We were actually debating between going to Arica and Iquique, as we knew we wanted to spend the long weekend in one of the cities with tropical beaches, but in the end we chose Iquique, because the beach just looked so amazing in the pictures on the internet. To be honest, I was expecting the beach to be the main highlight of the weekend, but we ended up being surprised by how many other fantastic attractions we discovered in the city and the surrounding area. Overall, it was one of the most memorable and fun trips I've taken here in Chile.
The trip didn't get off to the greatest start - we arrived late in the evening, and then had to switch hotel room, because the bathroom door managed to lock itself from the inside. What made this especially annoying is that I'd already unpacked most of my backpack, so I then had to pack it all up again, and then unpack again in the new room! But we told ourselves that the next day would be a new day, and that it would be much better. And fortunately, it really did turn out to be much better!
We started Saturday morning having breakfast next to the hotel swimming pool, surrounded by palm trees. It was already nice and warm and sunny, so we knew it would be a great day for sightseeing and spending time at the beach.
The first place we went to see was Playa Brava, which was just across the road from our hotel (the Holiday Inn Express). It's quite a deserty-looking beach, surrounded by sandy-coloured mountains. I was pretty excited to be there, as it was actually my first time visiting a tropical beach!
Next we walked round a peninsula to arrive at Iquique's most famous beach, Playa Cavancha. This is the place that appears at the top of Google Images when you search for Iquique, and it was what really convinced me we needed to go there, as it looked so much like Miami! It's a really long crescent of beach next to the city's main avenue, with tall buildings at both ends.
One of the nice things about Playa Cavancha is that it has one of those big signs that are fun for taking pictures with, just like the ones we saw on our trip to Valle del Elqui.
We also saw some interesting buildings near the two beaches, including a Greek-looking building next to the hotel, and a couple of very traditional buildings by Playa Cavancha.
We had hired an SUV for the weekend, which turned out to be a great idea, as it made getting around the city and beyond really easy. So after our walk on the beaches, we got into the car and headed for the historic centre of the city.
The most important part of the historic centre is Plaza Prat, and its focal point is Torre del Reloj (the clock tower).
There are various historic buildings in the square.
For us, the most impressive building was Casino Español, which is built in a kind-of Andalucían/North African style. The outside is pretty, but the interior is amazingly elaborate and beautiful.
Another important part of the city centre is Calle Baquedano, a street of historic buildings in a range of different colours. Claudio told me that in the past, Santiago had lots of these sorts of buildings too, but it's become so modernised over the years, whereas Iquique has stayed more traditional in terms of architecture.
Next we went to see some more history by visiting the ship, La Esmeralda. This is a place that actually isn't in my Chile guidebook, but Claudio told me it was very important to visit it, because of its role in the War of the Pacific in the 19th century. Iquique, along with Arica, actually used to be part of Peru, while Antofagasta was part of Bolivia, until all these territories were won by Chile during the war. The real Esmeralda was actually sunk in battle, but a true-to-life replica has been built as a museum. It was really interesting to look around the different parts of the ship, which have been recreated exactly as they were in the past. Being there was like taking a trip back into history.
Our next stop was Mall Zofri, part of the Zona Franca de Iquique, a big duty-free area and one of various reasons why Iquique is a popular holiday destination! In fact, it was a deciding factor in us choosing to go there, as Claudio is a big car fanatic and expert, and he wanted to see the tax-free cars on offer there. So after having lunch at the mall, we went to do some car sightseeing, but unfortunately a lot of the garages were closed due to the public holiday. However, we were still able to see a selection of cars when driving past, which was nice.
Then we drove up some very steep roads to the dunes that surround the city, which was a little bit scary! Once we'd found a place to park the car, we climbed up one of the dunes in order to see a panoramic view of the city and the Pacific Ocean. It required a bit of an effort to get to the top, but it was definitely worth it, as the views were incredible. Iquique is on the edge of the Atacama Desert, and from the dunes, you can see desert, mountains, city and sea, so it's quite a unique landscape.
No trip to the beach is complete without swimming in the sea, so that's exactly what we decided to do next. We went to leave our stuff in the hotel and then walked back to Playa Cavancha. It was about 5pm by the time we got in the water, and in hindsight it was probably a bit late to swim, as the water was starting to get quite cold. Although it was the first tropical beach I've swum at, it wasn't really the best beach for swimming that I've been to - there was a lot of seaweed, jellyfish, and tall waves. In fact, at one point, we got caught up in a huge wave, and I was submerged underwater for several seconds, which was pretty scary! But all the same, we had a really fun time!
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. Claudio went out to a car meet near the hotel for a little while, but apart from that we had a relaxing evening. It had been a long day of walking, climbing, swimming and sightseeing!
We had already seen most of the sights of Iquique, so the following day we decided to make the most of the SUV and go on a road trip into the desert to see some of the sights there.
But before we left the city, we went to see Estadio Tierra de Campeones, Iquique's football stadium, which was a place Claudio particularly wanted to see.
Then after we came back from the desert, we went to see the cathedral. I's difficult to get a decent photo of it, because the street it's on is quite narrow, but it's very pretty and colourful.
To sum up, Iquique really is a city with a bit of everything - sunshine, beaches, history, architecture, shopping and desert. We both really loved our time there, and found it to be the perfect destination for our Easter vacation. We would definitely go back in the future!
Next I'll be writing about our trip into the desert, during which we discovered even more of Chile's interesting history...
