Iquique, Chile - part 1

Iquique (I’kike) is a coastal city in Northern Chile of about 200,000 people is another city that was once Peruvian until 1879. Don’t ask “who makes the best Pisco”. There is evidence of Chango people living here around 7,000 BC. Founded in the 16th Century and Peruvian until it became Chilean in the 19th Century. In 1973, on 9/11 (really), a military coup (supported by the US) took over the government and for 3 years these were government offices (it’s worth reading more on this). Large deposits of sodium nitrate, saltpetre (a food preservative and never use for reducing sex drive as the myth has it) and other minerals made this a big thriving city. Unfortunately, several earthquakes (1868, 1877, 2005 and the biggest 8.2 in 2014) devastated the area. Interestingly, because of Iquique’s quake-resistant architecture, the city suffered no loss of life and minimal damage.

First, we saw the “famous” 1878 Clock Tower at Plaza Prat (why is roman numeral for FOUR, IIII? No one knows) noting the breaking away of this town from Peru. We saw the The Municipal Theater but didn’t get in since they are still refurbishing … the last 20 years. We walked the streets of the Old City which was very quaint with lots of stores and restaurants built in the 19th Century, looking like an old movie set (filming has been done here). The good news is that the tour did not stop or give time to shop since it was Sunday and almost everything was closed (must be some holiday).

We visited the Regional Museum which covered Chiles cultural history looking at the recreation of a Andean village as well as Chinchorro mummies (9000 years old). We then went to the Astoreca Palace, an old Georgian mansion built in 1904 with 32 rooms and with beautiful furniture and woodwork. Everything is built with Oregon Pine! Owned by Juan Astoria, who was a wealthy owner of 4 mines.

We ended with drinks (PISCO) and lunch at Centro Espanol.

In our ongoing research, we found lovely apartments for $800/month or $120k to buy.

Iquique (photo 1)
Mango Pisco Sours and a lovely place for a snack (photo 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9)
Tilting at Windmills - not me! (photo 10)
Clock Tower (photos 11, 12 and 13)
"The CITY" (photos 14 and 15)
The Theater ... STILL under construction (photo 16)
Stopped by the Firehouse to discuss 9/11 with local volunteers (photo 17)
Museum (photos 18, 19 and 20)Read more