Our 9 1/2-hour flight from Miami had us arriving in Santiago at 7:00 am along with several other flights – so baggage and customs took another hour. Our driver met us after customs, and we found out what rush hour was like in a city of 5.5 million people. Glad the driver had a good set of breaks and was able to avert a stop and go rear ender. Arriving at our hotel in the financial district way too early for check in we left our bags and headed to the city’s Bicentennial Park for a walk along the river and past several statues of Chile’s war heroes. The path ended at the city’s general services and police building with an unusual triangle shape. We headed back to our hotel, stopping for lunch at the city’s oldest restaurant – Confiteria Torres founded in 1879. Meeting the owner, he proudly showed us a photo of him with Secretary of State Blinken taken last October. After getting an early check-in we started another trek to discover the Japanese gardens while walking around the capital city’s largest urban natural area, which is part of the Metropolitan Park. The gardens were small but well-appointed and provided good views of the financial district and especially the Costanela Center Tower – 62 stores and the tallest building in South America. All tolled 21,000 steps and after a group dinner we were ready to call it a night.

Bicentennial Park

Metropolitan Park Japanese Garden

Santiago Street images