I took a look at Frommer's travel guide through Chile (thank you, Jacob) last night and was excited to find that I know how I might feasibly get to some of the places described in this book. Las Condes, La Providencia, las líneas del metro, La Moneda, Avenida Bernard O'Higgins.... I know this stuff! Reading the section about Santiago made a lot of pieces come together in my mental map of the city.
So, today, I decided to go spend some time reading and relaxing at Cerro Santa Lucía, which promises an increible view of the city from the top. (Cerro means 'hill' in English.) Feeling a bit (too much) on the ambitious side, I decided to walk to the metro, instead of taking the bus.
As a sidenote-- the 'metro' is the underground subway system in Santiago. There are 5 lines that run all over... or under... downtown. There is also a bus system, called 'Transantiago' that supplements the metro. Chileans roll their eyes when they talk about Transantiago; it's fairly inefficient. The metro is a bit more efficient, but CROWDED!
....So I decided to walk. I've got nothing to do today. Just relaxing. Three hours later, I arrive at a metro station. It happened to be 7 stops past the stop closest to the apartment. I wandered further, mmmmm, left than I should have. I kept trying to figure out the directions on the map in my head, but alas.
It certainly wasn't the end of the world. I ended up stumbling upon a huge rose garden, a nice neighborhood where I might want to live in a few months, a Starbucks where I sat and read for a while (Going to Starbucks in Chile is cheating, I know! Get off my back.), and then wound my way around to the subway, where I succeeded in reaching my original destination of Cerro Santa Lucía. (I probably should have just walked the rest of the way. It was only a few more blocks.) The view was indeed incredible. And I did indeed take the bus home. (And I am indeed very sunburned.)
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