Blogs from La Serena, Coquimbo Region, Chile, South America - page 5

After a long night bus, (in which I had the front seat on the top deck so I felt like I was in a video game) I arrived in La Serena. The hotel wasn't exactly my favourite what with the mold on the walls and stench of damp. Spent a bit of the afternoon watching football, browsing the super-size supermarket (seriously, this super-market novelty does not wear off in South America!) and watching TV (exciting times) until going out for dinner that evening. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to try the 'mentos in a diet coke' trick. Dropped the mento into the bottle and the coke exploded everywhere. In addition to finding Cadbury's chocolate, that was probably the highlight of my first day. At around 5.55am the next morning, there was a ... read more

"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking up at the stars." Oscar Wilde The area around La Serena in northern Chile boasts the clearest skies in the world, hence the white domes of observatories dot the neighbouring mountains. In amongst this belt of star gazing scientific centres is Mamalluca, a 'tourist' observatory (scientists don't like tourist hordes disturbing their work). Through a digital telescope and also a manual one, we saw star clusters, Jupiter, a red giant star and the moon up close and personal. The moon was the most impressive. Afterwards our guide gave a short talk using computer programmes (check out Starry Night and Stellarium if you are interested). I could feel myself getting smaller and smaller in my chair as the screen zoomed outwards from Earth to ... read more

I just got back from La Serena, about 6 hours up north on the coast. We went for the independence (September 18th) but didn´t do much celebrating. We walked along the boardwalk for about two hours, until we got to an amazing seafood restaurant. The guy we were staying with (from couchsurfing.org) wined and dined us but was a little annoying- inviting himself everywhere and due to his lack of self-confidence acted as if he knew everyyything. Anyways, we stuffed ourselves with great fish, sauces, wine and empanadas then took about a two hour nap on the beach. That night we went to the neighboring town, Coquimbo, and went to a few bars that were full of karoke and fiestas de las patrias. The next day we took a bus about an hour out to Vicuña ... read more

Our bus journey from Santiago to La Serena was pretty much the same as usual except for the fact that I got to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time EVER!!!! Unfortunately it looks no different to the Atlantic but......... Well I last left you complaining of my rash but hoping it was on the mend. Unfortunately when we got to La Serena and after a sleepless night I had to resign myself to the fact that I was going to have to get some medical attention. Thursday morning we woke up and I went to talk to the hostel reception and asked where the local tourist information was, thinking they would point me in the direction of an English speaking doctor, however the receptionist wanted to know why and I told her I needed ... read more

Spending a few days on the Chilean coast winding down after a fun-filled couple of months that took us from icebergs to jungle. We´re at La Serena and the entry in the guide book reads ¨blessed with a long golden shoreline¨, but that same guide book fails to mention the sea mist that blankets the coast for most of the day. Luckily, just 15 minutes east, every day has blue sky and sunshine so we rented a car with the steering wheel on the ¨wrong¨side and went to have a look. Numerous vineyards, all dedicated to producing grapes for Pisco Sour drinks, fill the valley, while the slopes are the domain of a type of cactus. Our car, a Toyota Yaris, seemed to be ¨possessed¨. An alarm system that would set itself and lock all the ... read more