Chile
Arica, Chile
The ports in Chile are still not ‘Cruise Ports’, but the Arica commercial port was right near the town center, and they had a constant flow of shuttle busses to get us to the gate. On our first day we wanted to check out the Morro de Arica which is a prominent hill overlooking the city. It was a short, but steep climb up and worth every step. The views were excellent! Afterwards we walked along the coast to check out Ex Isla del Alacran, Playa El Laucho, and Playa La Lisera. We really enjoyed the long walk, but the UV in Chile is no joke. Even with sunscreen on we burned a little.
Day two in Arica was for shopping. They have a store called Lider here that is owned by Walmart and is basically just a Chilean Walmart. We walked an hour into town to visit the store and then made our way over to a large mall. Turns out there was another Lider at the mall and a Jumbo as well. We stocked up on snacks and a few other bits and bobs. There was a KFC ice cream booth in the mall, so we stopped there as well. It was a long day and a lot of walking, but it felt great to be able to just wander around safely.

As we prepared to leave Arica a couple of local groups came to perform for us dockside. There was a group of dancers and a full-on band. We also got to see seals playing in the harbor which was neat.
Iquique, Chile
Iquique is known for having a large Duty-Free zone called Zofri where there is a large shopping mall, so of course we had to check it out. It turned out to be much larger and maze like than we expected, and we didn’t really find anything great that we wanted to buy, but we had fun looking. There were several stores selling liquor or electronics and then just random stores selling everything you could think of. It was a really interesting experience, but not great if you’re looking for anything specific.

