When the Smog Lifts ....

When you search for a list of the cities with the worst air pollution Santiago is usually near, if not in the top 10. The inversion layer that still plagues LA is worse here. The mountains are higher, the ocean is much further away and, in the winter, people in the poorer areas burn wood to keep themselves warm while the inversion layer traps the smog over the city.

However, once in a while the smog clears and the clouds break and the Andes come out in all their snowcapped glory. On days like today Santiago becomes one of the most stunning captial cities anywhere in the world.

Cerro Plomo snowcapped with the Costenera Center (left side of the image) and the buildings of Santiago Centro and Providencia in the forground. To give you a sense of the scale, Costenera is 6 metro stops from Santa Lucia where this picture was taken. This image is looking east.

Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal reflected in a highrise in front of the costal (western) mountains. On a normal day you are lucky if you can see that they are there. This image is looking west.

Santiago Centro in front of the front range of the Andes. These peaks are about 3000 meters high and rise ~2500 meters from the valley floor. The large billboard is a campaign sign for the center left presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet. This image is look south east.

Cerro San Cristobal with more of the coastal mountains behind. This image is looking north east.

Could not resist. The high Andes with Plaza Italia decked out for Dieciocho (the anniversary of Chile's independence from Spain).