Arica, Chile — Dueling Time Zones

Dec 25

Dec 25 Arica, Chile

It's always fun to see the port upon arrival. We usually pull into port so early, but the excitement gets the best of me. While Barry is deep asleep, I jump up and start snapping pics!

We took a short shuttle through the dock area of the port. No one is allowed to walk so we got dropped off at the entrance. This was a convenient stop for immediate exploration. As we began strolling, we spotted a statue. A very tall Christopher Columbus! It seems many places we've visited have statues dedicated to Mr. Columbus because of all the places he visited/discovered.

This mountain is 360 feet high. The El Morro de Arica was the site of a crucial battle during the War of the Pacific. It is a great vantage point for photos. Looking over the entire port and city, the walk up is long but a taxi is cheap!

Walking through the Plaza Colon, we came upon... my favorite, a church! We almost didn't notice it with the flowery bushes in the way. Time to check out the inside...

San Marcos de Arica Cathedral is located up a set of cement stairs overlooking Plaza Colon. By the way, there are many South American towns with a Plaza Colon. They are in dedication to Christopher Columbus. This particular church is made completely of metal. You can't tell by looking, it seemed to be out of wood. Gustov Eiffel, of the Paris tower fame, designed the church.

Must get my obligatory flower in... this purple daisy caught my eye! There were many flowers in Plaza Colon!

We took a side street that ended up being a pedestrian area. It was very charming with shops and restaurants. Trees down the middle provided needed shade. I loved the unique paving on the walkway!

This little alleyway intrigued me... at the end were cute shops and a candy store. Since I swore off candy, this was just a horrid temptation!

I can't remember the last time I saw a Hush Puppies store! It's been ages. This was quite a popular shopping spot for the locals. All we were looking for was a shot glass (again) and simply couldn't find one.

Couldn't decide if people missed the bucket when throwing away trash... or this was by design. Odd little pieces on the ground. It caught my eye...

This was one of my favorite things in Arica... colorful tile! It brightens up the streets. This was on the way walking back to Plaza Colon.

After walking for awhile, we sat in the shade to people watch. Off to the side, birds were gathering in a fountain. Flocks of them would take off. While Barry waited, I ventured off to take a few photos.

Across from where we sat, an adorable little boy helped his Dad sell their wares. With the cruise ship in port, they were hoping for a few sales! He was a great little helper!

Walking down the road, back into the Plaza, I noticed this giant tree. The red flowers were aflame! As I got closer, I realized it would be difficult to capture the beauty because so many of the flowers were up high. From afar it looked like a head of red hair!

As is true in many of the "Plaza Colon" areas, the government buildings surround the perimeter. These beautiful white buildings house the President in his palace and Congress.

The best part is returning back to the ship for cocktail hour with Jess!!! We love the laughter and conversation! We've grown quite fond of the bartenders too. I really thought I took pictures of them but I can't seem to find any... hmmm...

Leaving the Captain's Club, we do our quick run through at the theater. This ended up being much better than expected so we stayed a bit longer than other evenings. This violin player was very talented and showed a video of her journeys raveling with the ship... her life's dream!

Walking to the Tuscan Grille for our nightly dinner, we passed a game my adult children like to play. I took this photo to send to them to show how close the money was to falling into the tray. All you have to do is hit the quarters just right so a string of them fall and it takes the bills down too!