Down Came the Rain and Washed the Smog Right Out

We moved to Santiago just shy of 2 months ago and, until this week, we hadn’t seen a single drop of rain. For a couple of mid-westerners, this kind of consistent weather isn’t something we are even remotely accustomed to, but I have to admit, I got used to it pretty quickly.  During the month of February and most of March, we enjoyed day after day of sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s.  Within a couple short weeks, I stopped checking my weather app and our raincoats and umbrella had been pushed into a back corner of the closet.

On our first trip outside of the city, we learned quickly that the consistent weather in Santiago is isolated to the valley which the city sits in.  The towering Andes mountains that surround the city create a shelter, breaking up the majority of storms before they ever reach us.  And while this has its benefits, it also comes with a downside in the form of Smog.

Before we moved here, I read about the smog that often cloaks and sometimes completely obscures the mountains, but I shrugged it off.   I didn’t want to believe that anything would stand between me and unadulterated views of one of the world’s most magnificent mountain ranges. But, alas, what I read was true and while the views from within the city are still pretty spectacular on most days, the mountains almost always have a cloud like haze that hovers over them.

That is, until it rains.

Rain is a rarity here, so when the sky first opened up, people in the city were abuzz.  No one carries umbrellas, and Matt and I both witnessed pedestrians veer off course and cling to the sides of buildings, taking shelter and waiting for the rain to pass.  At my office, co-workers peered out windows, in mild shock.

By the time I left the office for my post work commute, the storms had passed, but the subways were still crammed with people, leery of being caught in another bout of rain.  When I finally surfaced from the underground metro station near our apartment, I actually gasped at my first clear view of the mountains that I see every day.

Not only were they completely clear, but there was an entire layer of snow capped mountains that I had never seen before.

I felt like both a tourist and a child, as I peered around street corners and between high-rise’s to try to get a better vantage point.  I sent a text to one of my co-workers, saying as much, and she assured me that I wasn’t alone.  “We’re all a little like tourists with the cordillera looking that pretty!”

Matt and I decided to make the most of the remaining daylight with a walk to nearby Parque Araucano.  As we strolled, we took in the views and enjoyed the relative quiet of the park.  The pictures really can’t do the views justice, but hopefully they give you an idea of just how pretty the Andes are when you can see them in all their glory.

After walking around for awhile, we found a bench facing west, and decided to stay for the sunset.  With the clouds still filtering through, we watched the sky turn shades of pink, orange and red as the sun sunk down behind the city.

I have to say, I don’t think I have ever looked forward to rain, but living here just might change that.

 Click below to see a time lapse of the sunset.  Definitely a nice way to spend a Tuesday night!

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A post shared by Matt Dunham (@dunhammt)