Tour of Santiago Day 1
I woke up just before 8:30 this morning, and by 9:30, I had managed to get Marc up and moving. Apart from the nap we took when we first arrived, Marc hadn’t slept since we left Sydney. Both of us were feeling somewhat refreshed but a bit disoriented, unsure of the date and day.
After a brief panic searching for our passports and the second room key—both of which were safely in our room—it was clear just how tired we still were.
Breakfast, included with our stay, was a fantastic spread, combining both continental and American-style buffet options. The only thing missing was butter for the bread, but aside from that, the meal was excellent.
We set off from the hotel and began our day of exploration. One of my favourite things to do when visiting a new city is take a Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour, and Santiago offers this option as well. I’ve used these tours in various cities, including all the Australian capitals, London, and Dunedin. They’re a great way to get an overview of a city and decide where you want to spend more time.
Turistik operates the Hop-On Hop-Off buses in Santiago. What was supposed to be a 500-meter walk to the stop ended up being three times that distance, made slower by my back pain, as I can’t walk too far. Along the way, we encountered several other tourists also looking for the same bus. We quickly realised the tour buses didn’t have visible signs and didn’t stop at the usual bus stops.
Once on the bus with our two-day pass (which included cable car access), we set off on our adventure, excited like school kids unsure of where to look first. With headphones on and an informative commentary in English, we had ten stops to choose from. We began at stop 9.
Jorge, the bus conductor, was fantastic and recommended that we take the cable car today, as tomorrow, Saturday, would likely bring large crowds with children making the most of the warm weather at the pool halfway up Cerro San Cristóbal.
We hopped off at stop 3, walked a short distance, and boarded the cable car to the summit. Once there, we visited the Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, a significant religious and historical site. The sanctuary features a 14-meter statue of the Virgin Mary, completed in 1908, that overlooks the city. It’s a popular pilgrimage site with panoramic views of Santiago and its surroundings, and holds great cultural and spiritual significance for Chileans.
Afterward, we reboarded the bus and made our way to stop 5, Plaza de Armas. What we initially thought was a street performance in the square turned out to be something far more serious—several well-built officers were dragging a man out of the square, quickly joined by more officers in vehicles and on bikes. We’ve since learned that Chile has a national police service, as well as privately-run enforcement agencies.
We passed riot vehicles, houses with barbed wire fencing, and multi-story buildings with bars on the windows. One police car even looked like it was ready for a demolition derby, or perhaps just bracing for the local traffic.
For lunch, we stopped at a local food stall called Tarjeta De Prepago, where we decided to try the Valido Como Boleta. It turned out to be dry white toasted sandwich with a large amount of thinly shaved beef (similar to kebab meat) and a thick slice of cheddar. The dish was dry and far too rich with all that cheese, so we rate it a 3 out of 10.
Our final bus ride took us to stop 10, where we had a short 500-meter walk back to the hotel. We stopped by an OXXO convenience store, only to find that they didn’t sell milk—but do sell alcohol (Marc was impressed). We bought some water and a lemon soda that could rival Solo before heading back to the hotel. We fell asleep and woke up around 7:30 PM. To end the evening, we went down to the dining area for coffee and a cheese platter.
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