Today we had our first taste of
Chile....arriving in the Port of Coquimbo and taking a bus to one of
Chile's premier beach resorts, La Sirena. We didn't bother with an
umbrella, as it hasn't rained here in five years. We were told that
the water level in the reservoir is 16% and if no rain falls this
winter, the area will be in big trouble.
But, there was certainly no sign of
trouble today. As this is the height of their summer holiday, the
resort town was bustling, with lots of outdoor cafes, street buskers
(although it's hard to call a five piece band a busker!) and tons of
open stall markets.
We visited the ATM and took what we
THINK will be $400 cdn worth of Chilean pesos....$200,000. The
exchange rate is about 500 pesos to 1 dollar. Not bad!
We stopped into a museum and spent the
grand sum of roughly $1.50 each to enter. We saw artifacts from
Easter Island, some shrunken heads, and yet more mummified bodies and
skeletons. I'm not sure I had ever seen a real skeleton before this
trip, and now I've seen dozens.
Pisco is a popular drink here...created
from fermented muscatel grapes that packs a punch. I had a pisco sour
and, except for the fly I found in it, was pretty damn tasty.
We set sail in about 1 1/2 hours for
Valparaiso, where we will spend two full days. I may have to do some
shopping.
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