Day 2 – Wednesday, January 28, 2026

I was eager to start my adventure in South America - well, the ride from the airport the previous day was sort of a prelude to this.

Wonderful street view

Breakfast was pretty good and to my pleasant surprise, there were two bikers amongst the guests. I tried to chat with them and now came the first experience that I had been warned about - with my lack of Spanish, it will be hard to communicate with locals, them not speaking English. I was not really able to extract information out of them.

From my window, the view outside could have been somewhere in Europe: Flixbus coaches swirling about, commuters - with helmets - cycling to work, people hurrying on foot.

I had booked a hotel in the historic center and started heading toward it. The capital of Chile, with some 7 million inhabitants (Chile: roughly 20 million), is located at the foot of the Andes and blends historic buildings with modern ones. I visited the area around the parliament, the cathedral, the central library.

Blend of old & new

Top of the cathedral

The former stock exchange

Museum of Fine Arts

A "highlight" is the 300-meter tall Gran Torre Costanera, the tallest tower in South America, with wonderful views of the metropolis and the mountain ranges around it. On top, I got a private tour from a young lady guide; she told me a couple of interesting things.

The Andes range with the city in the foreground

Road to the Andes

One thing she recommended was that I visit MUT, a huge underground, multi-level (and above as well) shopping mall, with the largest bicycle parking lot in Latin America, with 2,000 parking spaces and various services for cyclists. So MUT was a MUST-visit for me... It was really hype and I had some really yummy food there.

Hype MUT

...so cool...

Another memorable visit that day was to Cerro San Cristóbal, an iconic hill in the center of Santiago topped by a white statue of the Virgin Mary. It’s part of the Metropolitan Park of the city and I had great panoramic views of the capital. The funny thing was that I tried cycling up without a helmet (as I usually ride around) - and the guards at the gate to the park would not let me ride up without a helmet. So there was not much to do - I found a bike shop and purchased one - the road opened up. It was a truly wonderful view from up there - a very special atmosphere was at the foot of the white Virgin Mary statue.

Welcome to Chile!

White Virgin Mary

A nice cold beer that I drank in a pedestrian area in the evening rounded my wonderful day. I must admit I did not visit any museums that day, but I was eager to start my bike journey the following day.

The ride that day was 40 kilometers, with 400 meters of elevation.