May 15th 2015

La Serena,  a beach city some 7 hours north of Santiago, is where I find myself late in the evening checking in to Andes hostal where I find a warm welcome from the family who runs the place.

After rushing to grocery store for some dinner ingredients I settle down to sleep, waking up fairly early the next day to explore the town of La Serena:  the first stop Plaza de Armas.

After spending a few minutes in the charing little square and getting my palm read against my will by a local woman I continue down closer to the sea towards the Japanese gardens (1000 CLP).  They are pretty enough I suppose if somewhat underwhelming, still, probably worth the visit.

From the gardens I head down the long main street leading to a Serena’s ample coastline which is basically an endless string of beaches.

Sadly Chilean winter is approaching and it’s not your ideal beach weather, but still that doesn’t stop me from taking a long stroll heading out of town past some well located condo buildings mostly for wealthy Santiago people to spend their summers.  In fact the whole town feels a little empty at this time of year, though the feeling is certainly amplified down on the all but abandoned beaches.

I walk for a solid hour passing by a few little lagoons dotted with vultures, gulls, oyster catchers and various other sea birds.  The combination of the abandoned beach and the vultures on the no swimming signs make the entire scene rather spooky, especially with the low hanging clouds and mist filled airs only just starting to clear in the mid afternoon.

The waves roll in with palpable violence and I am very tempted to go for a swim despite the signs and the very cold waters but as I take a seat on some rocks the wind picks up and I decide against it, spending some time just sitting and watching the waves roll in.

Eventually, my stomach is grumbling and the afternoon is wearing on so I head back the way I’ve come along the beach past even bigger flocks of beautiful gulls and a few other birds, which take flight as I approach to find new undisturbed patches of sand to unwind on.  I feel bad for disturbing them, but there’s no other way to get back and it does lead to some cool photos.

Back at the light house I grab an overpriced (4000 CLP) kebab from an Arabic food stand before finding a much better and tastier deal next door, chowing down on a Macha y queso empanada (2000 CLP).  For those that don’t now Macha is Spanish for Razor clam, something Anthony Bourdain recommends and after trying them for the first time I cannot disagree.  If you find yourself in Chile never miss a chance to enjoy them.

That done I head back along the main road back to the centre of town passing by some impressive street art (painted and otherwise)  before returning back to the cozy family run Andes Hostal for a relaxing evening with some other backpackers and to organize tomorrows excursion, a trip to Isla De Damas, a place billed as a sort of mini galapagos.  After all my adventures on those Islands I’m more than a little bit excited.