Around South America in 80 Days

January 19, 2019

Iquique, Chile

Our first port in Chile was Iquique, a city that was once a part of Peru until the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) when it was conquered by Chile. I chose the “Iquique and Humberstone” tour.

We started with an hour drive through the Atacama desert. Humberstone is one of the “Nitrate Ghost Towns” in the area. It was started in 1872 by Englishman James Humberstone. The town was closed down in 1960 and in 2005 became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We walked through the town seeing, among other things, the pool, movie theater, school, and company store and hearing the story of the nitrate production (used in fertilizer).

After a drive back into the city of Iquique, we drove through the city. We saw some of the old buildings, the beautiful but cold beach (water temperatures in the 60s), and then went for our snack. It was quite a snack with four courses and two drinks (there was a choice of a mango sour, pisco sour, or non-alcoholic drink). I skipped out between the first and second course to get Chilean pesos.

I looked at the few stalls on the pier and purchased a magnet and a cute mousepad with llamas on it. My “doesn’t need a mousepad mouse” does not really like the desk surface in my cabin.

We only had 11 out of 17 for afternoon trivia. Two teams tied with 13.

1) What was the first movie to win the newly created “Best Animated Motion Picture” award in 2001?

2) Who played Howard Stern in the movie “Private Parts”?

3) Which country’s flag has a trident in the center?

4) What is the world’s largest frog species?

5) What nationality was the spy Mata Hari?

I sat by the Lido Pool after trivia and actually fell asleep.

We won evening trivia! Three teams tied with 17 out of 18 but we won the tie breaker>

1) What was the first organ successfully transplanted from a cadaver?

2) What is the largest species of penguins?

3) What tower reigned as the world’s tallest building until 1930?

4) What is the most populous African nation?