Down here in the Southern Hemisphere, we’re sweating basking in the glow of summer. Last year, I spent almost every January and February weekend by a friend’s pool. As a self-admitted tanorexic (no really, you can be too skinny, but I’m not sure you can ever be too tan), pool time is a key feature of any summer.

This year, however, we have a problem. While most newer apartment buildings in Santiago come with pools, over this past year my friends and I all seem to have ended up in houses and apartments without. Obviously the lack of pool is a challenge to say the least. Enter the public pool.

Growing up in California, I never went to a public pool. I had my own in my backyard, as did many of my friends. In fact the only time I can remember ever going to one is in France, of all places. My family and a few others had rented a house in a small village, and when we kids rebelled against the monotony of days filled with the croissants, cafés and contemplation of slow-paced village life, our parents brought us to the local pool for an afternoon.

Club Providencia - ready for the sunbathers to arrive

Today I had my first semi-public pool experience. I say semi because I went to Club Providencia’s pool. The club is a gym and social club run by the municipality of Providencia, one of Santiago’s comunas. The fact that people pay to be members (the gym is members-only) makes me hesitate to call this a 100% public pool, but they do let anyone pay to visit the pool for one day. Works for me.

It seems like a lot (or even most) of the municipalities have piscinas municipales, but I don’t know much about them. I knew La Florida had a few only because they ran a promotion with the Santiago metro system last year offering discounts for charging your metro card with a certain amount. A quick search, however, reveals all sorts of pools all over the place!

Tupahue pool on San Cristóbal

Despite this apparent smorgasbord of aquatic options, there’s no doubt as to the best-known pools in Santiago. The two pools on top of Cerro San Cristóbal – Tupahue and Antilén – hold that title. They’re really big with fancy designs and great views, and they get packed in the summer. I’ve never gone in either, but after today’s first dip into the public pool waters, I’m starting to think I may have to have this quintessential Santiago experience before summer ends.

Emily Williams is a US gringa living in Santiago, Chile. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, Don’t Call Me Gringa, and loves hearing from readers!

Tags: Chile, pool, Santiago, summer

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