La Serena, Chile 1/24/24
Authored by Laurie Hardcastle Seil
Our port is listed as La Serena, but the dock is actually in the city of Coquimbo, which is around 15 km (9 mi) away from La Serena, however, Coquimbo is part of La Serena and La Serena is in Coquimbo, region that is, how’s that for confusing? Coquimbo is also a cargo port for the area, specializing in the export of copper from nearby mines, as well as Chilean wines.
I’ll give you just a bit about
Coquimbo which became important as a port around 1840 thanks to the gold and
copper industry, however it wasn’t recognized as a town until 1879. You may be
surprised to hear that somewhere in town is a statue of Sir Francis Drake,
erected because he purportedly stopped at this future city site during his
journey around the world. The Beagle stopped in here with Charles Darwin as
well, he noted that there was nothing remarkable about the town except for the
quiet. There is actually a British quarter in the city from when there was an
influx of employees for the British mining companies that prospered here in the
19th century, nothing to see in that area now except for the view we’ll get of
colorful houses that climb the hill above the port. We’ll definitely be able to
see the gigantic landmark of Coquimbo, the Cruz del Tercer Mllenio, an 83 m
(272 ft) tall cross that stands above the city, if you visit there, you’ll get
sweeping panoramic views of land and sea.
Now on to La Serena, the second oldest
city in Chile, which is known for its colonial architecture, beautiful gardens,
beaches, and multitude of churches, around twenty-nine of them. The latter fact
has led it to be nicknamed the “City of Churches” or “City of Belfries”, which
makes me wonder if we’ll get to hear bells tolling. The main cathedral here,
Our Lady of Mercy, also known simply as La Serena Cathedral, can be found on
the Plaza de Armas, the main square in town. A church has stood on this spot
since 1549 but the current structure has been there only since 1856. It
has a Neoclassical facade and beautiful stained-glass windows, however the
interior may or may not be open for viewing. The Plaza de Armas has been on
this site for over 450 years and the tree-shaded center of town contains other
landmarks, along with shops and cafes, it's a lovely place for a stroll. The
original settlement was located here in 1544, then destroyed by the natives in
1549, however the Spanish hung on and rebuilt in 1550, with city status granted
in 1552.
Elqui Valley, known for its beautiful landscapes and was the birthplace Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. It’s probably most famous for its vineyards where the grapes are grown for making pisco, a traditional Chilean grape brandy. It has been designated as the world’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary in an effort to protect the integrity of the natural night sky. Such a designation goes only to rare and fragile dark places left on earth.
The be all end all place to shop in La Serena is La Recova Municipal Market, a two-story structure that was built in 1886 but had to be restored, no pun intended, after a 1975 earthquake. It’s interesting to note that there’s actually been shopping at this spot since 1795 when an effort was made to keep all the city’s merchants in the same place around the central plaza. There’s supposed to be everything you could think to buy here in the stalls and shops, as well as interesting restaurants and cafes to eat in. Seafood is supposed to be excellent in the area, maybe try some seafood empanadas, or ceviche.
We shared a private tour with Karen and Shel Omi, a couple we have gotten to know quite well on this cruise. We started out at 8:30 am and got back to the ship at 3:15 pm, so a full day for us. Another 12k in steps (need to work off that ship's food and drinks). Started out in Coquimbo and got a brief history lesson, driving through what was the British neighborhood in the city's heyday. It is now very run down and not a safe place to be on your own. La Serena and Coquimbo are often called “twin cities” since they are so close geographically that they have merged in many ways. Their cultures and architectural styles are very similar. Coquimbo is slightly smaller than La Serena, but it sports two of the most visible tourist attractions, the Mosque and the Cruz del Tercer Milenio (the Third Millenium Cross). The Cruz del Tercer Milenio is 83 meters tall and 40 meters wide, located on El Vigia Hill. Construction was started in 1999 and completed in 2001. It is considered the tallest monument in South America (Christ the Redeemer is 30 meters tall). The home styles in Coquimbo are very quaint and considered “neocolonial” architecture. From Coquimbo, we traveled down Avenida del Mar which is along La Serena’s beaches. The beaches are lined with beautiful condominium buildings that are often rented to tourists and students. Avenida del Mar was full of boutique style cafes’, restaurants and stores. These two towns are beach towns - our morning was quite foggy and overcast and the beaches, restaurants, and stores all closed up. Normal weather in the summertime - everything starts to get going midafternoon to evening when the sun comes out. Big vacation destinations for Argentinians, Peruvians, and some Brazilians. Reminds us of Fort Myers Beach. Like Ft. Myers, weather can be an issue - earthquakes and tsunamis are a major threat. From there we headed out to La Serena (calm waters) and went to El Faro beach which has the Faro Monumental lighthouse on its beach. El Faro lighthouse was built between 1950 and 1951 by the Chilean Navy and is one of their most popular tourist attractions (destroyed in the last tsunami, just reopened a year ago), and then on to La Recova market which is a historical and cultural place in La Serena. It was founded in 1795 and currently has more than 100 stores with a large variety of local handicraft products such as lapis lazuli jewelry, papaya jam (they have a different kind of papaya which is more like a lemon in size and taste), goat cheese, ponchos, knitted goods and goat cheeses. Did a little shopping for the grands and then walked to the main plaza, Plaza de Armas, which is surrounded by the government buildings and Cathedral La Serena, which was closed for the day. Then we visited the National Museum. A statue from Easter Island was on display (we also saw one in Valparaiso) and found out the Easter Island is/was a province of Chile, hence the statues finding a home in Chile. Stray dogs have found their way to La Serena also and were all around, living the good life. From there, we went to the Japanese gardens (large Japanese population here). BTW, no stray dogs inside the garden. One of the top attractions in the city. The grounds were lovely and quite well manicured. However, Shel and Karen said wait till we get to Japan...they lived there, and the gardens are immaculate. The pictures really don't do it justice, but I have tried to capture the peacefulness of the garden.
Stopped for the obligatory sign photos, and then on to lunch on the beach. And guess what? We got our pisco sour - and was it good - smooth and that pisco brandy is strong!!! We can't wait to try them in Peru - these will be hard to beat.
For me, the highlight of the day was Cruz del Tercer Mllenio. It is massive and a sight to see. While Christ the Redeemer is more famous, this beautiful monument is the largest of the due, and well worth the visit. The bronze sculptures of the stations of the cross are amazing and it is a very spiritual feeling. While we were still having overcast skies and some fog, the view of the harbor was stunning. We made it to the 2nd level of the statue - we did not make it to the top, as it was foggy and there would be nothing to see, so we passed. All in all, a very satisfying day, enjoying the culture, the people, and the graffiti artwork that is also in this city...thanks to fellow cruisers for sharing their pictures...oh, a pirate battle on the high seas.... we wish we had more time to investigate this area more as it was definitely the most cosmopolitan city, we’ve seen so far in Chile...a day at sea tomorrow, then on to Arica Chile.
Many photos courtesy of fellow cruisers
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