Our paths are diverging

April 12 - May 25

The 3 days in Valparaiso passed by as if it was nothing. Well, it kind of was.
I mean, 3 days is not really a lot.

The last few hours flew by, and I started getting a bit nervous when I realized in the bus to Santiago that I would soon be standing alone for the time being.

Just a short while later, we said goodbye to each other. With an approximate date in mind for our reunion, we went our separate ways.

Don't worry. Everything's fine. It had been planned for a long time, as Hilmar's host brother's wedding was on the agenda.

There I was, in the subway. With directions, but little to no experience when it came to riding the metro.
What do we Jenaers need a metro for 😂

After several attempts to ask for directions, some successful and some not, I got off at the right metro station.
However, finding my destination turned out to be a bigger problem than I initially thought.
Even some pedestrians couldn't make sense of the address I had.

In the end, a boy my age pointed me in a direction that sounded convincing for the moment.

I had barely taken 5 steps when suddenly a familiar voice called my name.

Sandra was standing in front of me. 

I was completely overwhelmed. 

How could this be?
The person I wanted to see was right in front of me. 

Crazy!

It got even crazier when I heard about the circumstances of this stroke of luck. Sandra's mother recognized me... even though she had only seen me in one photo.

And so, my adventure in Santiago de Chile began...

The next 2 1/2 weeks were eventful.
I met a Venezuelan named Enrique, who not only showed me the different facets of the city, but also became a close friend.

I saw the Cathedral of Santiago (great building), Plaza de Armas (a huge central square surrounded by colonial-era buildings), Cerro Santa Lucia (a small hill with a former fort and an adjacent, huge park), Palacio (government seat), the Art Museum, and much more.

Personally, I particularly liked Cerro San Cristobal. 

A mountain in the middle of the Bellavista neighborhood.

The park was well developed for tourists.
You could reach the top by car, cable car, or on foot. 

Since I didn't have a car and the cable car was exorbitantly expensive, I decided to take one of the numerous hiking trails.

I'm not fat enough to use that as an excuse yet. 😅

It went uphill in a serpentine fashion, and the higher I climbed, the more impressive the view became.
After a small square and a cobbled street flanked by flowers to the right and the metropolis to the left, I reached the station of the overly expensive cable car.

It was all quite nice, but not entirely the reason for my decision to come here.

A few hundred meters further, I sat right in front of that reason.

A gigantic statue of the Holy Virgin.

Above a small, landscaped garden, she stood with her arms spread.

 Simply magnificent.

But I also really liked that some music drifted up to me through loudspeakers from the small garden.

An incredibly beautiful ambiance!

But that's all for now.

I wonder what else will happen on this adventure? I don't know!

I'm excited and can't wait to open the next door, wherever it may lead.