January 17 – Arica, Chile

January 17, 2017 – Arica, Chile
When I woke at 7am we were already docked in Arica. Linda and I had a leisurely breakfast and went to a book mark making class before getting off the ship. I got $20 converted to 12,000 Chilean pesos on the ship.
We got off at 9:45am. This is a working port so we had to take a bus from the ship to the port gate. We were given towelette packets and sun screen packets from the tourist office as we left the port. Just outside we ran into our friend Patrick who had arranged a 3 hour tour for $20 each if he could get 6 people. Linda and I joined Patrick’s group. First we drove south to the Cave Walk. This is fairly new. There is a concrete walkway and some caves have staircases going in and out. It was a good trek. Back in the van, the guide took us to the top of El Morro which is a huge rock overlooking the city. There is a Christ the Redeemer statue and a museum at the top. We had a nice view of the Prinsendam too.
We then drove north to the mummy museum. This museum has information on how the mummification took place. Most of the mummies in the museum were children.
The final stop on our tour was to see a mountain side with figures made by laying stones and rocks in a design.. Our guide said they date back to before Columbus. I talked to another person whose guide said they are modern art. So who knows?
Back on the ship for lunch and to start my blog.
We played trivia at 4pm and came in 2nd. At 7pm we also came in 2nd. We are either getting smarter or the questions are easier.
We have put the clocks forward an hour each of the last 2 nights. I am looking forward to the time staying consistent for a few days. Tomorrow, we are at sea.
Someone said some pictures are missing but I can see them. It can take a few minutes for the pictures to load. If pictures do go missing I will add them back when I get home and the internet is free.