Coquimbo

We dock early again and there is a fog hanging over the city but as the sun rises we see it lifting.  We have a tour here that one of our cruise critic friends Sandy organized.  We meet at the International Café (at first this was to be a tender port but we did dock).  We quickly found our guide but when they showed us the vehicle we said nope, there are ten of us and in the email you state we are to get a 12 passenger Mercedes Sprinter Van and they are showing us a regular van.  Then they show a Hyundai van and again we say no.  After some discussion and lots of standing around we all agree to go our own way.

We head back on board and enjoy some champagne and orange juice on the balcony as we watch everyone heading ashore. 

We head off again around 10:30.  The ship had a free shuttle to La Serena but the lines were very long and we just didn’t feel like waiting so we got a cab for $20 one way to the square in La Serena.  Note most locals do not speak any English.

We wander the streets but most everything is closed today because it is a Sunday.  The main craft market is open and it is busy, we do buy a few jewelry pieces and then right across from the market is a grocery store and we head in there for a few items.

Lunch!  We head upstairs from the large craft market for a meal.  The menu is in Spanish and a few words in English but I am not sure exactly what we are ordering.  She does give us a free sample of Pisco Sour drink and we order a bottle of wine.  We all eat something and the bill in total came to around $40.

We take a taxi back, they did try to tell us the price was $25 for the cab back to Coquimbo but we held firm at $20 and then we did tip him so it still worked out to $25.  The ride to the town of La Serena is around 20 minutes.  You can take the ship’s shuttle but be prepared to wait as there were only four buses.

Back on board I am beat, this cold has taken hold and a nap is in order.  I crash for three hours and wake refreshed.

We head to the dining room for a lovely meal with two other couples.

But we are again back in bed early around 10:30, thankfully we have two sea days now.