La Serena, Chile

After a short 8 hour bus ride from Viña del Mar we awoke in La Serena at 6am. It was dark and a little chilly and of course we had no map for the area, only the name and address of a hostel in which we intended to stay. We hung out in the bus station for a little while waiting for the sun to come up so we could orientate ourselves a little better and so there would be more activity around the bus station.

We arrive at our hostel around 7am and ask for a room for the night. A bit confused, they said they had one, but it wouldn't be ready until at least midday. We're sitting in the main room of the hostel and a drunkie Aussie busts out of his room to proclaim that he absolutely must get back to Valparaiso or else his girlfriend will kill him. He slams all of his Chilean change on the counter and asks if it's enough for his room. The dude at the hostel (keep in mind it's around 7am) is not really about counting the change and continues to decide in which room to put us. The Aussie kid causes a little more trouble, he's obviously still drunk from the night before and immediately blames it on his Irish friends he met before St. Patty's Day. Everything is much more in focus now...

We settle in the cute little hostel, we eat a little breakfast and Hanna takes a little nap. I head downstairs and continue to eat more breakfast that was probably not really for me, but was delicious nonetheless. I started talking to others around the table and found some people who came from Viña del Mar as well.

That first afternoon in La Serena we headed out to the beach. It's a huge 5 mile strip that was basically deserted since the high season ended a couple weeks ago. We strolled down the beach occasionally dipping our feet into the cold water, but enjoying the breeze and the wide open spaces. We also ate at a local establishment and got some wicked strange soup with all kinds of wicked strange sea creatures in it...

Once we got back to the hostel, we grabbed some groceries and grilled up some chicken. Everyone was hanging out on the roof and in the terrace area. It was a wonderful mix of people. Hanna even met a group of folks from Knoxville. Who she talked with and shared a piscola (pisco and coke...a 'national' drink of Chile). Check her out in the background.

The chicken was great, the avocados were to die for and the company was excellent. We called it a fairly early night so that we could get up the next day and take a little adventure out of the city.

The adventure began as every adventure begins in South America...finding the start. We located the 'micro' we were supposed to take in the parking lot behind a grocery store. Why would they make it easy for us? We started our two hour bus ride through the valley where every turn took our breath away a little bit more. We'll have to post a slide show of this trip as it was a photographers dream. The contrast of the luscious valley with the dry brown mountains was profound. The steep windy roads, tunnel, and lake added to the wonderful scenery that we rapidly drove passed.

We spent a couple hours in Pisco Elqui checking out the Pisco distillery, the cute little plaza and the mountainous roads. It reminded us of a town in the old west. Many of the buildings were shuttered due to the fact it was Sunday. A couple of college kids from the hostel joined us, so it was a nice group of six. As we walked around we came across a couple pristine campsites and ended up down a dirt road at the very base of one of the mountains. The closer you get the bigger they look, and they already look huge from a distance. Besides mountains, Chile also prides itself on its fruit production and fresh squeezed fruit juices are fairly common. We enjoyed a variety of flavors at a local pizza place. All in all, the day trip ruled, and the bus tickets were a mere $6 round trip.