First we visited the Zoo.
We started at the bottom of the map and each time you take a turn to go to the new line you are climbing the mountain. Each picture showed you what animal you would see in that section. The only problem we had was that it was about 2 when we arrived and most of the animals were asleep so we didn't see much.
At the entrance. These 3 senior missionaries definitely had the sun rays shining on them today. It was a beautiful day, sunshine and in the low 70's. A perfect day for a hike up a mountain.
First stop, the elephants who were awake!
The quique were awake and running around
We have no idea of what to call them in English
The Suricata (meerkat) were also up and running around
This was our view of the city at this level and we thought we were up high, ha!
Even the Chilean Flamingos were asleep
This is the first time that I saw a porcupine alive
We had monkeys all along the way
The giraffes
The monkeys and chimpanzees were fun to watch
The Llama's and alpacas were called the South American Camels
The lions, tigers, and bears were all sound asleep. We started going a bit faster through the last few rows of animals as time was getting away from us and we wanted to visit the next section of the park. At the end of the lion cages, we were able to get a ride on the Funicular.
This is looking up the mountain at the tracks of the Funicular. This tram was built in 1923. It is about 1,640 feet long going up the mountain at a 45 to 48 degree grade.
It is coming up the mountain to pick us up.
There are two of them that pass at one section of the track, one going up and the other going down every 8 to 15 minutes. They carry 35 people.
We climbed on board and road up the mountain toward the Santuario Inmaculada Concepcion (the Virgin Mary Statue) at the top of the mountain.
We got out here and climbed up the stairs
looking down the mountain
I got this foto off the internet so you can see the view on a clear day
We didn't have that clear of a day but the view was still breath taking
But we are not at the top yet
This level of the mountain has lots of souvenir shops and restaurants
Elder Hughes taking a break while Hermana Hughes checks out the shops
The top - middle of the foto shows you where we are heading, the white statue
Two handsome Elders patiently waiting for their wives
The Virgin Mary
We found a ramp that wound around the mountain and up to the statue instead of the hundreds of steps to climb. It made the climb much easier for these old people.
We sure wished it had been a clear day, but those are hard to come by here. The tall building is the Costanera Center which we hope to visit one day soon. I will tell you all about it when we get there.
The opposite direction
The Catholic church at the feet of the statue where a mass was going on so I didn't take any fotos inside. This was all built in the early 1900's. Can't even imagine getting all this concrete and block up here to build this.
The Virgin Mary is 46 feet tall and the pedestal she stands on is 27 feet tall. Inside the pedestal are murals around the walls. It is a place for prayer and meditation.
These were built in 1904-1908. They figure that this statue weights over 80,000 pounds. That's a lot of concrete and cement!
This is where people burn candles and leave things on the prayer wall
The roaring lion on the building
We came all the way down the mountain in the Funicular and this is the line outside the start of the Funicular to go up. It is starting to get dark and we were surprised at how many people were just heading up the mountain.
Statues along the way
By the time we hiked to the car and headed for home it was dark. We decided that since we were in the Pocuro area we would check out the Argentina Pizza place that Elder Gonzalez told us about. He claims that Argentina pizza's are better than anything!
It has been in business since 1949 and the three "old" people with me were all born that year!
Lon and I got the traditional Argentina pizza and the Hughes got the Canadian and pineapple. There is no red pizza sauce on the pizza. Ours is an onion pizza. Yes, that is right, Elder Lon Thompson ate an onion pizza and even liked it. The onions were shredded very thin and it had a white sauce with lots of cheese and spices on top. You have to eat it with a plate and a fork. It is very thick and very filling.
The café is located on a quaint street with lots of night life. We wanted to try their empanadas but they don't even start making them till 11pm. We really looked out of place here with all of the 20 year olds. What a fun day!
Have to admit that the zoo really was not a good one but it is one of the items on Elder Hughes's bucket list to get done before they leave. But getting to experience it with them made it interesting. The rest of the day was totally amazing. We are used to walking but the Hughes will probably have some sore legs tomorrow after all the walking and climbing that we did today.
We didn't get home till about 8 so it was a full day. We send our love to all.
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