Foggy with drizzle as we came in but noticeably warmer.
Bit of a cockup with the tenders and around 10:30 when we came ashore. It had given time for the weather to improve – drizzle had almost stopped and sun was coming out.
Thought about taking an excursion with one of taxi drivers at the end of the dock but they were all offering quite long drives into the “Lake District” with a stop at the village built by the German settlers. After so much time at sea, we decided that it may be better to walk, rather than spending 6 hours in a minibus.
The town was clean and pleasant, with a fish market and restaurants at one end and modern shopping centre at the other.
We returned to the ship at about 3pm, via the souvenir stands. I bought my usual fridge magnet and was surprised to receive change in $US, having paid in local currency. Went on to the wine shop, to buy some “souvenir” Chilean wine. The stall holder spoke only Spanish but his teenage nephew was fluent in English, having visited a language school in Brighton. We told him that we want to speak Spanish and asked for Spanish reduction on the wine prices – I received a laugh but no discount. The uncle was a football fan and keen on Manchester United, as they used to have a Chilean player. It was all very pleasant and he asked if I also wanted a baseball cap, with the winemaker’s logo. I asked if it was a present and he finally agreed to give it to me. He was wearing a cap with the name of his shop on it and I asked if I could swap for one of those. He grabbed his nephew’s cap and gave it to me.
The Chileans are friendly and good natured, with strong historic connections to the U.K.
Admiral Cochrane was in charge of their fleet and fought, alongside the first President (O’Higgins – see picture) for independence from Spain, in the 1850‘s. Cochrane was previously in the British Navy but thrown out (later pardoned by Queen Victoria.
The British built much of the infrastructure and traded in copper and guano.
We also started a war between Chile against Peru and Bolivia – Chile won, so that’s ok.
Margaret Thatcher’s support for Genera Pinochet, in the 1980‘s was also very popular with Chileans of a certain age and political persuasion.
