Cerro Santa Lucia

I know, I know, there needs to be an accent on that i, but I can´t for the life of me figure out how to use this keyboard, and everyone is busy, so I´ll have to wait and edit it later, lol.

So, last Saturday I woke up somewhat early, and spent the day wandering around before my wonderful night out. I went to Cerro Santa Lucia first, which is surprisingly close to my apartment and work. Before I went I got some ice cream from Emporio la Rosa. Yes, I am addicted, and yes people stared at me when I got ice cream at 10 in the morning. The ice cream girl thought it was hilarious though. And I´m pretty used to being stared at now. I got cinnamon and moka. The cinnamon was a little too strong for me, but still good, but the moka was absolutely delicious. In the U.S. mochas are often too sweet for me. They taste like hot chocolate with a hint of espresso, which is good in it´s own right, but is not a classic mocha, which should taste like dark chocolate with a big hit of espresso in my opinion. Luckily, they serve perfect moka´s for my taste here, but I wasn´t so sure about the ice cream. I was a little worried the ice cream would be too sweet and lose the real taste of a moka. But of course, Emporio la Rosa did it again. It was delicious and fantastic, and I can´t imagine anything better. And yes I will probably continue saying that about every single ice cream I have from there.

So back to the Cerro, It´s basically a very larg hill, or very small mountain in the middle of the city. I entered from the West side, very close to where I work. There are quite a few buildings, old castles really, that were used as lookouts and also as homes for the very wealthy in older Santiago. Benjamin McKenna, who is considered one of the greatest leaders in Chile, was very passionate about beautifying Santiago, and Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal were a large part of his focus. Because of this the buildings are well taken care of, and there are beautiful plants all over the place, turning the Cerro into a huge landscape of ivy and flowers.

As you climb up, you continually get to little plateus that you think must be the top, only to find an even narrower (and more dangerous) stairway to continue up in. At the almost top is this little chapel, the burial sight of McKenna, almost hidden away. It´s very pretty, and covered with these red cacti flowers, which I became obsessed with as I walked up. Finally you reach the very top, and you´re in a little turret open to the air with a telescope for those wishing to look very far. I was lucky it was such a clear day, because you could see all the mountains, the entire city, in such clarity. It was so incredibly beautiful. It was just what I needed, because at that point I was having a very hard time with accepting the differences with my life in Chile, as well as having some personal problems with loved ones back home. My time up there was just what I needed, because it reminded me that I came to Chile for new experiences, and while some, like this view of the mountains I was having would be wonderful, some would not, and the difficulties were just as, if not more important in building the kind of character I hope to gain from my trips.

Coming down from the very top, I saw dozens of these beautiful little birds. They look a lot like a hummingbird, but they are a glowing green all around, and they make the most interesting call. They were flitting about, drinking nectar from my favorite flowers, filling the otherwise quiet morning with their song. I got like 6 pictures of one bird, I just loved them so much!

Once you walk down and around from the very top, there is this beatiful oasis almost, with a waterfall, benches, and a statue of Pedro de Valdivia. Again, there were wonderful views and the waterfall made the spot even more calming. There are so many different trails and things to see, I plan on going back again soon, and trying some more out. Hopefully when people come visit me I can take them up my favorite path to the top!