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Up and Down in Santiago – Two Hills and a Cable Car

“Can you touch it?”

“NO! You touch it!”

“I can’t, I’m taking the picture Mark, please…?”

“Uh … no. Gimme the camera. I take the picture.”

“Mark, I’d rather you touch the cactus than take a picture with my Nikon.”

Quick look around. Nope, no English speaker around. Hopefully no one understood what I said and witnessed this great parenting moment of mine.

“Gently…”

“It did NOT hurt!”

“Of course, he doesn’t. I wouldn’t hurt you! I think it would only hurt if … like, if you sat on it.”

“That’d be silly.”

“Yep. Okay, let’s go down. Hold my hand, it’s slippery.”

“Mommy … can you tell me a story?”

“How about after we go down the hill?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you a story then. It’s the story of the lion and the … the … cac…”

“Cactus?”

“YES! So, the lion sits on the cactus. Ouch! That hurt! That was silly!”

“What does the lion’s mommy say?”

“… Don’t sit on the cactus! This is not a toy, it’s a cactus!”

“And?”

“The end.”

And this is how we climbed the Cerro Santa Lucía, a small hill just a couple of blocks from where we are staying. Stairs are slippery and it’s taller than it seems but the view on downtown Santiago is nice.

For a better view and a fun experience, we headed to Cerro San Cristóbal, home of the Parque Metropolitano. The cable car is back to service after a long seven-year hiatus, so we were finally able to ride it to the peak of the hill, where a 22-meter statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands. Mark absolutely loved the two-kilometre ride from estación Oasis to estación Cumbre and back, and Feng likes the fact that for once, we didn’t have to walk downhill under the sun.

The cactus on the way to the top of Cerro Santa Lucía
On top of Cerro Santa Lucía
On top of Cerro Santa Lucía
On top of Cerro Santa Lucía
On top of Cerro Santa Lucía
Teleférico in Cerro San Cristóbal
Ride up to estación Cumbre
Ride up to estación Cumbre
Santiago from the cable car
Santiago from the cable car
Santiago from the cable car
Mark, very happy in the cable car
Ride up to estación Cumbre
Ride up to estación Cumbre
Trying to pretend I don’t mind being in a small car dangling up in the air
The top of the hill
The top of the hill
The top of the hill
Prayers to the Virgin Mary at base of statue on San Cristobal Hill
Jesus watching Santiago
Prayers to the Virgin Mary at base of statue on San Cristobal Hill
Candles burning in prayers to the Virgin Mary at base of statue on San Cristobal Hill
Candles burning in prayers to the Virgin Mary at base of statue on San Cristobal Hill
The statue of Virgin Mary
Santiago from the top of the hill
Virgin Mary statue on San Cristobal Hill
Resting at the top of the hill
The ride downhill
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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