Tuesday, July 31, 2007:
We spent the day walking the other half of Santiago. My feet, calves and hips are sore from the constant march. We began the day hiking up Cerro San Cristobal. Its a small mountain directly behind our hostel. A statue of the Virgin as well as a small chapel sits on top of the mountain observing the city through the fog and smog below. We opted to walk up one side and then took a cable car down the backside into an area known as Las Condas. Las Condas and the adjacent barrio, Vitacura, are the two nicest and newer areas of the city. They are honestly playgrounds of design - everything has been designed with architectural integrity, whether it appeals to one's tastes or not. The skyline is completely taken up by what appear to be 1950 and 60s modern condominium high-rises. The streets are lined with wonderful design, furniture, and clothing shops each housed in its own building rather than strip centers or shopping complexes. Each shop takes serious pride in its own store and uses the buildings design to make it stand out from the rest. The area is a testing-ground, sampling platter, and completely eclectic casestudy in typically contemporary, modern and occasionally wacky design. Another interesting note is that the residential area is full of lots of German cottage styled homes. Vitacura has a distinctly international (mostly eastern european and German) flair. There is even a sports and social club for Germans nearby. It was one of the coolest parts of Santiago that we visited yet.
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