The "Green Lung" of Santiago

 Every day when I wake up, I open our window blinds and stare straight at the big hill that dominates central Santiago. And every where I go - work, the SUP office, an asado - I hear about people hiking, biking, or running to the top. After three weeks, it was starting to feel a little absurd that we hadn’t summited Cerro San Cristobal yet. So after work last week, Karen and I met up and started working our way towards the hill. It’s not hard to find.

  Sure, the foothills of the Andes are always on the horizon and Santiago’s lone skyscraper is hard to miss, but when you orient yourself anywhere in downtown Santiago, you use Cerro San Cristobal. The hill is Santiago’s largest park, and its densest collection of greenery, desperately pumping out oxygen to the smoggy city- hence its nickname “el pulmon verde de Santiago.”

 Besides walking and biking, there are two mechanized ways of reaching the top. The first and most exciting is the teleferico- a kind of dangling, closed in ski-lift. Thousands of tourists must ride this every year, so even in an earthquake-prone area, I’m sure it’s incredibly safe. Nevertheless, when you get in, an attendant warns you not stand, get up, or move quickly during the ride, which gives the whole thing an air of danger.

The Teleferico

 You can debark halfway up to enjoy a number of amenities, including a castle, ice cream, and very picturesque pool (that unfortunately is closed for the fall and winter).

 It may be hard to see in the photo, but there is a large rock sticking out of the pool. Apparently the presence of this rock nearly ruined the whole pool construction project, until one enterprising pool architect decided to just leave it there and build the pool around it. This level of the park also had some striking views and helpful advice about hydration.

Striking Views

"Water: it helps the metabolism"

 But with the pool closed and the ice cream even more expensive than it was at ground level, we got back on the teleferico and continued the ascent. But the teleferico will only take you so high. Once you get off at the final stop, the last part of the climb is up to you. And who else is waiting there to welcome you, but the Virgin Mary herself.

Pictured: Symbolism!

 Some fast facts about the statue: she's 22 meters tall, an actual service happens here every Sunday, and Pope John Paul II blessed the city from here in 1987. Pope John Paul II is also notable for having the following sections in his wikipedia page: "Role in the collapse of dictatorships" and "Role in the fall of communism".

 Besides enormous virgins, you can find the following at the top of the Cerro San Cristobal:

Nice Views

Romantic Sunsets

Wonderful People

Lots of Crosses

 Remember at the beginning of this post when I said there are two main mechanized ways of getting up and down the hill? We descended using the second of these- the funicular. This is a cart on rails, and the best part about it is that as your cart goes down, another cart is on its way up, and the two carts barrel towards each other in a deadly game of chicken, only to barely slide by each other in the middle.

 The funicular leaves you in the Bellavista neighborhood, so that's where we ate dinner.  Sushi is *very* popular in Santiago.  While Karen never ventured to try any back in 2011, we  decided to go for it.  Based on our one sushi dinner so far (and ogling at many others), it's clear that "sushi" in Santiago is very different from "sushi" in the Bay Area... it seems to focus on featuring a fun variety of toppings (sweet unagi sauce, imitation crab, cream cheese, deep fried bread crumbs, grated vegetables), while using actual raw fish more sparingly.  Tasty!