La Serena - Chile

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We got the night bus out of the desert to the coast to a place Lonely Planet recommended called Caldera......what a waste of time. The bus dropped us off at 6am in the morning everything was closed and the streets full of dogs like Lady and the Tramp. We found out nothing opened until 10am...but we had our fellow German travellers to keep us company ( I think Sillie secretly fancied Dean). We booked into a hotel for a night where the landlord was drunk and quickly booked the next bus out. Sillie was very upset and asked for our email address so that we could meet again!!

We left the next morning to head to La Serena by which stage Dean was loaded with the cold and not liking the idea of being stalked!. La Serena was a really nice town and lovely beaches. It also had department stores with January sales. Normality at last no more markets. It was also hot which was great news. We stayed 2 nights and on one of the nights visited an observatory for stars it was amazing I have seen nothing like it. Guess who we bumped into at the observatory even though it was pitch black....Sillie!!

We then decided to head to Valparasio. A great and quirky little town just outside Santiago. We stayed in the best hostel yet, really friendly, feather duvets and just like home. We really liked Valparasio but were full of the cold. Great down for getting lost and streets like a little toy town. We also treated ourselves to an expensive meal (well more than 3 pounds). A restaurant overlooking the sea mmmmmmmm.

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