La Serena - by the Sea

---

We awoke a little later today, due to the late night previously and went to breakfast. Breakfast here is quite interesting, you have a kind of dry scone with sweet orange jam, a slice of cheese, tea without milk and sweet apple juice. We enjoyed the cheese best! Then we had very hot and cold showers due to a strange thermostat. Nick says his was very good, maybe it improved with use! We have to ask for the warm water to be turned on prior to showering, as the hotel is environmentally conscious and turns off the hot water for most of the day.

Today we were given a free day to explore the town and visit the beach, perhaps we will find it this time! The city was much more alive today, bustling and everything open for business. Then we walked to the Square, caught up on a few jobs and then enjoyed lunch, nothing spectacular just pizza, nice base though! Looking forward to cheaper prices after Chile!

Then we took a half hour walk to the seafront, a vaguely attractive lighthouse at the entrance, but the beach slightly disappointing, grey sand and not a huge amount of interest in the surrounding area. If the visibility had been clearer, we would have gained good views of the nearby mountains. On the way back several dogs decided to follow us, and we passed all the students. The college was nice with large panoramic windows spanning the area with great views of the mountains on a good day!

After we headed back to town to have a quick drink and snack, before we prepared ourselves for our long night journey by bus, which we had to look forward to. Mind you we are fairly tired, so we will hopefully sleep well!

---