedano

Guys with snowboard bags on wheels!!!

Many bridges across the river

Market on a bridge on the river

Just past this market, I stopped at a vendor that was selling Chilean Hot Dogs: short, stubby, red, fat, spicy, delicious! And his condiments included the traditional Chilean HOT sauce' I sat down, ate my hot dog, and took out my map. I realized, I had NO IDEA WHERE I WAS! I could see the name of a Metro in the distance but did not recognize the name. I walked back to the hot dog vendor and asked him how to get to one of the main Metro Line transfers. He told me but I had no idea what he was saying so took off towards the Metro I could see: I was at the yellow line and I had never been to this part of the Metro/city before; I've only traveled on the Red Line and part of the Green line. I walked down the steps to the Metro and decided that this must be where most of the people live since the Metro was packed with people! It was as bad as "rush hour" on the weekdays and this was Saturday! Not only were there hordes of people, but the people were carrying bags full of stuff! I was comfortable with the Metro System so knew that I just needed to try to figure it out and not panic. The Yellow line? I was in strange territory indeed! I knew I needed to take the Metro to the nearest transfer spot to connect to the Red Line!

When I finally returned home after my adventure, I located another map that showed more detail and I am embarrassed to say that I had taken off walking along the river in the wrong direction! I was walking AWAY from where I was planning to go and the reason there were so many people with bags of stuff is because I was right across the street from the Central Mercado Market; one of the busiest places in Santiago and I was there at one of the busiest times!

Comida

It is the middle of the winter here and soup is the perfect meal for the cold and often wet days. I gathered up all the ingredients to make Quinoa Soup with vegetables and took the steps to prepare it which consisted of soaking the Quinoa grains overnight and chopping and dicing all the vegetables. Although the preparation was easy, it took over 8 hours! The actual cooking time was only 10 minutes total. It was the first time I had used squash(zapallo) and it was delicious. It is a lighter orange color than the carrots.

Quinoa soup with Vegetables I was so proud of my soup, I offered for Gabriella to have some! I was leaving for the afternoon and evening of teaching so showed her where I had stored the soup in the fridge. By the time I returned home, it was about 8 PM and I was really looking forward to having a bowl of my delicious soup. When I opened the fridge, I could not find my soup anywhere! Gabriella had eaten it all! I thought I had offered for her to have SOME, not ALL!

I immediately soaked another batch of Quinoa and made some more soup. I did not offer ANY to Gabriella this time! And I've enrolled in some Spanish classes...!

Chilly in Chile!

A favorite expression of the Gringo teachers at the language institute I'm working at is that it's "Chilly in Chile"! This morning was the coldest day so far: 27 degrees! I knew it was going to be cold when I saw that the windows in the condo were all foggy but I was shocked when I stepped outside! I thought yesterday's 37 was cold... It was especially frigid waiting for the bus to take me to the Metro where I was traveling to meet one of my private English lessons. I am tutoring him in writing and speaking to prepare him to take the TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam next week. His goal is to go to England to study for his PHD in Math and Warwick University. He works now as a teaching assistant for a Professor of mathematics at one of the Universities here in Santiago. I've never worked with anyone that was so motivated and driven to succeed as he is! And he is VERY intelligent! I've learned so much about what it's like to live as a Chilean from our discussions.It has been a wonderful exchange working with him! We meet 2-3 times/wk at Stadio Italiano in the restaurant/lounge. It is a huge club and sports complex with soccer fields, clay tennis courts, swimming pools, restaurants, etc. It was originally for Italians only but they will accept non Italians now(you just need to have lots of $!)

Entrance to Stadio Italiano

My student, Italo on our way to the Metro. It had warmed up to the 30's now! Beautiful snow capped mountains surround the city!

 

 

 

The neighborhood

As it turns out, I am living in a neighborhood that has some of the best restaurants in Santiago on the street named Manuel Montt. Within walking distance (3 blocks) are 6 Peruvian restaurants, a few Thai restaurants, a couple Chilean, some Chinese, a Brazilian BBQ, etc. The following is a write up that appeared in the little local English newspaper about one of the Peruvian restaurants only 1 block away from me:

Eating out

Flavors of Peru, Santiago’s second cuisine: El Chalán

This is Chile takes a look at fine Peruvian dining in the Chilean capital. We begin with five-year-old El Chalán, where humble downtown picadas meet quality ingredients and elegant surroundings.

"As few as six years ago, the spacious houses lining Providencia’s Avenida Manuel Montt between Avenidas Francisco Bilbao and Santa Isabel remained dark by night, much like any other well-do-to residential district.

But in 2005, Miriam Jimenez turned a white mansion on the corner of Arturo Claro into the popular Peruvian restaurant El Chalán. Others quickly followed suit, transforming this quiet neighborhood-within-a-neighborhood into an unexpected restaurant hub as tranquil and unassuming as its surroundings."

I'd like to try all the Peruvian restaurants but as far as the Chilean ones go, I really do not need to spend $ to try the food since Gabriella loves to cook and she makes the most delicious Chilean dishes. This is a popular soup she made Thursday. 

Cazuella

On my way to walk to the market, I pass by the Police Academy and next to it is a Police museum:

Police Academy

Papa mobile in museum parking lot

 Next spot I pass on my way to the market is a popular people and dog park:

Parque Inez Suarez