Arica, Chile Monday, February 4th
After we left Peru we had one day at sea before the port of Arica. The weather has been fantastic, and the seas calm. The temp. has ranged from the low 70's to low 80's, and we are getting used to the humidity which seems to equal the temp. Which makes it seem hotter than it really is, but I'm not complaining.
We have turned our clocks ahead twice...once before Lima and last night before Arica. This should be the last time we go "ahead one hour." As we sail west toward Tahiti we should be going "back one hour every few days. I love 25 hr days......
I still did not feel very well, so I decided to not go into Arica. It is the northernmost city in Chile, and is known for its year-round warm weather, and is a popular vacation beach spot for tourists. It is steeped in history with many ancient fortresses and villages.
We were docked here from 8am to 6pm, but were warned that if we wanted to do any shopping it would have to be in the morning. The Arican's take their siestas seriously, and everything would be shut down from 12pm until 5pm. Well, all aboard was at 5pm, so it was early off the ship for Bruce. I decided to find a nice lounge chair on the deck in the warmth and read....but promptly fell asleep.
Fortunately I did not have this virus that is going around very bad. I was just tired and a little bit wrung out. I heard that 5 people had to leave the ship in Lima, and head home due to this sickness. Some of these people on board are very frail, and I'm sure this won't be the last medical evacuation before the end of the cruise.
Bruce took the free shuttle to the dock entrance. The security on most of the docks that we will go to are strict. Nobody is allowed to wander around the dock area, so the ports have shuttles that go back and forth from the ship to the entrance gate every 10 minutes or so. Once you go out of the gate there are the usual aggressive taxi drivers and the local tour operators hounding you for a tour of the area. Depending on the city and country, but most of all instinct, we have done this and it has worked out well.
Bruce walked into town which was only a few blocks from the port determined to find the local market and coins for the growing stash that we are collecting for relatives. Well, nobody spoke english, so Bruce was getting pretty good at practicing his very limited Spanish.....they also did not take US money. He tried the local bank, but nope, they were not going to exchange. The money exchangers on the street wanted a minimum of $25 US to exchange. Nope, not going to happen. Even the local vendors did not take US money. By the time he walked around, even on the side streets, which he said were not very safe, he only had a few coins. Anyway, by that time most of the shops were shut down, and he said that most of the stuff was expensive and it was the same old stuff that you would find in any import store in the US....nothing unique to the area. He only spent a couple of hours off the ship and I am glad I stayed on to rest. I hate missing ports, but at least it seemed that I didn't miss much.
f
We have turned our clocks ahead twice...once before Lima and last night before Arica. This should be the last time we go "ahead one hour." As we sail west toward Tahiti we should be going "back one hour every few days. I love 25 hr days......
I still did not feel very well, so I decided to not go into Arica. It is the northernmost city in Chile, and is known for its year-round warm weather, and is a popular vacation beach spot for tourists. It is steeped in history with many ancient fortresses and villages.
We were docked here from 8am to 6pm, but were warned that if we wanted to do any shopping it would have to be in the morning. The Arican's take their siestas seriously, and everything would be shut down from 12pm until 5pm. Well, all aboard was at 5pm, so it was early off the ship for Bruce. I decided to find a nice lounge chair on the deck in the warmth and read....but promptly fell asleep.
Fortunately I did not have this virus that is going around very bad. I was just tired and a little bit wrung out. I heard that 5 people had to leave the ship in Lima, and head home due to this sickness. Some of these people on board are very frail, and I'm sure this won't be the last medical evacuation before the end of the cruise.
Bruce took the free shuttle to the dock entrance. The security on most of the docks that we will go to are strict. Nobody is allowed to wander around the dock area, so the ports have shuttles that go back and forth from the ship to the entrance gate every 10 minutes or so. Once you go out of the gate there are the usual aggressive taxi drivers and the local tour operators hounding you for a tour of the area. Depending on the city and country, but most of all instinct, we have done this and it has worked out well.
Bruce walked into town which was only a few blocks from the port determined to find the local market and coins for the growing stash that we are collecting for relatives. Well, nobody spoke english, so Bruce was getting pretty good at practicing his very limited Spanish.....they also did not take US money. He tried the local bank, but nope, they were not going to exchange. The money exchangers on the street wanted a minimum of $25 US to exchange. Nope, not going to happen. Even the local vendors did not take US money. By the time he walked around, even on the side streets, which he said were not very safe, he only had a few coins. Anyway, by that time most of the shops were shut down, and he said that most of the stuff was expensive and it was the same old stuff that you would find in any import store in the US....nothing unique to the area. He only spent a couple of hours off the ship and I am glad I stayed on to rest. I hate missing ports, but at least it seemed that I didn't miss much.
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| Port of Arica |
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| shopping |
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