Wild Time at the Zoo

There are a couple of zoos around Santiago. First, there's a zoo on the hill at San Cristobal, but just about everyone says to steer clear of this zoo. They say the cages are too small, and that makes the animals seem sad.

The happy family at Buin Zoo.

On the other hand, everyone recommends the Buin Zoo, which is close by and lovely; so we headed out to the Buin Zoo a couple of weekends ago for a wild adventure.

Trip was very excited to meet his first celebrity
-- taking a picture with Nemo.

Aptly named, the Buin Zoo is in a town called Buin, which is right outside of Santiago. You can drive there in about 30 minutes, or you can take a train. Due to the fact that we don't have a car here, we chose the public transportation option, which included taking the metro to the central station and then bought a ticket for the train to Buin.

Who needs to go to Easter Island? Gavin with Dum-dum.

The weather prompted our trip to the zoo, and we weren't the only ones with the idea, which made the trip on the train tight. We managed a seat on the way there, but the way back was standing room only.

Buin is lovely, and there is a wide variety of animals, fish and birds. There are a ton of trees and shade and benches, and it actually had a very similar feel to the Houston Zoo. Nonetheless, while the animals have a bit of room to move around, I still felt like the cages were a little too much like cages and not enough like living spaces.

Patrick and Trippie walking through the zoo.

Interestingly, Chile is not a suing nation, which could spark a blog post in itself. I regularly see things that would never pass in the US, including the regularly used stairs that appear out of thin air which I refer to as "ankle-breakers."

Trippie dancing with joy to take a picture with an elephant.

This non-litigious mentality (which feels more innocent than non-caring) is present in the zoo, as well, with mere hurricane fencing keeping the animals separated from the guests -- and sometimes not even that. Some brat could if he wanted, hop the wooden separator and run around with the ostriches or the llamas. (Good thing we have no brats in the family.)

The bear with a tractor tire for a play toy -- and a little too close for comfort.

Despite a slight worry about safety and a somewhat uncomfortable train ride home, it was a really lovely day, and I recommend going to the Buin Zoo and hope to do it again soon!