At weekends the good people of Santiago put on their lycra and either cycle or run up the local hill, Cerro San Cristobal, which is a 860m climb so not for the faint hearted. It is a spur of the Andes range which reaches the city. At the top is a statue of the Virgin Mary plus about 30 radio masts.
We had left all our lycra at home so had to make do with the funicular railway but once we were 100 yards from the top station we could pretend we had climbed up.
We walked about three miles along the ridge and then down into the city where we intended to catch the metro home however despite what it says in the Rough Guide you can't buy single metro tickets and have to invest in their version of an Oyster card which would make the one and only trip we are likely to make rather expensive so we walked home through the rather hot city streets.
The view is worth the climb
A family outing above. The roads are traffic free but the downhil cyclists take a lot of stopping.
That is the end of our time in the big city, tomorrow morning we return to the airport and fly down to Puerto Montt where it will be at least 10 degrees cooler and possibly wet and then drive over to Chiloe Island which is fairly remote and we hope unspoilt.