Santiago Day 2

We had a free day today with nothing planned nor organised for us. I had though, for the past 24 hours, been feeling a bit under the weather which apparently is not unusual after spending a lot of time at high altitude and then returning to sea level. We had a meal booked at a local restaurant last night but cancelled and just had a light snack.

This morning,,Friday,,after a leisurely breakfast we walked from our hotel to a very large park, Parque Metropolitano which is set on a hill, in the middle of the city which had been recommended to us. Today is a public holiday in Chile so there were a number of families enjoying time together. There were a lot of serious cyclists and runners going up the hill. The weather has changed today and was quite chilly. The park though was fun. To give an impression of its size there is a cable car and a funicular railway which we went on. At the highest point there is a statue of San Cristobal which seems quite popular in South American cities. The views over the city were disappointing as it was quite misty as well as cold.
We left the park and took the metro to the Barillo Italia that we visited briefly yesterday . The metro is quite extensive throughout the city but easy to use. The Italian area was quiet due to the public holiday but we had a very good pizza lunch. There were several artisan market stalls set up so interesting to wander around.
Santiago is an interesting city, Tania our guide from yesterday was very protective towards us ensuring we did not carry a camera but use our phones for photos. Hold on to your phone and wallet in your pocket. Despite this we never really felt under threat but obviously crime must be rife.
Tomorrow, Saturday, we are being collected at 9am for our flight south to Punta Natales and then a three hour coach journey to Puerto Arenas, where the temperature is likely to be only a few degrees above freezing. Packing for this trip has been challenging having to cater for these temperatures and the likely 30 degrees plus to come in Rio.Read more