Chile, La Serena

Thi entry covers 28 to 30 November

28 November

A well deserved 10 hour sleep blew a breathe of fresh air into us which we had to store away in the bowels of where ever energy comes from as we stepped onto our bus. We were about to make our way through one of the driest places on earth…the Atacama Desert which stretches for hundreds of kilometres along Chile’s northern coastline. It suddenly dawned on us that seat positioning on a bus is an essential element on successful bussing…rule number 1: book a seat as far as possible from the toilets to save on waves of nausea each and every time a passenger folds under the pressure and takes the plunge into the unknown. Despite the bus driver’s valiant attempts to inform avid bussers that their loos can only handle #1’s, these buses stop for nobody and the inevitable takes place time and time again leaving all # 1’ers desperately having to deal with what can only de described as sticking your nose into a shoe box with a month old dead rat inside...enough incentive to avoid any forms of liquids for the full 16 hour journey! Jonas was one of the unfortunate ones and took the plunge 5 hours into the trip and while he never quite fully recovered, he did somehow manage to survive to tell the tale. I made acquaintance with Eva Kleini from Eastern Germany and after sharing itineraries, we made plans to hook up in Bariloche in 2 weeks time.

29 November

We arrived in La Serena early in the morning and were pleasantly surprised with what we saw as the Lonely Planet did not have much to say for this place. Wide open avenues and attractive historic buildings made for a pleasant walk as we searched for places that hire out cars. Thankfully all were in the same street but only opened in an hour so we kept going in the direction of a nearby lighthouse about kilometre up the road. As we traipsed along the pavement taking in the new surroundings, I realised that La Serena shares a striking resemblance with that of my hometown…Durban, South Africa. As idle banter often ensues amongst fellow backpackers an irrepressible smile spread across my face at the thought of how similar this was to the place of my upbringing.

We reached the lighthouse to find the remains of what must have been an epic beach party. Holiday season had clearly begun in South America and we had reached the developed world. Taking in the sea breeze we turned back for town to investigate car hire options and lunch. Holiday season and the fact that we had arrived on a Saturday meant we could only put pedal to the metal on Monday which would seriously be detrimental to our efforts of reaching Mendoza asap (before Theresa had to fly home). The 2nd glitch was quickly put in the past as we made tracks for the SUPERmarket which was something else…I was still getting my head around how developed Chile was and this monolith of a building confirmed it. Like a refined Makro, this shopping centre sold absolutely everything you could imagine so was the perfect stomping ground to shop for our picnic. Before long we were gorging ourselves in a nearby park amidst footballers, roller hockey players, runners and Llamas! Our appetites were large but the beers even bigger and our eyes had obviously won the battle over our thirst which left us somewhat bullet proof as we subsequently discovered from our hostel host that drinking in public is outlawed in Chile!

The day was far from over as we eased our way into La Serena’s nightlife. Following our noses into darkness we stumbled across a glowing sky. Intrigued to find out whether we were missing out in Chile’s version of a fiery Carnival parade, we were met by billowing smoke and a handful of concerned faces. Within minutes, the streets were packed with people all trying to get as close as possible without suffering from heat stroke. Fire engines hit the scene although were somewhat ineffective in controlling the flames which seemed to grow in confidence…After gawking enough to convince us that we weren’t going to miss anything, we moved onto the nearest restaurant come pub come club. It didn’t take long before the trio were carving it up with the locals. This was our first experience of real South American dancing…and no, swing is not a inebriated past time! The evening closed with a hotdog before crashing fully clothed on top of the sheets back at the hostel…

30 November

A team decision was made to explore La Serena so we strolled towards the main street in search of a bus that would hopefully take us Conquimbe Beach. The last time I caught a bus was in Standard 3 so jumping aboard a mode of transport requiring nothing more than patience was pure bliss. This ecstasy was short lived as we had no idea when to get off and the further we drove the less appealing the scenery became. We realised we’d gone too far when the bus made a loop so we hopped off and made tracks for the nearest beach. Hanging and hot, the slippery sea was a welcome reprieve. Despite being advised not to expose ourselves to the sun between 12pm and 3pm we had managed to do exactly that…but it was sooo good. Smothered in sunscreen we lay sprawled on some distant Chilean beach for a good couple hours before thumbing down a taxi bound for the cinemas. Our bus to Mendoza, Argentina was departing at 10pm so and craving for 1st world entertainment drew us to 007 Quantum of a Solace…which was followed by Body of Lies! 6 hours in darkness made us somewhat delirious as we mowed through what must be a national speciality, a hot dog. We packed in high spirits, our minds and mouths firing notions of fine wine and tender Argentinean steaks.