Santiago de Chile

The afternoon before we headed to the coast, and the day after we returned, we explored Santiago. That first afternoon, in addition to going to La Chascona,

 we hiked up Cerro San Cristobal and observed a religious service in the working church atop the hill.

The city was lit up on our walk home from dinner.

We started out a couple of days later, after getting back from the coast, by hiking the more manageable but equally beautiful Cerro Santa Lucia, which Charles Darwin also enjoyed back in the day.

From there, we walked around town

And came to the Museo de Bellas Artes.

 We had a winy lunch at BocaNariz,

 And headed off by metro to the powerful human rights museum across town.

A representation of the victims of the junta

Truth and Reconciliation commissions around the world

I have so much more to say about this museum but I don't know where to start. It succeeds in providing historical perspective and showing the scale of the effects of the junta, but also honoring and humanizing individual victims.

After a somber few hours, we headed back to our end of town. It's not Valparaiso, but Santiago has its own murals and other works of art, and it's certainly hopping.

Our last night together in Chile, after our day of wine tourism in Maipo, we had dinner at Vegan Bunker and admired the moon on our way home.