We arrived to the outskirts of Iquique around 3:45, when I woke up because the bus was stopped. I panicked a little because I saw that a good chunk of the bus had already left, and I thought that it was time to get off. I quickly gathered my stuff to get off, but the bus door closed before I was able to get out. That was actually a good thing, though, since we weren't in the actual city yet. Instead, I got to sit up front with the driver and his assistant until we got down into the city. Since the area we arrived to is apparently quite dangerous at night, they allowed anyone who wanted to stay in the bus (and sleep) until the sunrise at about 7:30. I'm incredibly thankful for that, since they found out early that I had a ridiculously difficult time understanding them (Chilean Spanish is incomprehensible, I swear).
I spent the morning literally walking around until I could find a place to stay - all the places I stopped by first didn't have singles/hostel-style rooms or were really expensive. I finally found a place with good wifi and the cheapest price (8000 CP, or about $12). I spent a couple hours working and doing research about what to do today before heading out. I must have asked at least 5 hostels about prices, and none of them, including the one I decided on, had maps of Iquique. What? If I had my phone it would not be a problem, but since I don't, it definitely is.
I made my way towards the city center, going to the free Regional Museum at first. I've been called "valiente" or brave by many people throughout my trip, and was called that again by the woman employee for traveling alone! The museum itself was quite nice - it had a section on animals, mummification (practiced quite widely in the Atacama Desert area), tools, technology, and textiles. Their English translations were quite sparse, making it very difficult to read/understand anything, but at least their artifacts were clear and interesting!
The main plaza is small, and it was under construction (as is much of the rest of the main city). I tried to find other museums - the Naval, the History (not real name), etc. - but they were all closed even though I found a pamphlet showing they would be open at the times I visited. Hmm.
I stopped by a church since I had some time to, and its style was a lot like the one I saw yesterday in Calama - and very different from the ones that I had seen in Peru and Bolivia. How interesting! At least I know that the one in Calama was not just a fluke, then!
I sat down for some lunch as well - the first time in about 5 days that I actually bought a meal. What I like a lot about South America is that restaurants all tend to have something called a "menu" - not a list of the food choices they offer, but a sort of daily special that usually includes an appetizer (soup, typically) and a main dish, occasionally with a dessert as well. I had chicken noodle soup with chicken and rice - I would not have eaten that much chicken had I known what the waitress was saying, dang it - but it was good nonetheless.
I also walked through a little part of the market and along the touristy shopping center in the afternoon. It had all sorts of souvenirs, and there was one lady making earrings and other jewelry by hand! They looked awesome but I'm sure they would have been very expensive and I don't wear them very often, so I kept moving and bought myself an ice cream - best idea ever!
My last stop for the day was another museum. Since Iquique is a coastal port (like almost all the other cities in Chile), it has a museum called the Museo Corbeta Esmeralda of a replica of a warship from the 1800s. The boat was only accessible with a tour guide, and this tour guide only spoke ridiculously fast Chilean Spanish, so I basically understood nothing. Unfortunate. Still, the boat was worth the $4.50 that I paid, so I'm not going to complain. I also finally saw the bus terminal (the real one!) of Iquique, so when I need to leave, I'll be going from there!
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