Distance to the city square from the pier is about 10 to 20 minutes walk only. Taxis are also available from the pier but I did not care about getting one. I owed to myself some exercise and walking is simply the best alternative I deemed very convenient so far. I forgot to bring with me the map I acquired at the tourist info center but I am so relieved that I did not had hard times asking for directions with my very limited Spanish. The fact that Philippines was under Spanish rule for many years, I really don’t understand why Spanish language class was removed from the curriculum in Philippine colleges and universities.

I managed to reach the city square in less than 20 minutes and my next quest was finding some place to change my US dollar to Chilean peso. I did not notice that I was already standing right below the sign that says “Foreign Exchange”. I walked farther ahead and entered into a cellular phone shop, asked the attendant and redirected me back to the building where I was been just few minutes ago. Oh my…. I think my radar overlooked the target…LOL… Finally, I had Chilean peso in my wallet. I did not think much about shopping (and I never will), what I cared more was my favorite hamburger. I looked for a McDonald’s but I could not find one. Just like many other cities, Coquimbo also has its own signature brand of fast food outlets. Well, I still had my hamburger but not of McDonald’s. Anyway, it’s still a hamburger and the taste was even much better than McDonald’s.

After strolling around the city square for almost an hour, I headed back to the ship and close to three hours before the ship’s departure time I was back onboard. As the ship maneuvered away from the pier, series of lively send-off music from a live band performing from the wharf charmed everyone onboard. Now, we are at sea again and heading towards Arica, our last Chilean port in the itinerary. We will be there tomorrow morning.
I was so surprised early today watching from BBC about the massive earthquake that hit central Chile particularly in Santiago, the capital of Chile. Valparaiso is close to the city of Santiago. The earthquake occurred at 0634H GMT or 0334H Chile local time. The ship is currently on Chile local time so that means the earthquake occurred 26 minutes before my navigational watch. The threat for occurrence of a tsunami is possible so while navigating, we are monitoring closely any signs of tsunami both visually and from the ship’s radars. As of this moment, the ship is heading towards the port of Arica, way north of the affected area. All well on board and are enjoying the sun. The sea is very calm around our vicinity and the ship is making good speed ahead. There is nothing to worry about.