All together now....

On our second day in Santiago, we met with the ISA group at the hotel and got somewhat settled into our rooms - although my room wasn't ready yet. It was quite overwhelming trying to meet about 40 people in a short span of time, and I still haven't met some of them.

We had lunch at a cafe next to the hotel - which was sad for other customers since we took up the whole restaurant. The lunch was very filling, and surprisingly vegetarian (it actually didn't have any meat)!
(hostel take over of the restaurant)

After lunch, we headed to the Cerro San Cristobal, a hill that rises in the middle of Santiago. It received it's name because St. Christopher is the patron Saint of travelers, and travelers used it as an indicator that they were approaching Santiago.

We used the funicular (a railway that goes up the side of a mountain) to get to the top of the hill. (the railway, the station from the outside, and our group waiting to go up).


Once we got to the top, we were given time to look around the top of the hill, where there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary, that was actually made in France and shipped over), and an outdoor church that has Mass on Sundays. (the statue, which is illuminated at night as well)

To get down from the hill we took the telefonico, which is like an enclosed ski-lift or cable-car. I also thought of the Bond movie where Jaws tries to snap the cable-car that Bond and a girl are in. It did give us some marvelous views of the city, and an insightful look at how the hill separates the wealthy part of Santiago, that we are in right now, from the poor side.

(a cable-car, they seat 4)
(Leslie and Erika taking a ride)
(a view of Santiago from the cable-car)
(el Cerro and the city)
(a cable-car whizzing past)
(another view)
(going down!)

When we got back, we took a little break and then went out to watch some futbol (or soccer as us Americans say). Chile was playing Argentina in the qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup in a match for second place. We were told that this was a huge game, not only because it was a semi-final, but also because Chile and Argentina are huge rivals. Chile is not known to have a good team, and it showed while they were playing Argentina. Nonetheless, every bar was packed with Chileans watching big screen TVs and projectors outside. I'd be surprised if there was a TV that wasn't playing the match in all Santiago. Chile ended up loosing 3-0, so there were no parties in the streets, but it was clear that they do love their futbol.