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Forget About the Protests, This is the More Classic Santiago Experience

Despite the ongoing protests, Santiago is still Santiago—reliably hot and sunny, crowded and lively, enjoyable with barrios quieter than Plaza Italia.

I took Mark to La Vega Central, Santiago’s market, where you can find all kinds of supersized vegetables and fruits (seriously, zucchinis and choclo, aka Peruvian corn, are as big as Mark’s arm!) as well as dozens or cats and dogs hiding under the stalls. Once you start noticing them, you just can’t stop.

We also went to La Quinta Normal, a large park home to plenty of (free!) museums, we hung out at Plaza de Armas and in barrio Santa Lúcia, we had classic Santiago food (Chinese, empanadas, pizza and hot dogs… yeah, not the world capital of gastronomy!) and we had fun walking through the ever-expanding and very unofficial bustling Estación Central street market.

We also climbed Cerro San Cristóbal—we took the funicular up to the sanctuary, then…

“See the tower over there?”

“Yes…?”

“That’s where we’re going. It’s a shopping mall. We pushed your stroller downhill three years in a row when you were a baby, so now it’s payback time. You’re walking with us!”

He made it downhill “totally not tired.” Yeah, right.

Plaza de Armas, Santiago
Plaza de Armas, Santiago
Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile
Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile
Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile
Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile
La Alameda and Cerro Santa Lucía, Santiago
La Alameda and Cerro Santa Lucía, Santiago
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Vega Central de Santiago, the market home to dozens of cats and dogs
Chinatown, around Estación Central, Santiago
Chinatown, around Estación Central, Santiago
Av. República, Santiago
Av. República, Santiago
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Parque Quinta Normal
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Parque Quinta Normal
Santiago subway, Unión Latino Americana
Santiago subway, Unión Latino Americana
Avenida Recoleta, Santiago
Avenida Recoleta, Santiago
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cerro San Cristóbal, funicular to Cumbre
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepción del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepción del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepción del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepción del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cumbre del Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill... all the way to the tall tower in the background, behind me
Going downhill… all the way to the tall tower in the background, behind me
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Going downhill, Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Mark's drawing the night after the walk downhill
Mark’s drawing the night after the walk downhill
La Alameda after Friday's protests, Santiago
La Alameda after Friday’s protests, Santiago
La Alameda after Friday's protests, Santiago
La Alameda after Friday’s protests, Santiago
The theater that burned, La Alameda after Friday's protests, Santiago
The theater that burned, La Alameda after Friday’s protests, Santiago
La Alameda after Friday's protests, Santiago
La Alameda after Friday’s protests, Santiago
Calle Moneda, Santiago
Calle Moneda, Santiago, ‘Until everything is burning’
Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
Santiago from our apartment building, Calle Monjitas
At the apartment, Calle Monjitas, Santiago
At the apartment, Calle Monjitas, Santiago
Late-night pizza, Calle Monjitas, Santiago
Late-night pizza, Calle Monjitas, Santiago
Plaza de Armas, the "hot dog street", Santiago
Plaza de Armas, the “hot dog street”, Santiago
Plaza de Armas, Santiago
Plaza de Armas, Santiago
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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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