December 5, 2017

    The ship was docked in the Port of Arica (pronounced ah-Ree-kuh). The city of Arica, Chile, is just outside of the port gates. The border with Peru is just 20 km north of Arica. There is a time difference of one hour with Peru, but two hours when Chile goes on Daylight Time as it is now.
    The sun rose just before 7 am and there was a distant haze, but sunny and about 65 F with a slight breeze blowing the Maltese flag hanging from the stern. The ship is registered in Valetta, Malta, hence when in port the stern flag is raised. The dining room was not as full as usual this morning, partly due to the time change forward again last night and partly due to the 8:30 starts for some excursions.  We had time to walk for 50 minutes before we had to get our tour stickers.  As we ate breakfast at a window table we watched as dock workers launched a drone that appeared to be photographing the ship for a few minutes.  Earlier this year we also watched a drone photograph our ship and other ship in the port where we were.
    The 9:45 a.m. tour began from the ship passing through the town center. The bus passenger compartment is separated from the front door and driver’s seat. There were 650 ml bottles of water waiting for each passenger. Arica is known as “The City of Eternal Spring” due to its year around mild temperatures. We passed the iron church (Catedral de San Marcos) which was designed by the same person who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  It was sent in pieces and put together on site placing a church that had been destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 1868. The construction took place between 1871 and 1874.
   The 110-meter high cliff close to the town center is known as El Morro. It has a giant Chilean flag flying at the summit. Not only does it have a commanding view of the harbor and city, but is where an important battle took place in June 1880 when the Chilean navy and army, having defeated the Bolivian army who had allied with the Peruvians, won the battle against the Peruvian army, known as the Battle of Arica.  Arica had been part of Peru, but after its fall, Arica was occupied by Chilean forces. Then with the signing of the 1884 Treaty of Ancon that ended the War of the Pacific, Chilean forces continued to stay until the later signing of the 1929 Treaty of Lima ceded Arica and some land around it permanently to Chile.  The closest larger center to Arica is Tacna, Peru, to where there is a daily train service.
    We crossed the Lluta River bed, but we could see just a thin stream of water if we looked closely. Arica gets less than one millimeter of mist per year.  The nearby Andes Mountains, a desalination plant and underground rivers supply water to the area. The city has water 24 hours per day now, but a few years ago only had water for a few hours every day. The first stop was an open air local artisan village consisting of 16 tiny studios in a parklike setting, where people browsed and shopped for 25 minutes. Then we were off on the highways to San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum. One of the roads was part of the Pam American Highway. We passed through the Atacama Desert into the Azapa Valley where the bus passed orchards of Azapa olives, mango trees, passion fruit tree and fields of corn.  The area is irrigated and has many local market gardens using open fields and gigantic greenhouses.
   San Miguel Museum is associated with a university and has a collection of 3,000 to 7,000 year- old mummies found in the area. These are the oldest known mummies in the world. It is located on the original site of the San Juan Bautista ranch that was founded in 1661.  The first museum building houses the ranch’s earliest olive press in the original location.  The larger building gives a history of the mummification in the ancient Chinchorro people and a lovely mural in the museum. 
   We were given boxed lunches which contained two ham and cheese sandwiches, a small dessert croissant, a small cereal bar, a banana, a 250ml box of orange juice and 300 ml of trail mix including peanuts, almonds, walnuts and raisins.
   The next break was for a Pachamama ceremony honoring Mother Earth and to welcome us and wish us good health, where we were given a mulled wine to drink during the ceremony.  It took place, at the highest point in the desert between the Azapa Valley and the Lluta Valley with the Andes Mountains in the distance.  Then we returned to the bus for a ride into the Lluta Valley to the town of Poconchile, where we stopped for a visit to the Church de San Jerónimo de Poconchile and its cemetery. We saw posters that advertise the visit of Pope Francis in Chile from January 15 to 18, before he proceeds to Peru.
   Then it was time to return to Arica. Following the highway along the Lluta River Valley we saw examples of Geoglyphs high up on the valley sides, made hundreds of years ago by the native people. We followed it to the ocean where the estuary is a bird sanctuary due to the large number and variety of birds to be found there. It is only a few kilometers from Arica. The road gave us a good view of of El Laucho and La Lisera beaches with the surf rolling in.
   Our last stop was at the foot of El Morro to visit Catedral de San Marcos, the city's first building constructed of steel and cast iron, with only its door made from wood. Only its steps remain from the original church. In the Plaza Colon was a collection of market stalls selling souvenirs. Nearby was the two storey white Port Authority building and the Eiffel designed former Customs House which is being restored.
   The bus dropped us off right by the ship where a band and colourful dancers were performing on the dock.  Passengers were watching from the dock, Deck 4 and their balconies.
   We arrived with other buses just 15 minutes before the all abroad deadline.  The ship sailed at 5 pm for our final stop in two days - San Antonio, Chile.
    We joined our table for dinner and watched the scenery – the steep cliffs - as the ship left the port. Our selections for tonight’s dinner were Crab Cakes, Cream of Broccoli soup and Boston lettuce and gorgonzola cheese salad; short ribs with mashed potato& vegetables and South American Steak with Fries.  The desserts chosen were Apple Pie à la mode and Olive Oil Crèmeux.  With the time changes the sun is still up when we are finished dinner.

  Tonight, the Celebrity Theatre show was singer Daniel Bouchet.  He sang familiar tunes in English and Spanish. He serenaded the audience accompanied by the house orchestra and then with a song in Spanish playing his guitar and another song in French and one in Italian.  He also played a Flamenco arrangement on his guitar.  He got a standing ovation from more than half of the audience.

Final steps for the day 13,692

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