SANTIAGO DE CHILE 13.01.2023

Since we traveled a lot with the 'lonely planet' travel guide, it should also be our support for the activities. Franzi had registered the day as 'home office', so we could have breakfast together, but then everyone did their own thing! She had to work and we set off for Cerro San Cristobal. According to the 'lonely planet', you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view of the entire city. The reader should know that the capital of Chile, with around 6 million inhabitants, is interspersed with three larger elevations. The highest one is Cerro San Cristobal. However, these hills are not just simple mountains, but are all designed as multifunctional parks. So our hill has a cable car on the side facing us, which leads to the top, and a cogwheel train on the other side. Along the way, the cable car gondolas also stop to allow visits to two public swimming pools, and a visit to a zoo is also possible here. A Japanese garden also belongs to this area. We don't need to write about the restaurants and stalls on the way up, which are also very popular with cyclists or joggers. The summit (cumbre) is a white, 14 m high statue of the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepcion (Virgin Mary). Here, the Pope held an open-air mass during his visit in 1984. So there is also a small church and a modern Via Crucis with very modern crosses. The fact that the eye also falls on the snow-covered mountains not far away makes the view even more impressive. We took the cable car back because we wanted to go shopping with Franzi during her lunch break.

She takes 'home office' very seriously and strictly adheres to the guidelines, especially since important conferences are constantly scheduled and timed precisely. In addition, she has to be a role model in her leadership position! The shopping center (Jumbo) that we could reach on foot is housed in the highest skyscraper in South America. By the way, you can see it on the panoramic picture balcony! A huge store that offers everything. Prices in Chile are quite similar to Germany, sometimes even higher!? For example, a kilo of avocados costs €6 here? Packaged sausage or packaged cheese is sometimes twice as expensive as with us!? A six-pack of beer (0.33 liters) starts at €5 on offer?! Franzi was able to explain in great detail how to earn money and the cost of living here, as she is also affected, and these information will certainly be explained in more detail in the next blog post. Anyway, we carried our purchases down to one of the countless parking decks because that's where the taxis were. Not the regular taxis from the street (mostly black and yellow), but the more private providers, not Uber vehicles either. There are a lot more differentiations in Chile than we are familiar with. But this topic will certainly be covered in more detail in the blog. So, keep reading!

In the evening, we had a delicious potato-carrot casserole, which made the Pisco (?) taste even better afterwards! Pisco is distilled from grape must and has between 38/48% alcohol content. It comes in various forms and here we have a mixture with lemon juice, which is really delicious. This popular 'national drink' in Chile is available in Sour (with egg white) or with passion fruit and other mixtures. On our further journey, we will visit a Pisco distillery in a town! I'm looking forward to the tasting!?