Coquimbo, LaSerena Chile. “ Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember and I remember more than I have seen”. Benjamin Disraeli

After three wonderful days at sea our next port was Coquimbo in Chile.   We had to fill out online a visitor visa to have to enter the country.   If you lacked the tech skills you could always go to the front desk and get a paper to fill out and carry with you.  No one ever asked us for our daily vital or paper copies the whole time.  Also we have heard of no covid onboard. But we had one woman break her arm which they were able to cast.  She broke it on board on the stairs I think.  Then a lady broke her ankle on Robinson Crusoe Isle and they were able to put it in a boot and give her a wheel chair and crutches!!  

Some history on Chile… it means place of calm waters. 150,000 people live in Coquimbo and it is the capital. On our tour we explore the Eliquis Valley.  There are over a dozen observatories due to dark skies. When we are here it is not a beach season time. The area has a rich history in mining and also being a port city. Coquimbo has a lovely mosque.  It was known for pirates and treasure. The story was told that Sir Francis Drake buried treasure here. Our dock is very close to the city. The day is cool at around 57 degrees and partly cloudy. The fort at Coquimbo was known as Fort Lambert and was the 19th fortification to protect the areas from pirates but it also provides for a great vista. There was a woman’s prison there for sometime that eventually was turned into a school. Now it is a museum. The Plaza De Armas is the city center. 

Cowuimbo is built on an incline and there are beaches but Serena’s beaches are softer sand. Serena is 8 miles from the port city. The climate there is pleasant and there is delicious seafood , great green spaces, museums, a sweeping beach boardwalk and the monumental Avenida Del Mar Lighthouse. The architecture is colonial along the Plaza de Armas with the cathedral being finished in 1856. 

La Recova is the major market with over 140 vendors.  

Kokoro no Nora is a Japanese park and a sister city.  

Taxis are about $25 one way from Coquimbo to La Serena .  Chilean peso compared to the dollar is 941 pesos. 

We will visit five Chilean ports on this journey. 

The Clear River meets the Muddy River or el negro dark River.  These rivers are only for the crops.  There has been a severe drought for years here in the Eliqui Valley.  These two rivers make the Elqui which is barely flowing.  

See the large holy cross in the background.  That is also our ship there.  

The large unique Mosque

The Eliqui Valley and affects of the drought.  And then further into the valley grapes and avocados being produced with what little water is still flowing and what the dam captures. 

The hills are solid rock and barren but the soil is rich if they can irrigate. 

The gaucho and one of our viewpoints dedicated to the indigenous people, the night skies, the crops and their history. 

In this commune, specifically in the town of Montegrande, lived the famous poet Gabriela Mistral, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945.

Things the commune are noted for 

Everyone wants to be known for their Pisco!!!  Welcome to the Origin of the Pisco!! 

Chilean flag 

Our next Pisco winery stop. Very old and out dated.  Nothing like the first one we visited. But tasty samples!

Look at these amaryllis!!! They were grueling in large beautiful clumps! 

Wall paintings are spectacular and show great emotion and detail. 

Looking for the very needed bathroom stop !

Some of the old equipment and shady drinking areas. 

And they were preparing for Halloween which is a big deal here! 

The backdrop of the distillery.  Lovely roses, Bougainville and palms. 

The tanks look old but most likely still in use. 

Beautiful roses everywhere.  I’m a flower lover. Doesn’t take much to make me smile. 

Part of their old distillery.  Or maybe they still use some of it. 

And on our return to the ship penguins started appearing!!

You can’t get enough penguin photos and when the seas get rough the penguins get rough!!

The monumental lighthouse.  No longer used because a new one had to be built by the port.