Sábado en Santiago!

Saturday 21 February

Fully recovered from our travels yesterday, we were eager to make the most of our last morning in Santiago, we headed out to San Cristóbal Hill, which is the fourth highest point in the city at 880m above sea level, and is part of Santiago’s Metropolitan Park.  The Santiago funicular starts at Pío Nono (the foot of the hill) and takes you up 485 metres to the Sanctuary to the Virgin.  The first rail was installed in 1924, and it was declared an Historical Monument of Chile in 2000.  It was quite the journey going up with the most awesome view of the city centre with its impressive backdrop of the Andes.  After exiting the funicular, it was a climb of 209 steps to reach the Sanctuary, so that was today’s workout sorted!

The Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception on San Cristóbal Hill is one of the principal places of worship for the Catholic Church of Chile as well as being an icon of Santiago, and it is notable for a large statue of the Immaculate Conception, which is located at the summit, 863 meters above sea level.  It measures 14 metres tall, weighs 36,610 kilos and the pedestal upon which it rests is 8.3 metres.  Inside the pedestal there is a small chapel in which Pope John Paul prayed on his visit to Santiago in 1987.  The statue is believed to be a reproduction of the "Virgin of Rome" and was designed by Luigi Poletti and is a work by Giuseppe Obici. The statue cost 22,000 francs at the time and the first stone was placed on December 8, 1904.  Up close, it really was an incredible sight to behold.

At the foot of the statue is an amphitheatre where Masses are held, and near the statue is a small chapel.  As I got near it, I could hear the strains of a hymn being sung by the choir during Mass which was taking place inside.  There are also two little outside shrines with seating and a place to light candles and leave dedications.  It really was an inspiring place to visit. 

Unfortunately, due to Geoff having recently had one hip replacement, and with the second scheduled for April, he wasn’t able to manage the 209 steps with no bannisters, so he waited for me at the bottom!

So that is our visit to Santiago finished for the time being, we will have another day here at the end of our trip.  Back at the hotel we packed up, and our driver came to take us to our next stop – Valparaiso!