Dolphins and stars

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Where I stayed

Aji Verde Hostel La Serena

(La Serena hotels)

Flag of Chile La Serena, Chile
Thursday, February 3, 2011

I really enjoyed the little town of La Serena. When I arrived at the hostel I put my stuff away, asked for a map and just started walking around. It reminded me very much of a little european city. Walked around the market, bought some fruit (The peaches in Chile are the best Ive ever had by the way) and headed off to the beach. When I got back I booked a trip to the observatory because I was told it was a must do and the skies in this town are supposed to be one of the clearest. Only clouds for 30 days a year. Also I booked a trip to Isla de dama on a recommendation from my Chilean friend.

This trip to the Observatory left at 9pm and it took around an hour to get there. When we got there our little group got a good guide who explained everything with the help of huge telescopes and a super strong laser pointer to help point out the constellations. Around the area, all the cars turned off their lights and there were no towns around so there is no light pollution, so its possible to see all the stars clearly. It was all very interesting but having gotten off a 12 hour bus that morning I was starting to get a little tired around 1am so I was relieved when we got to go back.

I arrived back at the hostel around 2:30 and was happy to see my bunk bed. However I was only able to sleep for 3 hours because at 5:30 the phone alarm I had set went off and I had to get up to go to Isla de dama. However travelling around you get used to limited sleep and early mornings so it wasn't too bad and I managed to sleep on the bus ride there. When we arrived at the sea port, we were given a light breakfast and then hopped in a boat. The boat ride to the Islands was better than getting there as we saw countless dolphins. And these were the bottle nose dolphins. The big 'Flipper' kind. At one point the guide says "look over there, they're gonna jump" and sure enough 5 seconds later 2 jumped about 1 metre into the air. I tried to take some nice photos but it was a bit of a mission and after a while I put away the camera and just enjoyed watching.

After the dolphins we also saw some birds and seals and the guide told us a little about the islands which was also cool. When we got back to the shore we had a nice lunch in a restaurant and then headed back where I slept the whole way again. (Also have gotten very good at sleeping...anywhere...)

When I got back to the hostel I met a cool Aussie dude and we headed off to the beach for a beer. When we were sitting on the terrace of the restaurant enjoying our beer we kept seeing Beer Promo girls walking past. Now normally these girls are very good looking, but in South America they are stunning. We spent more time looking at them than at the sunset in front of us. What can you do. That night at 11pm it was time again to head off to Santiago.