11/22: Introduction to Santiago, Chile: Out and About in the City of Fountains

After discovering some of the world's most enthralling natural sights in southern Bolivia and northern Chile for the past week plus, arriving in Santiago's Chile's capital city and metropolis of more than six million people was a bit of a culture shock. Our visit to the city, founded in 1541, was sure to be a strange one as we would see it in fits and starts. We only had 36 hours to tour the city before leaving to tour Easter Island for several days, then see more of Santiago for another couple of days before leaving again to travel to Valparaiso for a couple of days and then return for one final day.

We were scheduled to take a free walking tour the next day but wanted to get 'out and about' before then. That would be easy as our hotel which also included a hostel much to our surprise was just a couple of minutes' away from the center of town. The Teatro Municipal, aka the National Opera of Chile, was built in 1857. It was our first indication that Santiago was going to be a far more beautiful city than La Paz, the previous capital city we'd most recently seen.

How pleasant it was to see so many pedestrian streets in the core AND with sidewalks that we didn't need to worry about each step we took. The only 'hazard' was inadvertently getting too close to the many smokers we noticed immediately upon arriving at the airport!

As we entered the Plaza de Armas, it was intriguing to see all the tables set up for the city's chess-loving citizens and the throng of people watching over them. Every time we passed by that same corner in the next week or so, there were always men playing chess, and smoking, of course. Santiago's central square has been the symbolic heart of Chile - as well as its political, social, religious, and commercial center - since Pedro de Valdivia established the city on this spot in 1541.

I have referred to the phrase 'Plaza de Armas' in umpteen previous posts in this blog about our trip to South America when writing about a city's or town's central square. However, I have never discussed its meaning. Literally a “square of weapons,” the concept behind this city center dates back hundreds of years, to when Spanish conquistadors were establishing and laying out the grid for cities in the Americas. A single city block would often be intentionally left empty and surrounded by important government offices, cathedrals, and the like. In the event of an attack, the city’s population could easily gather there to be armed and protected.

The square looked beautiful with blooming trees, benches full of people watching the world pass by in the warm afternoon sun, street performers and caricaturists.

The square's mounted police officers welcomed curious children and photographers.

In the center of the plaza was a huge fountain, just the first of many we would come across in Santiago.

On the opposite side of the square was a row of stunning colonial era buildings. The first one we admired was the yellowish Museo Historico Nacional which served as the meeting place for Chile's first Congress in July, 1811. The building then functioned as a telegraph office before the National History Museum moved here in 1911.

The Museum's clock tower:

Bordering the Plaza de Armas was a gray building that, from the outside, a visitor might not have known was the Metropolitan Cathedral. Spanish conquistador de Valdvia declared in 1541 that a house of worship would be constructed at this site. The first adobe building burned to the ground, and the structures that replaced it were destroyed by the 1647 and 1730 earthquakes.

One of the Cathedral's many exquisite chapels:

The banner welcomed Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Chile in January, 2018. It read 'My peace I give unto you.'

Big Red: I thought of you when I gazed at the high ceilings which were meticulously painted with images from the bible.

The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament was adorned with a fantastic amount of silver.

In contrast to the ornate style of the nave and chapels, the crypt below was austere and humbling to observe.

The statue was of St. Alberto Hurtado, a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer and social worker. He was canonized in 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming his country's second saint.

Catty corner to the cathedral on the square was surely the most beautiful Central Post Office we were ever likely to see! Housed in what was the ornate Palacio de los Gobernadores or Presidential Palace until 1846, it was reconstructed beginning in 1882 after being ravaged by a fire. The glass and iron roof was added in the early 20th century.

A lively street market was taking place just beyond the square so we happily followed the throng of people.

Having had little fresh fruit the last week while on our recent treks in the back of beyond, coming across the busy fruit stalls was like a little piece of nirvana. We bought cherries and strawberries which we ate right then and there; the latter only cost $2.50 a kilo!

At the end of the street was the Mercado Central or Central Market which was rated as the fifth best in the world by National Geographic in June of 2012. We always make a beeline for markets wherever we travel but it had just closed so we were determined to return another day since we had so much time in Santiago in between our other trips.

Santiago was one of the few cities where I've seen open-air mani- pedi salons!

Some of you know of my love of knitting ever since my English mother taught me how as a young child growing up in Ottawa. In just a couple of hours of strolling around the central core, we'd passed eight yarn stores! They reminded me of how much I miss knitting and especially my knitting and crocheting friends back home on our long travels.

Sorry, my Loving Hands friends, I couldn't pick up some yarn to bring back to you. My bag was already getting rather big with all sorts of souvenirs.

Walking back down another pedestrian mall or paseo as it's known in Santiago, we spotted several tarot reading and fortune-telling stalls. As I had already had my fortune told to me in Las Paz a few weeks earlier, I din't feel the need to stop here!

We did stop for a few minutes at the Templo de Santo Domingo, however. It was the fourth church built on the site to house the city's Dominican congregation. Earthquakes in 1595, 1647 and 1730 destroyed the earlier churches. The church was constructed of ashlar masonry.

The church was so much more peaceful than the Cathedral had been where so many people had been yakking and looking at their cell phones. How serene it was to listen to the music in such solitude.

St. Theresa of the Andes:

After coming from the desert landscapes of both southern Bolivia and northern Chile, it was exquisite seeing the city's lovely fountains. It was very odd, though, also seeing the US store GNC and several branches of the Canadian Scotiabank.