February 4, 2019 – Arica, Chile
Today we arrived in Arica, Chile. We did not book any tour and instead chose to do this city on our own. Today we planned to hike up El Morro de Arica. This hill is close to the port and rises up to 139 meters rather quickly. Spectacular views are promised at the summit.
This hill was an important stronghold to the Peruvian Army during the War of the Pacific (1879 – 1883). Chili defeated the Bolivia and Peruvian alliance and now this area is a monument.
Almost to the top. Time to bust out a few tunes.
We didn’t expect “touchdown Jesus” at the top, especially after last night’s not so super game.
We did our climb early to avoid the heat. Most of the folks on the ship took a taxi or tour bus to the top. The climb was rather steep but was paved. We went into the downtown area afterward. Shops opened at 10 am and our timing was perfect. Plenty of stores and outdoor markets selling fruit and other food. We did need a few items and stopped in a drug store. Our limits of Spanish were tested as we tried to use our credit card. I had a flashback to a time we were in Normandy, France at a little grocery store. We did not have chip credit cards in the US yet and Europe had been using them for years. The cashier was getting frustrated that the card was not working. I gave her my best “Parlez vous anglais?” She responded with slower and louder French. I was puzzled at first but then thought of the many times we were sure that all people would understand English if it is spoken slow enough.
It all worked out. Terri is a great communicator. She will even do a little acting if necessary.
After out tour of the town we went back to the ship for lunch. It would have been nice to try some authentic Chilean food but after we passed the McDonalds in the middle of town we decided that the Lido deck is where we wanted to be.
We spent the afternoon on the deck and then watched a group of dancers give us quite the sendoff.
The evening entertainment on the MainStage was Liam Cooper from Australia. Liam did a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John. His Billy Joel was very authentic and he had interesting stories about why Billy Joel composed some of the tunes he did. His Elton John was not as well done. His range couldn’t handle some of the notes and he wisely took a few notes down an octave. His falsetto was a bit rough. All of the musicians on stage were obviously born after these artists. I expected a bit more from the guitarist on Rocket Man. He has great chops but if you are doing a tribute, you will want your playing to mimic what was done on the original recordings. I’m sure this was probably a one rehearsal gig but the house band is capable of more. Overall a good show. …