Really arrived

Hey all,

I've been healthy again for a week now, thanks for all the questions. Our time in Santiago is coming to an end, so it makes sense to make a final entry about our experiences here.

When we visited the Moneda government district, we went to the Chilean National Cultural Center, actually to see an exhibition and a movie. As life would have it, we ended up at a cool workshop on making traditional Mapuche earrings, which was even offered free of charge. After a very interesting discussion about the political situation and the Mapuche's demands for independence, we were then allowed to make metal earrings under the guidance of the Mapuche workshop leader. I think they turned out very stylish. If you want to find out more about the current situation of the Mapuche, I can recommend this article here.

Over the course of the week, however, we put not only our fine motor skills but also our gross motor/mountaineering skills to the test by climbing Cerro El Carbón. It is located on the outskirts of Santiago. For those of you who don't speak Spanish: Cerro means hill. However, the hill was 1365m high and therefore a real mountain for us lowland Franconians. After some navigational difficulties and a few kilometers of detour, we tackled the mountain. We soon realized that with slippery shoes (in my case barefoot shoes) it was a very slippery and steep undertaking. After a lot of effort, we finally reached the summit and were able to see the entire size of Chile's capital for the first time. Anja has also recorded the whole thing here on komoot.

Already missing climbing badly, at some point I wanted to try out one of the many bouldering gyms. However, my eager friend talked me out of my plan because she had found a special place. There is a public bouldering wall and climbing routes in one of the many public parks here (https://maps.app.goo.gl/bm6SgkEQbTT31rg47). That sounded super cool, so I packed my climbing shoes and off I went. It was really nice there and I also got to meet some nice people. All in all, very cool and highly recommended if any of you end up in Santiago and are climbing enthusiasts.

Finally, I (or rather Anja) would like to tell you in particular about the Chilean national drink Pisco Sour, which tastes very delicious. It's a drink made from grape brandy, lemon, sugar, egg white foam and, of course, ice cubes. Really highly recommended when it's hot in your house (in front of the wood stove, for example) :P If you fancy it now, you can find the recipe here.

With tipsy greetings
Pascal & Anja