islands,andes,desert,beach,bus,boat,bike

Where to begin.

Spring Break was this week...and it was awesome. I think I may still be in shock that we actually accomplished that insanely loaded trip.

Ahzha, Lauren. and I left early Sunday morning from Vina. We took a double decker bus and had the best seats in the house- front row, top deck. It was like a video game, just a huge window right in front of us.

this doesnt really prove my point- but the view was great.

We made several stops in small towns to pick up fellow travelers and about 7 hours and an empanada later, we arrived in La Serena. I didn't have a clue what to expect really- for some reason I couldn't get Salado, Texas off my mind (Serena statue in the creek, there).

There were a few problems catching a colectivo driver who knew what hostel or street we were talking about. Vincua? Vicuna? Vicuaa?
...We probably should have studied up a little more. I guess it would have been nice to know where we were staying for the next few nights. But it all worked out and we found a cab that took us straight to Aji Verde, our hostel.

Never judge a hostel by its smell. 
There was a fish market one door over which made getting some fresh air out of our window kind of difficult...but the hostel was awesome. I love the fact that when you stay in a hostel- you meet people coming from and going to the coolest places. A totally international scene. Mexico, Holland, USA, Canada, UK...you name it, they've got it.

the kitchen in our hostel...not many pics of the place.

The first night in La Serena rocked, literally. We ran to the sunset as fast as we could after a quick stop for some peanut butter at the local Jumbo store. It was deceiving- we thought we were close to the beach but in reality, it was a 30 minute trek. I'd say it was definitely worth breaking a sweat to get there in time:


worth it.

After seeing a beautiful sunset, we made it back into town on foot and made a pit-stop at Telepizza for a much-needed meal. Something about pizza sounded delicious and even though it wasn't much more than a slab of dough with some cheese on top- at the moment I think we would have all given the pizza two thumbs up. As soon as we demolished to pizza, we headed down the street to the most intense, Chilean concert EVER! Los Jaivas- apparently I should know who they are. Ahzha tells us that they are like Pink Floyd to Chile. They were around when Pinochet was in power and were very involved politically...
They were SO good. We stood the whole time, smooshed smack dab in the middle of a HUGE crowd. It was uncomfortable at times i.e. jumping, swaying, etc.

Los Jaivas

After the concert, we made it home quickly and packed up some peanut butter and jelly for the next day. I called Priscilla to let her know I was alive and safe in our destination city...she told me there had been a tremor in La Serena! We didn't notice- the concert was too crazy. Actually- the concert was probably the cause of the tremor :)

Day 2:

I was super excited to see Isla Damas but again- since we have never been to Chile...we had no idea what to expect.

tubleweeds and roadrunners missing from this picture

We woke up super early, filled our packpacks with lunch etc and at 8:45 the bus driver rang the bell at our hostel. How cool! We got in a bus that seemed to stop every five seconds until we made it out of town. And by out of town I mean we were so far out of any town that we were in the desert. The real desert.

We finally made it to Punto de Chorros, where we would wait for two hours to get on the boat and head towards Isla Damas, thanks to unsafe boating conditions. The waves were HUGE and there were a few times when I thought: maybe this isn't a great idea? While we waited for the sea patrol's approval, Lauren and I experienced the most delicous empanada I have had to date. The woman who made them was a character- similar to the mom on My Big Fat Greek Wedding..."Digame chiquitas que quieren?"

shrimp and cheese- never had better

you know the food is good when you want a pic with it.

Finally, after several hours of waiting and waiting, we were able to board a boat. I was pretty scared for my life, but trusted that the boatman knew what he was doing. After an hour of being doused with freezing water and smacked in the face by cold strong wind, we made it to the island and rounded another island where we saw penguins, sea lions (gross), and cool birds. Look in my album for lots of pictures :)

As we paid the "tourguide" on the island...we received notice from two fellow travelers that OUR BUS HAD LEFT. The problem: there is only one bus per day that goes to this particular location...in the middle of the desert. Long story shortened....we caught a ride home with a guy who someone knew and called to come get the three gringas and our two new best friends from Santiago (who knew English, thank goodness).

Senor Lifesaver


What a great day. We made it home with a layer of salt on our faces, terrible wind/sun/salt burn on my face, and lots of good times that I could never have the time to write all about. Peanut butter and jelly was for dinner, and we went to bed pretty early.