Day 61: 30/8:12
So today I was supposed to go to Valparaiso on a day trip. I got an email early in the morning to say it was cancelled. So I turned off the alarm and slept for ages!
I thought I would do then what I had originally planned for tomorrow. So when I eventually got up and left the hostel I went to a tourist agency nearby and booked a day trip to Valparaiso for tomorrow, so hopefully that won't be cancelled!
The plan then was to go to the top of Cerro San Cristobal on a train thing called the funicular and then go to the central square to join a free walking tour. When I got to The park where the San Cristobal hill is I was told the train was closed! So instead of missing out on it I decided I would walk up it. I knew it was supposed to be walk able but tough enough. So I hit off! All the way up you could see Santiago city so the views got better and better as you went up. There were lots of benches along the way too for handy breaks!! I didn't know how high it was but got to the stage where I couldn't not get to the top where there is a big statue of some virgin looking over the city. You could see that too when you were near the top. I got all the way up anyway to the statue! I was delighted with myself. There is a normal road up and most of the people up there had come in cars. I googled it when I came home and it is 880m high which is higher than Croagh Patrick (764m)! Im glad to say I climbed every bit of it!! I know I wouldn't even have attempted it at the start of the summer. I don't think I'm getting any fitter or anything, it's just that I've climbed so many friggin steps at most of the sights I've seen that I know I can do it! In fairness I did take my time!! I'm very proud of myself though!! I've realised also that I'm a lot more inquisitive or curious (ie nosy) than I thought I was and if someone tells me there's something worth seeing somewhere I will walk or climb anywhere to get to it! Now how do I put that into everyday exercise?!?
The only disappointment was that it was a really dull day with a lot of grey clouds. You couldn't really see very far after all my climbing! The city is surrounded by the Andes mountains but you couldn't really see them! Thankfully there are postcards of that!
So after all that I had to walk back down again! By the time I was down I was too late for the walking tour in the centre. I started heading for the centre anyway as I hadn't really had a proper look around the square- I only saw it from the bus tour.
On the way I came across Santa Lucia, another hill in the middle of the city. I had seen it from the bus tour and thought it looked nice. So off I went climbing again. This one was only 69m high so it was grand!! There was a nice viewing tour on the top of that too. Even though its not that high its right in the middle of the city so you can see everything. There was a nice fountain and stairway at the entrance too. There was also a man who gave me paper with a poem on it and he wanted a donation for it for someone going to medical school. Most of the schools over here are private. He didn't get much soot from me though!
I went to the Casa de la Moneda which is the palace. I think it was built to be a mint, hence the name. You couldnt go that close but you could see the guards at the entrance. Luckily enough as I was walking around it they started the change of guard so I saw them clicking their heels, marching around and putting their rifles up and down! They must do it often as there werent too many tourists not like in Buckingham.
I walked to the main square then. There's a cathedral and some other fancy buildings- I don't know what they are. The square itself was nice. There were lots of artists painting pictures that were for sale, people doing some kind of comedy shows and others pretending to be statues. I went into the cathedral then. It seemed bigger than most of the others I was in but similar elaborate designs and statues and altars and things. Very fancy as usual!
So then I walked back to the area the hostel is on. I think I was walking for about 5 hours so the legs will definitely be sore tomorrow! There are some souvenir shops in the bellavista area so I spent a while looking at jewellery and had something to eat before heading back to the hostel.
There isn't much to do in the hostel but Santiago doesn't feel like a place that's safe to do too much wandering in the dark. Most areas are really busy. So, another early night and hopefully this time I will have a trip to Valparaiso in the morning!