First Stop - Santiago, Chile

Created April 2006, Updated 4/2006

中文版 (Chinese)

Santiago is the capital and the largest city of Chile. It is also my point of entry to South America in this trip.

As the largest city and capital, almost one third of Chileans live in Santiago. I arrived right in the middle of summer, so it was quite hot (but fortunately, the weather is Mediterranean, so it is usually dry heat and rarely humid). There are not really that many interesting tourist sites to visit. I did walk around a bit, visit its main square and the Cathedral. I also visit a small hilly park, Santa Lucia. It is relatively modern and clean. The metro system is clean and efficient (yes, cleaner than New York's). You can get to most of the points around town. Thus, pretty much you can finish most of the sights in Santiago in one day.

And then you con start your 2500 miles journey either toward the north or south end of the country...

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Cathedral of Santiago, in the main square, right in the center of the town.

Government Palace - I am not sure if Michele Bachelet's (the first woman president in Chile) office is in this building, but this building certainly looks neat.

A Street corner in Santiago. It looks no difference from the street scene of Madrid.

A statue of Salvador Allende, the late president who was killed in General Pinochet's 1973 coup.

A view of Santiago from the top of Santa Lucia Park, a small hill right in the center of Santiago. Yes, I know, it is not really scenic.

Another picture taken from Santa Lucia Park.