Arica, Chile
Today the ship docked in Arica, Chile. We got off the ship and onto a shuttle which carried us out of the port. When we got to the edge of the port my mom had to put her backpack through an baggage machine. They took away the apples in the bag which was fine, but surprisingly they didn't notice that we had cookies as well. Once we got to the main square we were surprised to find that the souvenir stands weren't as aggressive as they usually are in other ports. The people there were more interested in my height then selling me something. They wanted to know how old I was because I was taller than the 18 year-old boys selling things. We didn't buy anything, but instead went across the street where we found an information building. There, we got a map and some directions on how to get to a bike rental place. We walked to the bike place and rang the doorbell/call button. It rang, but nothing happened. We rang it again and still nothing happened. We knocked on the door, and still, nothing happened. Finally, my mom peeked through the window. There was absolutely nothing in the building. We decided to cross the street once more to where there was a big old church that apparently had doors inspired by Eiffel, but, I didn't see anything special about them.
Next, we headed back to the main square where we mat a nice,funny officer who spoke great English and was very helpful. My mom asked him why there we're no bikes and he replied:
Ma'am... This is Arica... There are no bikes here! We call this place Narnia. You know Chronicles of Narnia? Yes, we call this place Narnia, out of disappointment because everybody here is relaxing always and they are all lazy. Do you see? Nobody is riding a bike, they all drive cars.
He answered many questions and sent us on our way. We hiked up a huge hill with a nice war museum at the top. They had lots of old weapons and there were large cannons and mounted machine guns everywhere. However, it was all in Spanish.
Next we walked through a large market where there was a McDonald's that was just for ice cream. I had a Mango Sunday. It was AMAZING!
From there, we hiked down the mountain to the beach. Well, we thought it was a beach. It was actually a military post. I'm not sure what the sign outside meant (it was in Spanish) but I firmly believe that it said all trespassers will be shot. Luckily, we weren't shot. A troop came out of nowhere, shook our hands, and quickly pointed us to another beach location. He had a large grin on his face. We couldn't understand what he said but we followed his directions. When I looked back as we were leaving, he had disappeared.
Upon arrival to the destination he had pointed us to we found what seemed to be a scene from an apocalypse movie. Everything was covered in thick rust and a sheet of garbage covered the smooth sand. The water was brown and thick and the entire thing reeked of trash. We later found out, that it was because a large storm had washed out some of a mountain. The brown water was mud, the garbage was debris, from houses that had been toppled, and the rust was just rust on old things that hadn't been used for a while. Eventually, the beach will once again be beautiful. Still, we didn't want to stay. We walked further down the road and wandered into a mall. It was very interesting. They sold three liters of soda (which we bought) and they had a store called Lider. It was literally Walmart. Everything was in Spanish, and they had a few different products but other than that it was completely the same. We puchased a few things there and headed back to the ship.
On the way back we saw a grand hotel. We wanted to see what it was like inside so we went in. The people were nice there and the hotel was beautiful. We couldn't see much, but it was by far the nicest hotel I've ever seen.
When we got back on the ship some of the locals put on a dance show for us. They were good. We watched them and listened to their music before the ship pulled out of the dock. The people were much more laid back at this port then the locals have been at others. They cared more about the people around them and less about their current task. They were all very nice and were not pushy to us tourists at all. It was fantastic.
Till next time!
Next, we headed back to the main square where we mat a nice,funny officer who spoke great English and was very helpful. My mom asked him why there we're no bikes and he replied:
Ma'am... This is Arica... There are no bikes here! We call this place Narnia. You know Chronicles of Narnia? Yes, we call this place Narnia, out of disappointment because everybody here is relaxing always and they are all lazy. Do you see? Nobody is riding a bike, they all drive cars.
He answered many questions and sent us on our way. We hiked up a huge hill with a nice war museum at the top. They had lots of old weapons and there were large cannons and mounted machine guns everywhere. However, it was all in Spanish.
Some real soldiers acting as soldiers from back in the day.
The stairway at the start of the hike.
Mango Sunday!
Upon arrival to the destination he had pointed us to we found what seemed to be a scene from an apocalypse movie. Everything was covered in thick rust and a sheet of garbage covered the smooth sand. The water was brown and thick and the entire thing reeked of trash. We later found out, that it was because a large storm had washed out some of a mountain. The brown water was mud, the garbage was debris, from houses that had been toppled, and the rust was just rust on old things that hadn't been used for a while. Eventually, the beach will once again be beautiful. Still, we didn't want to stay. We walked further down the road and wandered into a mall. It was very interesting. They sold three liters of soda (which we bought) and they had a store called Lider. It was literally Walmart. Everything was in Spanish, and they had a few different products but other than that it was completely the same. We puchased a few things there and headed back to the ship.
Me looking for coins on the floor in Lider
When we got back on the ship some of the locals put on a dance show for us. They were good. We watched them and listened to their music before the ship pulled out of the dock. The people were much more laid back at this port then the locals have been at others. They cared more about the people around them and less about their current task. They were all very nice and were not pushy to us tourists at all. It was fantastic.
A nice motorcycle that I spotted on the way back to the ship.
Till next time!
So...since I hadn"t seen any new posts for a while, I only just checked your site and was pleasantly surprised to see 2 new ones! they are so beautiful and interesting! Your certificate is VERY impressive! So glad you were blessed to get one. Love seeing you and your Mom, dear one. Love you both...pray for you always!
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