Santiago

Back in December I was given the chance to cross another country off my "life list" when I visited Santiago, Chile for work.  The State Department brought together 25 new Community Liaison Officers from around Latin America and the Caribbean for training, and I had a wonderful time learning about everything "CLO."  Santiago was a beautiful city, and easy to get around, so I was able to take advantage of the fact the the sun didn't set until well after 9:00 to go out with some new friends to see a bit of the city each evening.

This first picture is at the Plaza de Armas, and the building behind me is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, built between 1748 and 1775.  It was the fifth one to be constructed on this site, the others were destroyed by earthquakes.  This one seems to be holding up fine though!

A friend took this picture so I could prove I was there... 

I loved these signs for the pedestrian streets!

Many buildings had very bright and interesting paintings on them, this was just a house on one of the busy streets in down town Santiago.

 These sculptures were on either side of the stairs going down the metro stop by our hotel... I just thought they were cool!

One of the many markets we saw, this one was by the Cerro Santa Lucia. 

One of the nicest evenings we spent exploring the Cerro Santa Lucia, a hill in the middle of the city with gardens, plazas, fountains, lookout points, and miles of paths.  The hill has historical significance because it was at the foot of this hill that Pedro de Valdivia 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 and from this picture you can see why!

The view from the top of the hill at Santa Lucia.

Two sculptures in the garden at Santa Lucia

A garden honoring Charles Darwin

 I always associate Charles Darwin with Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, but apparently he also spent quite a bit of time in Chile during his trip on the HMS Beagle pondering why he could find fossils of sea creatures in the inland mountains.  This garden was dedicated to Darwin, and there is a plaque with a quote from him after he visited Santa Lucia Hill that reads:

“A never-failing source of pleasure was to ascend the little hillock of rock which projects in the middle of the city. The scenery certainly is most striking. . .”