Following are a few selected pictures of Antofogasta where our ship has been docked since early this morning. The attraction here is the Atacama Desert, which is the driest place on earth. After some degree of agonizing, Tom and I chose not to go on the organized expedition because of the 4 1/2 to 5 hour bus ride each way. Yes, we wimped out. The folks who did go--about two-thirds of the ship--will return to the ship around 11 tonight, but I've already received a text from Gwenna that the tour is a wondrous one, so we will live to regret our decision.
Ah, such is life. At the moment we are relaxing in our suite, with a martini and some foie gras (the real stuff) that Ronaldo, our butler, brought us a little while ago. This morning we took a city tour of Antofogasta, a Northern Chilean port city of 400,000 with some lovely coastal views. We visited the cathedral, a museum explaining the long history of the Chilean people, and an old train station which once carried passengers but now is just used for freight. Afterwards, we drove twenty minutes or so out of town to see La Portada, a huge natural rock formation.
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| The main square in Antofogasta |
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| The Guide called this a "locomobile", I assume he met a locomotive, but I'll leave it to you antique train buffs to identify. |
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| This man was selling his art along a pier we visited. What an expressive face and hands! |
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| Colorful boats in the harbor |
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| And a frolicking sea lion right next to the pier. This guy was big. He dove to the bottom and snagged a trash-filled plastic bag, brought it to the surface and then cast it off when he saw it didn't contain anything good to eat. |
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La Portada
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