Coquimbo

The port of Coquimbo is 12 kms. South of La Serena along the Pan American Highway.  It is a port of considerable importance with several industries.  The city is built on the southern slopes of the highlands which encircle the sheltered bay of Coquimbo;  it has one of the best harbors on the coast, with a mole pier.

The Marine Biology Center is a research station located in Guayacán.  If you wish to visit the laboratories and aquarium, you will need to obtain a pass from the Marine Biology Department at the Universidad Católica del Norte in Coquimbo.

Restaurants

El Barrio Inglés in the port area.

Casino
The Casino de Juegos Enjoy of Coquimbo, is located on the Av. Peñuelas Norte (just off the Pan American Highway between La Serena and Coquimbo).  This a grand  oceanfront building, with roulette tables, baccarat and slot machines, combined with a bar, dining room. and hotel.

Guayacán on La Herradura Bay

On the southern slope of the Coquimbo peninsula is Guayacán, discovered by the English corsair, Francis Drake. Around 1578 it was the meeting point and refuge of pirates among whom the names of Sharp and Drake stand out. Is a mechanized port, full of legends and a church designed by Eiffel.  The bay was used by the Navy as a shelter from big storms, its form of a horseshoe having a narrow entrance just wide enough to permit the ships to pass through and anchor in the bay.  During the 17^thcentury, pirates, buccaneers and corsairs often put down their sails and anchored there.  A legend tells the story of a treasure which was hidden by the English corsairs during the Spanish attacks.