Around the Horn

Day 34 : Arica, Chile

Armed with the first dose of a 5-day regimen of Azithromycin to combat this lung problem, I made my way  along with Dave to meet 30 other Hornblowers for a full days' tour of Arica, Chile. This part of Chile is vastly different from the lush landscape of Valparaiso, as the countryside surrounding Arica is brown, dry and dusty, receiving only 1 mm of rain YEARLY!. The temperature was in the mid-twenties Celsius, a typical summer day in Chile.

Our private tour (4 groups of 8 people each, as pre-arranged by Jill and Harley) began with a guided walk around the city square , where preparations were being made for a 3-day carnival, and a stop at St. Mark's Cathedral, a gift from the French and designed by Eiffel in 1876. We split up into 4 vans, each with a guide, and headed out to visit El Morro, an important lookout during the Pacific War of 1880,which provided us with excellent views of the city. Next was a viewing of geoglyphs and Colcas ( panels with drawings of animals, people and geometric figures, 1000-1400 A.D.)

Next on the tour was a brief stop at a local goat farm for a snack of fresh goat and cow cheese, fried corn niblets, a type of cereal grain and an Aymara Cocktail.Continuing on, we made several stops of interest including Poconchile (pre-Inca town), the Pampa "Quebrada del Diablo" or high plateau, with spectacular views of the desert and valleys, and on to the town of San Miguel de Azapa and lunch and a folkloric show at Restaurant 'Dona Juanita'.

After lunch we visited the San Miguel de Azapa Archeological Museum to view the Chinchorro Mummies, which date back to 6000 B.C. During the drive back to Arica, we stopped several times to view geoglyphs  (Sacred Hill and Caravans of Llamas, both 1000-1400 A.D.) Our last stop was at a handicraft village to purchase a few small souvenirs of Chile.

After a very full and tiring day, we skipped dinner in the main dining room and ate an informal meal in the Windjammer buffet before retiring early.

Tomorrow: At Sea