La Ciudad de Santiago.

After spending the day at a winery in Casablanca, I arrived in Santiago around 6pm and checked into my Hostel. 

The Hostel that I had booked turned out to be one of the nicest ones that I've ever stayed in, my room even included a little patio (bottom left photo), the hostel itself had an awesome little outdoor area (right) and I got a really delicious free breakfast in the morning (top left), including sopaipillas, which are a little like savory pancakes but often Chileans eat them with a spicy bruschetta style topping (they can also be eaten with butter or jam). 

I only had one full day in Santiago and, admittedly, was a little anxious about travelling in this city, given the recent, and quite often violent, protests against the government. Thus, I decided to join a walking tour of the city. 

On my way to join the walking tour, I passed through Parque Forestal, which is a really lovely and quite immaculate park! I deliberately took a photo of the dog kennels (top right) as this seems to be quite common in Chile. There are a lot of homeless dogs (although they are very docile) and in Santiago (and Vina del Mar) there are often dog kennels in public spaces, so that the dogs have somewhere dry to sleep at night. Sometimes there are even bowls in front of the kennels, with food and water - which is probably why these dogs are healthier and happier looking than the average street dog. 

The walking tour itself was tips based and was really good (Strawberry Tours for anyone who is interested).

We started in the centre of Santiago and the tour guide was quick to describe the history of Santiago, as well as the current political situation. One of our first stops was near the Church of the Vera Cruz (top left), which has obviously been heavily valdalised by protesters. Our guide explained that Church (historically) has been involved in pedophilia and abuse of young children, who are now in their mid-late twenties and have included this as a part of their protest. There was a lot of graffiti that said something along the lines of "no pedimos. No olvidaremos", which translates to "we didn't ask [for this]. We won't forget". 

There is graffiti, vandalism and protest posters all of the city - on every spare surface. Two really common phrases were "ACAB" which means "all cops are bastards" and the numerical version of this "1312". 

As per the photo on the bottom right, there were a lot of posters / graffiti involving blood dripping from people's eyes, the protesters had also sprayed red graffiti on the eyes of all the statues in the city. This is because the police have been using tear gas and 'rubber' bullets to deter / subdue / attack (whichever word you please) protesters and several have lost their vision or their eyes. Pretty heavy stuff...

It quite interesting hearing about the current situation from a tour guide, who obviously relies on tourists to make a living. He explained that his business was closed for several weeks, during which he did not have an income. He was understanding, in terms of the inequality faced in Chile and the need for change, but also explained that the violence of the protests was really damaging for many business owners. 

I will be the first to say that, yes, there are protests, yes, they get violent and, yes, this is a time on uncertainty for Chilean people but, no, Chile is not an unsafe of dangerous city to travel to. Whilst I definitely took care in being aware of my surroundings (as any solo female traveler should be), I never felt unsafe or threatened whilst in Santiago or Chile. 

I just hope that the some of the issues Chileans face (re. education, pension, privatisation of water, rates of pay, indigenous recognition etc.) can at least somewhat be addressed or resolved during the upcoming referendum.

 

Our next stop was Cerro [hill] Santa Lucia. The stone out the front has been painted in honour of the protests. The name 'Cerro Huelen' has been written as this is the traditional name given to this hill by the indigenous people of this area, the Mapuche. Indigenous recognition and rights, although I do not know the complexities, is a major issue that is part of the current protests. 

The phrase '356 ojos' (eyes) is supposed to be indicative of how many 'eyes' have been lost by those involved in the protests.  

Cerro Santa Lucia is very pretty (and very European)!

There are lots of ornate carvings and monuments - some of which have been stolen by the very wealthy, who keep them in private collections. 

Above is La Moneda Palace (the presidential palace), which occupies an entire block of the city. 

This was originally built as a mint to create currency, was once bombed during a military coup and was the place in which one of the Chilean presidents committed suicide!

When the president is in Chile, the central Chilean flag (on top of the palace) features a black crest - you cannot quite see it in my photo but he was in the country. 

There was definitely a lot more covered in the walking tour than what I have written here but I am struggling to recall everything!

During the tour, I met a lovely Brazilian girl (also travelling solo) and a Portuguese couple - we all decided to get some lunch (no photos) and go to Cerro San Cristobal together. 

Before going there, we actually made a stop at La Chascona, which is one of the Chilean poet, Pablo Nerudo's, house (well, it was his mistresses house initially - but then he married her). I didn't take photos because I was not allowed to! I knew nothing about him before I visited his house but it was quite interesting!

Cerro San Cristobal is a viewpoint located in the north of Santiago, which features a statue of the Virgin Mary at it's peak. We took a Furnicular to get up the kill (it was a 6km walk otherwise) and a cable car (teleferico) down.

The views of the city were pretty amazing! Santiago is a very flat city, surrounded by mountains, and for that reason it seems like it stretches forever in every direction. Random fact: the population of Santiago is 7 million, whilst the population of the whole of Chile is only 18 million - so nearly 40% of the population live in this one city!

From the dense city of Santiago to the northern desert - my next stop is San Pedro de Atacama.