Wednesday, May 23, 2012

San Cristóbol and Zumba

On reserve this month, I got a Santiago trip.  I've really started enjoying these trips now that the layovers are longer and we actually have time to do things.  This is a great time of year to visit because they are heading into fall in South America so the weather is cool and pleasant.

I was lucky to be on the trip with several of my friends, and we were a pretty junior crew.  This layover we tackled the Cerro San Crisóbol, a hill in the northern part of town that overlooks the entire city.  The hill is 2600 feet above sea level at it's peak, and is about 1000 feet above the rest of town.  It's several miles to the top, but the path is graded and the incline is not too steep so it wasn't that bad.  It's the home of the largest public park in Santiago.

We started out walking past some Chilean graffiti as we made our way into the entrance of the park.


This big skyscraper is the Gran Torre, which is the tallest building in South America.  It is still under construction though and is expected to be done in 2013.



The pathway up to the top of San Cristóbol is also popular with bike riders.  These pair of bike riders brought along their dog,


The foothills of the park also have a Japanese garden overlooking the downtown skyscrapers.



About half way up the hill we stumbled upon a Zumba class.  I've never participated in one of these latin aerobics classes, but it was pretty fun!  We stayed for a few of the songs and I managed to capture some pictures and some video!





The higher we got the more we noticed the smog in the city.  


Our trip up the hill also coincided with a big event with Catholic youth and clergy.  They were all dressed in white robes and making their way up the hill to the top to the statue of the Blessed Virgin.




At the very top of the hill is the Parque Metropolitano Santiago (or PMS....I know... who wants to go to PMS park?).  There is a small stage and the church groups were assembling there for Mass.


Even with the cool temperatures, I still worked up quite a sweat as I made my way to the very top.