An Introduction to Santiago

After a long day of travel, we were ready to explore the beautiful city of Santiago. Much like Buenos Aires, we were given a bus tour of the city by our wonderful tour guides, Francisca and Catalina. They briefly introduced us to some of the history of this great city while we enjoyed the view from comfortable leather seats and air conditioning, a necessity in the 90 degree weather.

One thing our tour guides were quick to point out was the new skyscraper that is being built in the city. Once completed, it will be the tallest in Chile, South America, and the Southern Hemisphere! With a shopping mall at the base and as many as 3 different hotels in it, there is no doubt that it will become a major tourist attraction upon its completion. However, while it's being built, there are plenty of other skyscrapers to look at. The Santiago skyline is beautiful, and showcases many of the different companies and architectural styles of the city.
(The new skyscraper is the one in the back!)

 

The highlight of our city tour was definitely Paseo de Santa Lucia, or to us, Santa Lucia hill. The hill itself is beautiful, but also has a lot of meaning behind it. In the past, it was used as a cemetery, and has a strong connection to the native people. Today, it is a great vantage point to see the city of Santiago as a whole.

Once we climbed to the top of the hill, which I must say was difficult to do in flip-flops, we had the treat of seeing the amazing views it had to offer. There are no words to describe the amazement we all felt when looking at the whole city of Santiago after a whole day of traveling, and pictures truly don't do it justice. I heard many students saying,"this doesn't even look real", and I agree. Looking down at the beautiful city was something I know I will never forget, and I'm sure many others on the trip feel the same way.

Once back on the bus, we were able to see important Santiago landmarks, such as the national bank and the Mercato Central, which we will be visiting later in the week.

 

All in all, it was a great introduction to Santiago and Chile. Although we will miss Buenos Aires, we are excited to experience the opportunities Santiago has to offer. The city tour was the perfect introduction to the city, and I know I speak on behalf of all of my classmates when I say that we're excited to see what Chile has to offer.