We arrived in port in the morning, and before I was fully awake, I heard music. This was unique. Sometimes from late morning to evening we would faintly hear music from the Lido deck while sitting on our balcony, but this sounded like a Mariachi band was standing right on our balcony. I opened our curtains and couldn’t see any musicians, so I quickly threw on my stateroom robe and went out our balcony door.
The port of Coquimbo performed the most delightful welcome show, and it was directly in front of my cabin – 10 stories down.
They performed several types of music including traditional and cultural dances with multiple costume changes. The picture above was zoomed in. The picture below was my actual view:
After each number, the ladies would board the bus for a costume change and the men would change behind the bus to give them privacy. Privacy? Really? We did not see the men change, but I imagine the port workers and business/home owners behind them saw a different kind of entertainment than we did!
The band was quite entertaining and kept playing during the debarkation process. 
We proceeded through the terminal and emerged on an open sidewalk area filled with locals selling tours. They weren’t overly pushy.
We have discovered that the best prices are usually offered several feet away from the gate. That held true here. A young man was nearby holding a ping-pong paddle with his tour price written on it. He offered a great price for a tour by small bus. These decisions are a little difficult: deciding whether to commit to this tour and wait for the bus to fill or walk around to explore our options. It only took about 20 minutes to get a full bus and off we went.
Our first stop was at the fort. Our guide was a semi-pro soccer player who made extra income doing tours. His English was good, and since he was a local, we were able to enjoy his version of the history of the area.
We were given several minutes to walk around and take photos.
Our next stop was at a modern cathedral on the top of the hill. The cross is huge and is visible from the port. That’s me, in blue, standing at the top of the stairs.
Inside the Cathedral
Over forty bronze statues depicting the life of Christ are placed throughout the grounds. My photos are of the Sermon on the Mount and crucifixion scenes. (How they got that statue mounted on the hillside astounds me!)
A view from the cathedral steps
Our tour bus wound back down the narrow streets into the city where it was rummage sale day. In my neck of the woods, people have yard sales or garage sales. Here, anyone can lay a sheet on the sidewalk and sell their used items among the colorful graffiti.
Our tour left Coquimbo and travelled into the city of La Serena. (I’m saving those details for my next post, see below.)
When the tour concluded, we were given the choice to be dropped off at a local artisan market beside the terminal or taken to the ship. So we chose to shop. I had read that this was a great port for purchasing sweaters, scarves, and trinkets. I found that advice to be accurate.
We took more photos of this neat city on a hill. Look closely near the bottom left corner of the picture. See the staircase? I would not want to live in one of the houses and traverse those stairs every time I wanted to “run to the grocery.” 
A couple of our shipmates told us they decided to take a taxi to the cathedral and walk back to the ship. They were questioned by the police on their way back to the ship and told that it wasn’t really safe for them to be walking in the area. Advice I read beforehand said to watch out for pickpockets in the markets and petty theft in the area. I felt safe with a tour group and in the market beside the ship (while holding onto my cross body bag with only minimal cash in it); the economy depends on tourism, but I would not have even considered taking off on our own.
The nearest large city is La Serena. It was also included in our tour but I wrote a separate blog post you can access by clicking this link: La Serena
If I ever return to Coquimbo….
If we are in port longer, I would book an all-day excursion to the Elqui Valley to see the natural beauty and watch for their famous extra-terrestrial activity. If not, I would spend more time at the Cathedral climbing to the top of the tower and finding all the bronze statues. Then I would go to the museum nearby to see the statue from Easter Island.