La Serena, Isla Damas and Valle Del Elqui

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15/7-2013:
We went to La Serena with our friend Cristian by car. It was though to say goodbye and now know if you will return again.
Slept a lot of the way and arrived at midday - we had some lunch with the other three girls who were already there and Haroldo who we were staying with - had some really nice seafood
at a restaurant at the beach.
We booked a tour to Isla Damas the next day and went home to relax before dinner and a night out.
We went to a reggae bar called Tsunami with live music and it was really fun. 16/7-2013:
We got up early to go to Isla Damas, and got on the wrong bus cause the busdriver chose not to check the ticket.. We found out real quick and changed busses..
Then I slept most of the 2 hour busride and burned my self on the hottest cup of tea I have ever had, without a lid - not the most practical thing when riding a bumpy bus.
When we got there we waited a little for the boat and took of. When we wanted to go on land on Isla Damas the spotter saw a lot of dolphins and we took off immediately to see them..
We got really close to them with the boat and there were many of them swimming peacefully around - then we got on the island which I can only imagine must be paradise during summer,
the clearest blue water, beautiful nature and lots of different birds. Afterwards we saw a lot of sealions, penguins and different birds when sailing around a bit more.
A quick lunch when back on shore and then a good nap in the bus back to the city.
17/7-2013: The girls went to Valle del Elqui while I stayed back and waited for my boyfriend to arrive, who came all the way from Viña del Mar to see me one last time. In the night my he arrived on the night of his birthday! So naturally we decided to party and drink a little with Haroldo and tried going out but unfortunately most of the places were empty or closed so we had to just enjoy some drinks at the apartment.

18/7/2013: Had some birthday cake in the morning and slept until very late and then went out for lunch while Haroldo was working. Enjoyed the day around the beach and then went back in the evening for a big party at the apartment celebrating the birthday. All of the girls came back that night and had dinner with us and partied a little before taking a night bus to San Pedro de Atacama that I had allready visited, so instead I prefered stay behind and to go to Valle del Elqui where they had just been.

19/7-2013: We went from La Serena to Pisco Elqui. We took the bus which takes around 2 hours and almost slept all the way.
When we arrived we first went to a hotel that we had booked but no one was there an it looked like a creepy ghost house so we decided to bail. We found a nice hotel called Gabriela Mistral and got a cabaña for 30.000 which was an okay price and we had our own kitchen, heating and everything. We went for a small walk in the city, booked a 'mystic tour' around the valley the next day, walked around the plaza and looked at some small shops. Then we went for a really nice dinner and had carne mechada, maybe my last one ever for me - unfortunately the night was too cloudy for star watching, Valle del Elqui is one of the best places on earth for star watching.

Next day we went on the tour at two. We went to a temple which was built buy a french guy and made especially for cleaning chacras. We had a ceremony at maybe half an our but the place was too cold for me to feel relaxed and I didn't really feel anything. Next stop was a small Pueblo artesanal, you could by a lot of typical things from Elqui. We had a small lunch there and found a beautiful spot by the river. Then we visited an elderly man who held a speech about his religion which was love. He talked about that happiness is personal and when his wife left him with his best friend - he was still happy because she was. I was distracted by a playful puppy during the whole speech but that made me happy! So I guess he was right - spread the love.

The last stop was at an elderly womans house, she was very religious and after she told us a little about herself we had a ceremony. We had to remove all metals, take our shoes of and kneel on the ground, kiss the ground and then lie with our forhead on the ground while she 'cleansed' us. Well after all of this we could at least conclude that a lot of mystical things are going on in the valley, or maybe its just filled up with a lot of crazy people - you have to make up your own mind. At least it is a very beautiful and unique place, a nice way to say goodbye and a unique and peaceful place.

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