Visiting the Capital

He who does not travel,

who does not read,

who does not listen to music,

who does not find grace in himself,

she who does not find grace in herself,

dies slowly.

-Palo Neruda-

In the early morning of Saturday, June 23rd (Day 13 in Chile), we boarded our bus to embark on a journey to Santiago, the capital city of Chile, which is about an hour and a half from Valparaiso. Once we arrived, we headed for Cerro San Cristobal, the second highest peak in the capital. In order to go to the top, we took a “teleférico”, or cable car, where we saw beautiful views despite the fog. Snow-covered mountain peaks were the backdrop for the city providing a spectacular view. Students were given some time to explore for a bit before heading to the top to see the La Virgen, a 22-meter statue commemorating the Virgin Mary, and a chapel.

We later walked to a sandwich shop and tried different juices and sandwiches, many sharing their food to get a taste of everything. From there, we took a tour La Chascona, one of Pablo Neruda’s houses. While we couldn’t take pictures inside, we noticed many similarities between La Chascona and La Sebastiana, the first house of Pablo Neruda that we visited. We did so much, but our adventure was far from over. We did some shopping at La Feria de Santa Lucia, ate ice cream at Emporio La Rosa, and watched a street performer dressed as Michael Jackson (with guest performer “Jhay”) before heading back to what we have called home the past couple weeks.