Antofagasta,Chile

January 20 – Day 16 – Sea Day

This is a quiet sea day, so I thought I would add some pictures.

The Candelabra

Pellican and Seals - Some are pups a few weeks old

Pelicans and Penguins. The penguins are the little guys in the lower center

January 21 – Day 17 – Antofagasta, Chile

We have left Peru behind and are experiencing our first port in Chile. While much of what we saw in Peru was desert, we now find ourselves visiting the desert mountains of northern Chile. The terrain is very stark, but impressive, with the high peaks forming a backdrop for the city. Antofagasta is a mining town whose primary export is copper. In days past, silver was also a large export. Now copper goes to China, the U. S. and Europe. There it is used in the fabrication of other goods. Those other products, such as copper wire, are then imported back into Chile. They just don’t have the resources to do their own fabrication.

Antofagasta extends for many miles along the ocean, but just a couple of miles inland to the mountains. Again the weather was perfect, and walking was a pleasure. Our tour was "A stroll to the Highlights of Antofagasta". We bussed to various locations, and then walked to museums or sights before returning for the ride to the next place. We saw a museum at a mine and ore processing facility that closed in 1902. The museum was quite nice. It is on a hill just across from a new casino, which we viewed from outside. From there, we visited the site where refined copper is loaded onto ore ships for transport. This is well south of the main city. Next, we visited the city square, followed by a walk to the fish market. We saw all sorts of fresh fish in various states of preparation. There were also many stalls making and selling ceviche. Outside, harbor seals cavorted as they waited for fish scraps to be thrown into the harbor.

On the way back to the coach, 2 teenage girls on bikes approached a nicely bearded older passenger. They asked him if he was Santa Claus. He asked them if they wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. They were unaware of that practice, so he explained it to them much to their amusement.  Without sitting on his lap, they did say they wanted Barbie Dolls. Chuckles all around.

We returned to the Prinsendam for lunch. Then Alice and I walked to a nearby mall we had been told about. Wow! It was alost like walking into Woodfield. We spent almost 2 hours gawking at all the goodies here, and people watching. As we headed back to the ship we walked through a Home Depot-like store. This had far more than our stores. It had all sorts of materials needed for heavy construction as well as for home improvement projects. A one stop shop.

January 22 – Day 18 - Sea Day

We are looking forward to a really quiet day at sea. We did not see anything on the schedule that interests us until 3:30. Alice plans to do some journaling in a very nice journal she got from Sean for Christmas.

We just got some exciting ship’s mail at our cabin door. We have been invited to cocktails in the captain’s quarters with him and the hotel manager. This is to be followed by dinner with them in the Pinnacle Grill, the specialty dining room. Dress is formal. I think we can manage that. This is the first time in 7 voyages on Holland America that we are to be so honored. I think they want to meet the guy who stopped the ship in Panama. Whatever. It will be fun.

I shall return after Coquimbo on Monday, or maybe not till after Valparaiso and our formal dinner.