Exercise in Providencia

In Chile it is easy enough to take public transportation from door to door  and settle into a diet of completos (hot dogs topped avocado and mayonaise), empanadas, sopapillas (fried dough rounds), and alfajores (dulce de leche sandwich cookies).

That being said, there are also lots of fabulous opportunities to exercise. Below are a list of enjoyable exercise opportunities that I have found during my time here.

Walking: The city is very walkable with lots of parks and tree lined streets. I prefer walking to taking the metro for several reasons including the increased opportunity to see Chileans doing daily activities (watering their lawns, walking the dog, grocery shopping, taking their kids to school, etc.) and that the metro is absolutely packed during rush hour.

Gym Equipment in the Park: Several parks have gym equipment available to visitors. These machines to work arms, abs and legs as well as basic pull up bars and benches designed for situps. On weekend afternoons these machines are often occupied by young children who have found clever ways to turn them into swings, and jumping platforms. However most weekdays and mornings they are only lightly used, with plenty of space for drop-in visitors.

Dancing: I haven’t explored the Santiago night scene very much, but dancing (Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton, etc.)  seems to be an important part of Chilean socializing. There are also free dance classes on the weekends in certain parks in Providencia. These classes are mostly salsa but have a zumba feel to them. More information about locations and times can be found under “servicios” on this website http://www.providencia.cl.

Running: While running on the city streets can be challenging, there are lots of long and skinny parks with trails that occupy the medians of main thoroughfares like O’Higgens. There are also lots of races in Santiago. More information can be found at http://www.corre.cl/ .

Leave a comment