Unfortunately, Mike wasn’t feeling 100% this morning, so we got a late start which cut into our sightseeing time. After we walked to the mall and back, we explored the Baquedano which is a pedestrian area. There were incredible facades and lovely little shops and restaurants. This led us to the coast and beaches which we followed back to the square where the bus was scheduled to take us back to the ship.
Sea Days
We have two days at sea while we sail from Iquique to our next destination. I think I’ve finally found my sea legs, but I’ve also learned to listen to my body on these days. Walking around a lot and getting my heart rate up usually leads to nausea and I still need to eat regularly to keep my stomach happy. This means that I really don’t get up too much on sea days. Today I spent the entire afternoon going through photos and catching up on the blog, so I hope you enjoy it. Mike did laps and then hung out in the room with me while I worked on the computer.
Our second sea day was significantly less productive. We laid in bed and watched movies all day…it was glorious. In the evening, we did attend Eddie’s Big Blue Birthday Bash to honour our friend on his big day.
Valparaiso, Chile
As usual we are at a container port in Valparaiso, and we are required to shuttle out to the terminal. They had four busses running all day which was great, and it turns out it was quite far to the terminal building, so the shuttle was greatly appreciated. Valparaiso is very hilly and has 22 funiculars to make it easier to get around. When we got the shuttle, we headed into a tree lined boulevard that would take us back across town to the one funicular that was supposed to provide the best views. Along the way we noticed that there was a lot of graffiti and boarded up buildings and the place really didn’t give off a very friendly vibe. We did find a square with a market that was livelier.
We arrived at the funicular only to discover that it has been out of service for the past five years and was in pretty rough shape. Of course, we still wanted to see the view, so we followed the road up to a set of stairs that led to the top where the Naval Museum is located. It was a pretty quick climb and the views were great. At the top we found market stalls selling all kinds of handmade goods. There was another funicular in the distance that was also clearly not operational. We hiked back down and wandered down the waterfront to…you guessed it, the Mall. We did make a detour to get a picture of the Valparaiso sign out on the pier. It looks like they are working to redevelop the area, but it has a long way to go.
As we were leaving the mall we popped over to the funicular that was right next to the mall, and it was actually running! It’s from 1906 which is pretty crazy. After our shopping spree we walked over to Congreso Nacional de Chile and the Plaza O’Higgins next to it. The building looked interesting and there was a large market set up in the park. Unfortunately, as we started past the building towards the park, we were stopped by two separate individuals who told us that we should really turn around and go back the way we had come. They said our friend should be carrying her backpack on her chest and that it wasn’t safe for us to go any further. At least that’s what we interpreted from my little bit of Spanish and their clear hand gestures. We decided to skip the park and loop back around the congress building back towards the mall. Once we reached the mall, we followed the waterfront back to the Port Terminal building. Overall, it wasn’t the best day, but it was still nice to be off the ship and moving our bodies.
When we got back to the ship, we talked to some other residents that had done an art walk through the city and they said they loved it, so maybe we just didn’t get a chance to see the best side of Valparaiso. That being said, the art walk was just classier graffiti.
For our second day in Valparaiso, we decided to hop on the train and head to the next town over, Vina del Mar. It was just a short train ride over, but a much more affluent neighbourhood. We felt completely safe throughout the day and saw a lot less graffiti. From the train station we walked across the river where they were hosting a chocolate circus in the dry riverbed. We made our way to the waterfront and back tracked along the coast to see the flower clock. As we walked along, we almost got splashed as the waves came in and hit the shore. Then we turned back and followed the coast along to yet another mall. The beach area we walked past was very nice and very popular; although, there were signs saying no swimming due to the rough waves that were coming in.
The mall was great, and it had a Merrell store which was insane. Even though we didn’t buy shoes it was pretty exciting. I am fully aware that we spend too much time in malls and not enough time sightseeing, but we also are trying not to spend a fortune on shore excursions. It’s hard to find a balance, but the malls also provide a destination in our ramblings and using a free bathroom which is a huge part of the reason we tend to seek them out. We really enjoyed our day and we got lots of steps in!
Sea Days
Another set of back-to-back sea days will get us to our next port. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking good, and the seas are predicted to be the worst we’ve seen so far. The waves are going to reach 4 meters (13 feet) which in the grand scheme of things really isn’t that bad, but it’s the largest waves we’ve had since boarding the Odyssey. We secured our cabin, and the crew moved the patio further into a safe position and we headed out. The waves didn’t get too bad until after we went to sleep on the first night, but it did make for a bumpy ride. I woke up several times throughout the night but never felt unsafe. On our first full day at sea, I had a dull headache, but otherwise I actually felt pretty good. I didn’t take any tablets, and I didn’t wear my Sea Bands, but I did spend most of the day sitting quietly in the cabin. Mike still did his usual laps while I watched movies and read my book. It was a little calmer into the evening, so we went down to play Family Feud.
Our second day at sea we had 2-to-3-meter waves, and it was much nicer. I didn’t get a headache, so that was a nice bonus. I spent the morning tidying and reorganizing our cabin a little bit while Mike walked. In the afternoon we just lazed around and watched movies. In an effort to be a little bit social we went to Music Trivia in the evening and the theme was Weather…we won!
Puerto Montt, Chile
We arrived in Puerto Montt and we anchored around 8 am. We haven’t had a tender port in a while and although it’s not my favourite mode of transportation it is fun every now and then. After two days cooped up on the ship, we were eager to stretch our legs. Mike of course found a lookout for us to climb up to, so we headed up to the Plaza Mirador Afquintue which overlooks the town and the bay. It was a steep, but short walk up through a residential neighbourhood. We saw a ton of dogs and cats in people’s yards that were almost always fenced and everyone we ran into seemed very friendly. The views were fantastic, and we met two lovely elderly ladies who asked to have their picture taken against the view of the bay. With my growing and yet still pathetic Spanish I managed to help them out. To get back down into town we took the stairs off the front of the observation deck which was probably how we were supposed to climb up, but I’m glad we didn’t because it was a ridiculous number of stairs. At the bottom we found a friendly cat who wanted some pets 😊.
After the lookout we headed back to the waterfront and made our way over to the mall. We’ve probably spent too much time in malls recently, but this is the last large one for a while and we needed a few things. It was a very successful shopping trip, and we came home loaded down with bags. I now have a yoga mat, so I can do some stretches and workouts on sea days. The sky cleared up significantly after we returned to the ship, so Mike went up to take some photos of the views from the ship. The mountains in the distance were magnificent!
Castro, Chile
We had low expectations for the town of Castro, but we were pleasantly surprised. It was a cute little town that had lake town vibes with beautiful cabin style homes. Castro is known for it’s houses on stilts to accommodate the tide, so the first thing we did was wander over to view these. Afterwards we explored town and found all four ‘Castro’ signs. We didn’t really do much, but it was a great place to just walk around and the market near the pier was amazing. It was a craft market, but the merchants were working on new items right there in the booths and they had such interesting items for sale.
Sea Days and Cruising the Chilean Fjords
The original itinerary went Sea Day, Fjord, Puerto Chacabuco, Fjord, Sea Day, Strait of Magellan, and finally our final port in Chile, Punta Arenas. Unfortunately, the fjords aren’t all connected in a wide enough manner for our ship to fit and we needed to return to open water in between and the weather in the Pacific was getting ugly, so we had to skip our stop in Puerto Chacabuco to stay ahead of the storms. This meant 7 straight ‘Sea Days’ and while not being able to get off the ship has been frustrating the Chilean Fjords have been a delight.

We’ve seen glaciers, whales, dolphins, seals, penguins and several different birds while we’ve slowly cruised around. Our stints in open water have been bumpy, but brief thanks to our Captain’s planning. The weather was calling for 9-meter (21 foot) waves in the Pacific Ocean where we are, so we were quite happy to alter our plans to avoid that. The natural beauty of the fjords is just stunning as we are feeling very grateful to experience it.
The Chilean Fjords was never really on our radar to visit, but I have to say it should have been. People often ask us what our favourite place is so far on this cruise and up until now we couldn’t definitively choose. Every destination has something different to offer and is special in a unique way, but the experience of sailing through the fjords in Chile is now hands down our favourite place. The natural beauty and the perspective from the water was just so much more than we anticipated. It makes you feel small and insignificant, and it makes you want to bow down to mother nature. The pictures don’t come close to doing it justice, but I hope you enjoy them. I would encourage you to click on them to see them in full screen.