Surfers Paradise La Serena

First of all, I apologize for the misplacement of my last post, it ended up in Kazakhstan instead of Valparaíso, Chile. I'm sure Kazakhstan's Valparaíso is also beautiful, but I have no experience with it (who knows, maybe it will be my next destination after South America :)).

This time I want to tell you about Tanja's and my 3-day stay in La Serena.

La Serena is more of a short stopover for backpackers on their way to San Pedro de Atacama. There's not much to see and do here. However, La Serena is known among surfers from all over Chile. Beginners can train in the small waves, and as you walk along the coast towards the north, the waves get bigger and more challenging.

Since we were a bit tired from the bus ride, Tanja and I didn't leave the hostel on the first evening. We cooked the rest of our noodles, had a couple of beers, and played cards with some Germans and Swiss people. Unfortunately, we discovered that the Swiss have an incredible talent for card games (they don't even call it "Kniffel" there, but "Yamz!!").

The next day we spent the whole day at the beach. We let the sun shine on our skin and watched the surfers. The day was crowned by a beautiful sunset!

On the 3rd day, we had enough of being lazy. We got up early for us, because we had to catch a bus at 9 o'clock that would take us to Isla Damas. This bus only runs once in the morning and returns in the afternoon. Thankfully, we were at the bus stop on time and ready for the almost two-hour bus ride. The ride was anything but pleasant (the small bus was easily 30 years old, had no suspension, and didn't drive on normal roads, but only on sandy tracks). When we arrived in the small fishing village where a boat would take us to the island, Tanja and I were completely overwhelmed. Everywhere there were cars and buses and people offering boat tours. The older man who had driven our bus noticed our cluelessness and immediately came to help. He showed us the best boat provider and then took us to the island rangers, where we had to pay admission for the protected island. (Tanja and I would have definitely missed that on our own and would have had to stay on the boat later (our thanks to the nice bus driver!)).

After a short wait at the jetty, we boarded the small boat, which sailed along the coasts of the small islands for almost two hours, while we were told a lot about the flora and fauna of the untouched nature. We were able to admire penguins, pelicans, piranhas, sea lions, otters, and even dolphins. After the short tour, we arrived on the small island of Isla Damas. There were small hiking trails that allowed us to explore every corner of the island. There was a lot to discover. Even a whale tail!

After an hour on the island, we headed back. We had a little snack in the fishing village and then our bus arrived, which would take us back to La Serena.

Our last day in La Serena was once again our "booking day". We booked our bus and found a nice hostel in San Pedro de Atacama. We listened to some great stories from other travelers who had just come from San Pedro.

At that time, we didn't know what San Pedro had in store for us. But we knew it was going to be incredible!

Warm regards,

Anna