Santiago, Chile - Dogs, Palace, and Mary

In our short time in santiago I had a great opportunity to visit many of the local sites. The one that impressed me most was the presidential palace. Every two days there is a very fancy, elaborate, and perhaps over the top, changing of the guard. And yes, I'm one to talk about over the top pomp and ceremony since I'm a Brit. I'll try and upload a video of the ceremony on my YouTube channel.

Whilst walking around we discovered another interesting quirk about the city; It's the dogs. On each street corner a stray dog lives. This dog patrols it's patch very proudly and is loved by the locals. It's rare for these dogs to stray on other dog patches. And when a stranger or tourist enters their patch - they know. They decide to show you around, escorting you. If at any point you could be in danger (e.g. A motorbike comes by, or someone is innocently walking out of an alley ahead of you, the dog will bark and have your back.

In addition to the palace, another great site to visit is the statue of Virgin Mary. You can chose to walk up the hill, or take the more easy option of a cable tram ride. There is usually a twenty minute queue, but it certainly saves your legs, especially in the hot weather that we had.

At the top of the hill, arriving at the statue you are greeted with a spectacular view of Santiago. Well worth the visit just for the photo opportunity.