We had two port days in a row. Yesterday we were in Arica, Chile which is only about 25 miles below the border with Peru. It is also very much a desert port, surrounded by the brown sandy looking hills. There was a tall hill overlooking the port with a statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio. Jim and I wandered through the town, but since it was a Sunday morning everything was closed up except the cathedral. The church was very interesting in that is it constructed of iron. There was a service going on so we were not able to explore it, but looking in through the doors it looked very beautiful. Then we hired a taxi for an hour to take us to the top of the big hill. On the way there, we passed the ‘resort’ part of town that had nice sandy beaches and resort hotels along with the discos. The view from the top of the hill showed how big Arica is - about 200,000 people. It seems to go forever; I had no idea it was that large - our guide showed us the green valley coming out of the hills which was the reason the city is located where it is… water is a necessity and it never rains here.
We headed back to the ship as Jim said he really thought he was catching the cold I had… by last night he had it. Talking to others on the ship, it seems that the cold has been going around for a couple weeks. But, at least we haven’t gotten the Norwalk virus which has also hit the ship - apparently brought on by some new passengers in Callao (Lima). (I’m knocking on wood as I type this). Yesterday the ship went on ‘protective measures’. Sanitizers are everywhere and anything that people commonly touch have been either put away or are being constantly cleaned. In the buffet all food is served by the staff and the common items like salt and pepper have been removed from the tables. The Captain and staff are everywhere explaining and it seems that about 90% of the people are accepting it and just going on with things… the other 10% are bitching loudly about everything.
This morning we docked in Iquique, Chile just as we were waking up. After my coffee and sweet roll I headed into town on the shuttle. What a grate town! The entire center of the town [city?] is a UNESCO Heritage site and is full of Victorian era wooden buildings. The central plaza has a wonderful clock tower and many of the buildings are being restored and painted bright colors. There were several little market areas with local handcrafts. It was one of the most unique port towns I"ve ever visited. Everyone commented on how clean it was... even well away from the main square.
We've had a few internet problems over the last couple days, but it seems to be better. I have a number of pictures to add to this post... I'll see how it goes. :-)
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