Santiago, Chile
(March 21 - 29, 2015)
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Santiago as seen from Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill)
(panoramic view constructed from 15 individual images)

 

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Flying

 

My Hotel

 

Walking Tour

 

A Tour of IDIC

 

Cerro San Cristóbal

 

Markets and Other Stuff

 

 

 

 

 

Intro.  In March 2015, I traveled to Santiago, Chile to attend the joint IGUS/EPP and CIE Conference for IME (see acronyms).  This was my first visit to South America and Santiago and Chile were pleasant surprises  Both are well run, safe, clean, and interesting places to visit.  Santiago is the capitol of Chile and is populated by 7 million of Chile's 18 million residents.  As described in Wikipedia:

Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a downtown core of 19th century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic, and other styles. Santiago's cityscape is shaped by several stand-alone hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River, lined by parks such as Parque Forestal. Mountains of the Andes chain can be seen from most points in the city.  These mountains contribute to a considerable smog problem, particularly during winter [DWB note:  as can be seen in the panorama at the top of this page]. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards, and Santiago is within a few hours of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Slideshows.  This web gallery is comprised of 6 slideshows.  Each can be accessed by clicking the appropriate icon at left.  

  • Flying.  Photos taken out my window during inbound and outbound flights to/from Santiago.   

  • My Hotel.  This slideshow features some photos of the Hotel Director Vitacura and several photos taken from my room at the hotel.

  • Walking Tour.  Photos taken on a walking tour of Santiago on Sunday before the conference began.  Info on this free walking tour is available at:  www.freetoursantiago.cl. 

  • A Tour of IDIC.  On Wednesday, our group toured the facilities of our Chilean Hosts, IDIC (see acronyms).  IDIC examines and certifies everything (ammunition, clothing, food, etc.) used by the Chilean army as well as classification, approval, and certification of commercial dangerous goods such as explosives.  Due in some respect to the efforts of IDIC, the Chilean Army is today " ... one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies in the Americas" (Wikipedia).

  • Cerro San Cristóbal.  We had a free day on Friday and Ron of IME, Ben of SAAMI (see acronyms), and I spent the morning exploring Cerro San Cristóbal.  San Cristóbal Hill is a hill in central-northern Santiago, Chile. It rises and about 1000 ft above Santiago affording panoramic views of the city and the Andes in the distance.  At the top of the hill is a sanctuary dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.  There is a 72 ft tall statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the top of the hill with an amphitheater for holding masses and religious ceremonies.  There is also a pretty chapel on the hill.

  • Markets and Other Stuff.  Photos taken at the city's central market, at farmers' market at Los Domincos Park, and a few miscellaneous photos from around town. 

Photo info.  All of the photos were shot with a Canon EOS 7D MK II DSLR and an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens or a Sony DSC-WX50 camera.  All images were shot Raw (Canon) or JPG (Sony) and processed in Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 5.7. 

Additional photo data is provided below each photo in the slideshow.  Enjoy the photos!

All photos are Copyright © 2015 David W. Boston

Videos available.  I'm no videographer; however I did make 7 short videos depicting flights to and from Santiago, a changing of the guard ceremony, Chilean dancers, a ride up a funicular, and a ride on the Santiago Metro.  For access to those videos, published on YouTube, please click here.

Acronyms used in this intro.

  • CIE -- Chief Inspectors of Explosives
  • EPP -- Explosives, Propellants and Pyrotechnics working group
  • IDIC -- Instituto de Investigaciones y Control del Ejército (Institute for Research and Control of the Army)
  • IGUS -- International Group of Experts on the Explosion Risks of Unstable Substances
  • IME -- Institute of Makers of Explosives
  • SAAMI -- Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute