10 Days in Chile | 1 Week in Santiago: Day 7

My last day in Santiago was chill and enjoyable. The sun was out so L and I spent the day outside. It was my goal to finally climb Cerro San Cristobal. I had been saving it to do with L because I thought it would be a fun activity for us but also, all of the rain had made it unappealing for me to go on my own earlier in the week.

We leisurely got ready (it was Sunday morning after all) and then hopped on the metro into town. I actually got to guide her around, which was kind of fun since she's the one living there. but, I had spent enough time in town by myself that I actually knew the neighborhood pretty well.

THE WHITE RABBIT

We got brunch near the cerro at The White Rabbit. It was one of the only places open on Sunday (most of Santiago shuts down on Sunday, especially restaurants; due to a law that requires that workers get two Sundays off every month, most restaurants just choose to close completely on Sundays).

They have a prix-fixe menu which gives you a juice, a cocktail, a coffee, a choice of entree, and a choice of dessert. I got the mixed fruit juice (strawberry, orange, and mint) and a bellini.

For her main, L got the eggs benedict.

I got the eggs Chileno, which had avocado and salsa. The portion sizes were generous and the food was delicious. I especially enjoyed the brioche bread that the eggs were nestled on top of.

For dessert, we both got the baked alaska, which was just a chocolate muffin topped with ice cream and toasted meringue. It was delicious but a little too sweet so neither of us could finish it.

CERRO SAN CRISTOBAL

I had wanted to take the funicular up the hill and then take the cable car back down but the lines were way too long (who could blame everyone; it was beautiful weather and the weekend) so we ended up just wandering around the park, enjoying the scenery and the sunshine.

It was still really beautiful and I don't think you're necessarily missing anything by walking instead of taking the machines up and down the hills. If anything, at least you're burning some calories. The only thing I regret is not making it to the tippy top to see the statue of the Virgin, not for any other reason than it's just a thing people typically see so I feel like I missed an opportunity. But it's actually not a big deal at all. The rest of the park is gorgeous, there are loads of places to walk around and to sit and picnic, and it's quite expansive so if you want to go somewhere a bit more secluded, you can definitely find a spot.

We also found out you can buy tickets ahead of time (like during the week) to use at a later date. It seemed like such a missed opportunity since I'd been in this neighborhood several times throughout the week but hey, you live and you learn.

We ended up cutting our hike a little short when I realized I needed to get back and finish packing because my flight was in just a couple of hours. But, when we stumbled upon this cult-ish ceremony, we had to pause and watch for a bit.

Around 6PM, I called an Uber and headed to the airport. Security was much more intensive; I had to go through passport control before going through the metal detectors and baggage control.

I wanted to get one more Chilean meal before I left so I ended up getting a completo Italiano (a hot dog with tomatoes and avocado; named after the Italian flag because of its colors, not necessarily its ingredients). It was good, not great. But my pear juice was fantastic.

And then it was off to board the plane. They had the weirdest secondary security measure to board the plane. We were told we couldn't bring water on board because of the U.S. rule about not bringing liquids in containers greater than 100 mL so we were verbally questioned and then everyone's bags had to be checked. However, the way they routed me was so bizarre, I never actually got checked and I boarded the flight with my water bottle. (By the way, I don't think they quite understand the rules fully because in the U.S. we are totally allowed to fly with water; it just can't be brought past security and you have to purchase it or fill up your empty water bottles after you go through the security checks so this whole process completely puzzled me.)

I bought some duty-free wine in Chile and luckily it passed inspection when I went through customs in Houston so I was able to bring it through and not have to check it (because I hate checking bags).

I had a pretty long layover in Houston (during which I took an hour long nap and ate a tonkatsu ramen for breakfast) but soon enough, I was landing in Newark. I feel like I'm often homesick when I'm away from home; not in a depressed way but I always deeply miss my dog and my own bed so even though it's sad when vacations are over, I can still look forward to the homecoming part.

Here's my video diary: