South America Discovery Tour & Cruise: February/March 2024
(continued)
(left)
The former National Congress building, now used by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Central Post Office in the Plaza de Armas
Items for sale in the Plaza de Armas - in the left background is the
Santiago Municipality Building
Exhibits in the National History Museum include a painting of Bernado O'Higgins
One of the exhibits in the National History Museum is the broken spectacles of Salvador Allende - broken when he was deposed
as Chile's President by Augusto Pinochet in 1973. A larger symbolic version is in the museum's courtyard
Saint Francis of Assisi in a stained glass window in the Metropolitan Cathedral
(right)
The Monumento Al Pueblo Indigena (Monument to the Indigenous People) rises 26-feet tall and is constructed of concrete
and granite. It comprises three elements: some vegetation, a seed, and a human face - the last of these proved controversial as it
depicts the broken face of a Mapuche man
Plaques at ground level in the centre of the Plaza include the Kilometer Zero Plaque, one that illustrates historical plans
of the city of Santiago (below), a construction record of the Cathedral, and a plaque commemorating the visit of John Paul II in
1987
After time spent in the Plaza de Armas, including visiting the National History Museum and the Cathedral, the bus tour takes us to
San Cristobal Hill which rises about 300-metres above the city. We ascend the hill by cable car to reach a sanctuary dedicated
to the Immaculate Conception, with a 22-metre statue of the Virgin Mary
There are extensive views from the top of San Cristobal Hill - the city completely fills the valley below us. The tops of the
surrounding mountains are hidden by clouds