Head north

25th - 27th May

If you leave Santiago to explore the vibrant culture of the north, you will inevitably pass through the small coastal town of La Serena.

For us, it was an opportunity to split the 1200 km journey to San Pedro de Atacama. I mean, who wants to spend 24 hours on a bus without a break?

But wait; us?

I haven't had a group for a while. That's true, but after doing a 3-day trip to Cajon del Maipo (valley with several small towns) alone, it was clear:

I don't want to travel alone!

Well, I'm not completely clueless, or as my grandma often said;

A person can be dumb. They just need to know how to help themselves.

So, I created an event on my Couchsurfing app. I had heard that it's not that hard to find a travel companion through it.

That's how I met Sarah. She's also German and had plans to travel north.

And that's where our time together begins...

We had arrived in La Serena at 5 am and checked into the hostel at 7:30 am.
After a bit of waiting, our rooms weren't ready yet, we treated ourselves to 3 hours of rest, because the overnight ride didn't bring much sleep.
I was quite surprised because there were 6 Germans in the hostel with whom we had lively conversations and exchanged stories. I hadn't met that many Germans in the last 4 and a half months.

Feeling a bit more refreshed, we started a small exploration tour of La Serena.

The cathedral and another church nearby were quite impressive from the outside. I simply love this old architecture or colonial style.

Next stop: the second botanical garden on this trip. Jardin del Corazón - Garden of the Heart.

For 1000 Pesos, you could stroll around a bit. I thought it was worth it because the Asian style in which it was designed had something very calming about it. Maybe it was also because of the cafe where we had coffee right by an artificially created lake.

Next stop:

Faro Monumental.

Along a small palm-lined avenue, La Serena beach came within reach.

Whoa! That word describes the following moments quite well.

With a lighthouse to the left and one of the most beautiful sunsets right in front of us, we ended the first day of our journey together.