Asuncion de la Virgen

Everything seems to be fine with Elisa so back to our regularly scheduled adventures....


"The feast day of the Assumption of Mary, also known as Assumption Day, is the principal feast day of the Virgin Mother Mary, according to Christian tradition. It is celebrated annually on or around August 15 although some countries celebrate the day at other times of the year."

The long awaited national holiday is today and, in honor of Mary, on Sunday we went to Cerro San Cristobal  (you can always use Google translate - it works wonders!) which is the second highest peak in Santiago and is a huge municipal park.  Elisa and I took a funicular up the mountain while Rob, Renee, and Jonathan decided to walk up it.  In theory, it isn't a long walk but it sounded like they took some detours onto a llama or goat path and got more than they bargained for.  At the top is a huge statue of Mary that you can see from many parts of the city.   You also have an incredible view of the city that was only partially blocked by the smog!  Apparently, today there was a Mass at noon at the top of the mountain.  Based on energy levels and time we all took the funicular down.

Up the path

View from top

With the Virgin

Looking down the funicular

Watching others go up

Before we went up, we had gotten a few recommendations from Rob's Chilean student's wife, Anita, of some interesting neighborhoods.  We went to Barrio Lastarria which is both close to downtown and to the main campus of the Catholic University.  Indeed it was a cute neighborhood perhaps best to be explored later in the afternoon and without cranky children.  Although we went on the early side we were able to have a light lunch at a cafe.  We finished the day with a tea at a friend of Rob's family's house in Lo Barnechea.  We have gone to their house before and they have two kids around Jonathan and Elisa's ages.  The woman's mother was visiting (who is friends with my in-laws) so we had a quick chat with them.  I'll hold off on describing Chilean apartments/houses for another day as I continue to gather information.