Four hundred and nineteen kilometers to the north lies Iquique. Why buses still run this route when a flight with Lan costs the same, I still do not know; but, for $20.000 CLP per person (ida y vuelta), you can fly from Antofagasta to Iquique in just under 45 minutes.
As we hadn't been out of town since our vacation vacation to Valparaiso and the aforementioned price was hard to deny, we decided to head straight from work to the airport and spend the weekend in Iquique. Saturday morning, after a delicious complementary breakfast at Hotel Diego de Almagro, we headed up the (locally) renowned boardwalk.
In contrast to the costanera de Antofagasta, we found the local beaches and pathways not only flooded with foot and bicycle traffic, but much more nicely groomed. Seemingly transported to another country, the street and beach trash that seems to plague most of Chile was curiously absent, and not at all missed. Though the half dozen surf schools had pretty colored tents, with 20 students a piece they kept us from any degree of regret over leaving our body-boarding gear in Antofagasta for the weekend.
For those who do head to Iquique in search of waves, if you can find this lifeguard stand then you should be golden. While the rest of the coast seemed pleasant for the beginner, the waves we found in this spot were breaking at a consistent height of 3-4 meters with no shortage of locals to ride them.
Just inland of the coast, anyone interested in the history and architecture of the city should search out Calle Baquedano. This pedestrian walkway runs all the way from the Monumento de Arturo Pratt, to Plaza Arturo Prat, by way of the Museo Regional and the clock tower (pictured below).
With the help of colorful paint, many of the old buildings that line this street have been converted into quaint cafes and tour companies.
Some less tastefully done than others.
On the south side of Plaza Prat you will come across the meticulously renovated Teatro Municipal de Iquique.
And if you are as fortunate as we were, you will have a military marching band welcome you with trumpets blaring.
In the center of the plaza lies the Clock Tower of Iquique. Although it is pictured above sporting the Chilean flag, this clock tower was constructed in 1878 when Iquique was still a part of Peru.
On the northeast of the square is the most scantily advertised Spanish Casino you will never find. From the outside, the only giveaways to its beautifully tiled interior are the bright colored paint and the Spanish flag flying eye to eye with the Chilean.
Yes, I was "feelin' lucky."
Once inside you are quickly occupied with the seemingly impossible job of logging all of the intricacies that run from the floor to the skylight. The designer(s?) of this place definitely deserves an award of some sort.
Sadly for us, there was no gambling going on, or at least none that we could see. Couple that with the fact that we came on a Sunday and we were left to drink away our woes with water. So, we pocketed our pesos and stopped for one last shot.
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