This weekend we spent the a day at Cerro San Cristobol and another at Cajon del Maipo. Once again we experienced the negative side of winter travel, dreary days where a lot of the outdoor activities are closed or inaccessible. Every time we travel in winter we say "never again" but here we are again. This probably won't be the last time we say this.
1st was Cerro San Cristobal offering a hazy view of Santiago, the greyish sky camouflaging the misty mountains in the horizon. We took a hiking trail up the hill, rather than take the funicular to the Immaculate Conception statue of Mary. We imagine that on a clear summer day the hill would offer great views of the city, especially with the mountains as a backdrop. It also includes the largest public park in the city, with two swimming pools, several gardens, and the nicest, free public washrooms I have seen so far in Santiago. And that is a rare gem because there is no such things as free washrooms here!
Cajon de Maipo was next. It's where Santiago escapes to for cottaging, camping, and outdoor thrills (rafting, horseback riding, hiking). To get to Maipo, we took a hour long collective taxi from the Metro. The ride was the first clear view of the mountains we have had. One of the highlights of Maipo is the El Morales National Park, where you can trek to a glacier then relax in hot springs but unfortunately for us its winter, the park is closed until September (damn winter!!) With the few words in Spanish we now know, we managed to find out about a hiking trail that we could take, and followed it along one of the streams of the Maipo River, stopping along the way to take a few pictures.
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