Round the Horn - and back – Part 3

Feb 11th. After a restful day at sea we arrived at Valparaiso at 8am. Off at 8,30am to Santiago and the resort of Vina del Mar. Following a 2hr drive we had a City tour of Santiago, many beautiful buildings and plenty of flowers. They are also very proud of their racecourse, the horses were very attractive and we were able to photograph them. A gentleman called O'Higgins was a benefactor of Santiago and has a park and hotel named after him. We had lunch in a hotel overlooking the city, the river we could see below is said to be the start of the Amazon, and this is possible as it is the same colour - brown. Wine flowed freely at the hotel but the food was mediocre. The scenery back to Valparaiso was interesting; the fields get their irrigation from the Andes, always in the background. A short stop at Vina del Mar which has been absorbed into Valparaiso. Good beaches but few people in the water. High rise hotels starting to appear but everything very clean. They are very proud of their floral clock - could be Weston-super-Mare. Many horse drawn carriages for the  tourists.

All on board at 7.15pm. Valparaiso dock a hive of activity with many container lorries queuing to get off loaded. 8pm we sail for Coquimbo, 216 miles.

Feb 12th. 8am arrived in Coquimbo, in minutes we were off on a tour to the Enchantment Valley which is of great archaeological importance. It is like an open air museum. Hunters inhabited the Valley from 2,000 BC until 600 AD and there many petroglyphs (prehistoric rock carvings) depicting masks, heads, sun symbols etc. After our dose of culture we were taken to the Tamaya Vineyard to taste the local wines. Many pink faces but the wine was not to our liking. We then visited a large country house for an excellent lunch. Once again we were entertained by school children. On our way back we were able to see the recently constructed Cross of the Third Millennium; 91 metres high with 2,000 pieces of glass, representing the 2,000 years of Christianity, and twelve pillars representing the twelve Apostles. We sailed at 4 pm and had a very good send off by some local singers and musicians on the quay with lots of wave's goodbye. 703 miles to Arica.

Feb 14th. Arrived at Arica at 8 am., after a day at sea. We had booked a train ride and as we docked the train was waiting. 8.45 am we were on the train that links Chile and Bolivia. This journey allowed us to see the contrast between the desert and the few valleys that can be found in the Atacama - the driest desert in the world. After the dry desert we entered the Lluta Valley we were surprised at the fertility of the land, supported as it has been for thousands of years by a small stream that crosses it.

After 22 miles we reached a small village Poconchile were we were greeted by a group of Aymara musicians in very colourful costumes. The rate at which they danced in those clothes with the temperature over 27 deg C was amazing.

We had a welcome drink and talked to the many children with their Alpacas. With the desert in the background the camera was put to good use.

The journey back to the boat was just as interesting although you were facing backwards as the seats could not be reversed. Arica is the most northerly city in Chile, until 1929 it belonged to Peru. Their Cathedral was built by Gustav Eiffel (of Paris fame). He also built their Customs House. Chile has 4% unemployment. VAT is 21%.  School from 6 to 18 years then exam for Uni. The exam is pointed and you need 600 points to get in. Private Uni's have no points system but have to be paid for. We now have 2 days at sea soaking up the sun and 592 miles to Callao, Peru.

Feb 17th. Following two restful days at sea we docked at Callao, Peru at 8 am; very sunny and warm 31deg C. There were shuttle buses to take you into Lima a journey of 30 mins. It was not advisable to walk as Callao has a serious theft problem. Our last tour from the ship was to see Lima by night with dinner. Leaving at 7.30 pm we were able to see many of the large buildings floodlit. Dinner was at a restaurant located in front of the archaeological site of Huaca Pucllana - a pre-Inca temple. The temple was constructed of mud bricks and being floodlit looked like a pyramid, very well maintained.

(to be continued)

Frank & Esme Webb