Parque Municipal/La Virgen

I left the Fine Art Museum with my back feeling really stiff, so I headed for a walk through the adjacent Parque Forestal. The map showed a Museum of Visual Arts and Archeology at the other end of the park, but I mostly just wanted to walk. The slow browsing of museum stops was not working for my back at this time. I also have a general self imposed tourist rule: No more than one museum per half day. The brain can't handle it very well. In the park there are small installations honoring various literary and historical figures in Chilean past. Here is a tribute to Ruben Dario, Chilean writer.

At the end of Parque Forestal I saw no museum (thank God) but across the Rio Mapuche

appeared to be a bustling college neighborhood. Sure enough, there was an artisans' corner and even a sign saying this was Santiago's bohemian community. I strolled the street past countless promising restaurants and bars to come to El Parque Municipal, a bit of a tourist spot it seems, with a cog rail car going up to La Virgen on the hill. I grab an empañada from a street vendor and contemplate the map

I kind of wanted to hike to the top, but was told that it was like 5 kilometers so I paid the fee for the "teleférico", about $4.

There is a zoo on the way up, but I skipped it and went to La Virgen. At the base of the virgin is a candle vigil spot where people make their prayers for miracles

The pope made a visit here a few years ago, fo the place is all fixed up in papal style!

I decided to forego my return ticket and hike down, which took about 45 minutes. I picked a street cafe/bar to have a "churrasco completo" and a beer. The beer only came in one size, a liter! I figure there is only one way to find out just what a "churrasco" is...

So it's thin slices of beef on a bulky roll with tomato, onions, mystery sauce etc. It takes me a while to finish that beer which gives me time to look at my tourist map and realize that I am just a few blocks from the Pablo Neruda house/museum that had been highly recommended by one of the local profes at Portillo. My back feels better now after the hike, the rest and the beer, so...off we go!