Another hill?

In the last post I described Cerro (Spanish for hill) San Cristobol. This time the featured hill will be Cerro Santa Lucia (CSL). For class on Monday I went with another student with the task of taking pictures and learning all we could about the hill solely by talking to Chileans. Then today we had to give a presentation to the class on it. It was neat to talk to Chileans and finally mostly understand... they slowed way down to accomidate us, but none the less.

CSL is much smaller than CSC. CSL is just east of the main part of downtown Santiago. It's just a short walk from La Moneda (Chilean White House) and La Plaza de Armas (see earlier post). CSL was where the city of Santiago was founded. Pedro de Valdivia chose the hill as the location to start the city. The hill gave added protection against the natives. At the top of the hill is the old fort. Along the hill are a number of small terraces to stop and catch your breath/admire the view as you climb to the top.

A map of the hill marked with the many terraces and historical buildings along it:

As you start the climb you enter and immediately go up a set of stairs that leads you to The Neptune Terrace (named for the statue in the fountain):

At the base of the hill is a mural dedicated to Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean who won the Nobel Prize in Literature:

Also on the first level is a craft fair of indigenous crafts (If you want a wool hat, this is your place):

A statue of Pedro de Valdivia along the climb:

The fort at the top of the hill (they fire a cannon from it every day at noon):

The view from the top, albeit on a rainy day, and my partner for the day (Helene a Belgian exchange student). Note she is not thrilled about the requirement that each of us appear in a photo:

Afterwards I headed to La Plaza de Armas to meet up with some friends who were assigned that location. Then we all headed to El Mercado Central. A large tourist spot where FISH is the number one thing to buy:

It's a huge tourist location and if you want less expensive fish/fruits/veggies you can head one block over to La Vega. Same set up, but with less Gringos. However a fun fact is that when visiting, President Clinton ate at one of the restaurants in El Mercado Central (though I'm not sure why as the fish smell is overwhelming) and they renamed the restaraunt La Clinton.

The inside of El Mercado Central:

...and just for fun before I go:

When you hear an ice cream truck in Santiago and run outside with a few hundred pesos in your hand, this is what you encounter. It's a cart where someone turns a crank organ to play the music. Instead of ice cream, you buy toys! The 5 year old in me LOVES this concept!

Bueno Bye.