Day 3

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Today we simply explored the city of Santiago as our last attempt when we first arrived wasn't very successful because of the jet lag. We began the day searching for a coffee shop that was open, there was still nothing even at 9am so we gave up and joined a tour group. South Americans start their days late and finish late. We visited Plaza De Armas, historic buildings and government house. The central market was the highlight of the day as we had fresh seafood cooked right in front us for lunch and finished with 'pure de castanas' which is a delicious traditional dessert made from puréed chestnuts. Next we ventured off by ourselves spending an hour walking to try and find the beginning of the hike up to Cerro San Cristobal (870m). On the way we walked through Bellavista, consisting of trendy cafes, then finally began the rocky uphill climb. It was well worth the hard work, from the top we experienced a panoramic view of the whole city with the Andes mountains in the background. This was the most evasive face of the city, which is often obscured by a drapery of smog. The funicular (elevator) was a fun ride down.
Deciding we needed a veggie fix we returned to the famous El Huerto vegetarian restaurant for tea, and tried another Chilean specialty- Lucuma icecream made from the Lucuma fruit grown only in Chile, and enjoyed sea vegetables along with a Nepalese meal similar to Dhal Bhat. Overall, Santiago is a quirky and safe city with classic architecture.

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