Chile: Coquimbo

 Tuesday, February 7 Coquimbo, Chile

We docked at the commercial pier per as usual. This time we were allowed to walk on the docks, on a serpentine route with signs indicating which direction to go next. There were a lot of strange things piled up (huge old tires most likely for use as fenders for ships along the sides of the docks, strange-looking concrete structures that were a complete mystery). Once we got to the end, there was a long line of trucks waiting to get onto the dock with their containers. 

On the waterfront, there were a lot of things for tourists and locals alike. First was the Mosaic whale slide, miscellaneous vendor booths, and the pirate ship. A few steps later was the fish market, which got such bad reviews on a travel site we were planning to skip it. But there it was, and it was a chaotic fabulous mess! Amazing to see so much variety of seafood and characters selling it in one location. This is definitely a local affair, with a huge parking lot to go along with it. We visited with several of the vendors, but the only thing we bought were a couple of lemons. The vendor was none too happy with Charlie's hard bargaining. At that moment, one of the gazillion seagulls who were interested in the fish pooped on me, and the vendor said (Spanish version) "See! You caused that!"

We continued along the waterfront and came to the combo veggie/flea market. Much calmer and more aesthetically pleasing. Probably my bias showing. We bought some watermelon chunks and checked out the flea market portion which consisted of huge piles of shoes, clothing, and household items. 

We were looking for a place to download Google translate, and decided to try our first South American Mall. As you can probably tell by the following photos, there is not a lot of difference but one thing that was different was the tons of vendors set up along the sidewalk flanking the mall—that you do not see in the USA. They appeared to be selling just about everything. Once in the mall, we couldn’t get on wi-if because we didn’t have a Chilean ID number. The help desk clerk was kind enough to sign us on with her ID. While waiting for the program to download, we talked to a couple of women from Argentina who are vacationing in Chile and were waiting for their husbands. They said the food is much better in Chile.

We started up the hill looking for the Barrio Ingles (English neighborhood) a “must see” according to travel info. We found a lot to look at on the way, but not too much of interest in the neighborhood itself. We stopped at a museum that was a fancy hotel in better days. We asked a docent about the Barrio Ingles, and he agreed with us that it wasn’t all that interesting. 

Pedestrian walkway example cross-crossing hillside

Cross at the top of the hill. Some friends visited it and said it was lovely.

There were many criss-crossed pedestrian walkways periodically leading to neighborhoods further up the hill but we weren’t energetic enough to climb them. A large, white, modern cross could be seen from most everywhere in town. 

Overall, the impression was another Chilean port town that’s seen better days, but still interesting. We keep hearing that many communities in Chile are dealing with unprecedented numbers of migrants, and that may account for the vendors lining streets in many areas.