El Centro de la Ciudad - Downtown in the City

With upwards of 5 million inhabitants (and much more if you count regualted and unreguated visitors), Santiago is a bustling metropolis that is nestled with the snow capped Andes to the East and the Pacific Coast to the West. Founded by the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in 1541, the city has enjoyed periods of growth and succession which have brought a rich and approachable culture and economy. With a visit to Cerro Santa Lucia, we could see not only the pint at which de Valdivia proclaimed the city to be established, but also a beautiful park with rocky paths and stairs to follow to the top. From the observation area, you can see all of Santiago, including the Cerro San Cristobal I wrote about previously. On a sunny day, the progress and shear size of the city are impressive to behold.

Making my way down to the Plaza de Armas, you see an area teeming with people, coming and going, sitting and laughing, discussing and listening, moving and shaking. The beautiful Catedral Metropolitana sits nearby and is an impressive site to behold as well as the Palacio de la Moneda, Chile's Presidential palace. Yet, the place is buzzing with people everywhere, and as the afternoon moves forward, the stream of individuals continues to move and sway, a river of population moving through the downtown channels. Making our way over to Paseo Huefanos, which is an impressive walking mall of shops and of course, people, lining the street for blocks on end. It reminded me of the 16th Street Mall in Denver, but much larger and with a seemingly endless supply of specialty shops, restaurants, cafes, and department stores. Oh, and did I mention that there are people everywhere? Well, on this sunny day in the capital city, the people were out in full force, enjoying the sunshine and coming and going, sitting and laughing, discussing and listening, moving and shaking.

After making our way out of the downtown by going past the Merced Church, considered the oldest (or one of the oldest) buildings in all of Santiago, we made our way back to the Metro for the Rush hour rush. So, we made our way to the station and in line for the train, with throngs of students, workers, business people and general travelers like us all crammed into a confined space that was made smaller and smaller with each stop along the line. I felt like I was at a Who concert.

Anyway, after that close encounter of a personal kind, we made our wa to the bus and got an even closer inspection of our fellow "Santiaguinos" as the bus swelled with more and more people as we moved closer to the plaza in Nunoa. Much of this increased use is due to the high price of gasoline and the ease of moving around the city without a car using the public transportation, but it also is a way of life here that will take some getting used to as well. In the western US, we are used to a large sense of personal space, but things tighten up here in Santiago, as the space between points in shortened with the connections and interactions with an increased number of people.