You know those once in a lifetime moments? Ya well there were a couple of those this weekend on our weekend trip to La Serena (another beach town about 6hrs North of Viña del Mar).
First off, the beach in La Serena is fantastic. During the day the beach is filled with families sunbathing and swimming. At night the beach front transforms into on giant carnival with street performers, live music, and shops selling everything from freshly made juice to clothes and jewelry.
Saturday, however is when the real fun began. Our adventure started off with a quick stop at one of four dams in Chile. Water comes down from the Andes and then they collect and distribute it. It may have been just a dam, but the view was spectacular. (Expect all the pictures I took are on my camera, so the follow photos are compliments of my friend Alex.)
Next stop was a trip the Gabriela Mistral museum, which was great except for the fact that EVERYTHING was in Spanish. It really made me appreciate all the work that goes into the translations available in museums in the States. At the same time it was interesting to me to see how much information about her life I was able to glean from the pictures and limited amount of Spanish I do know. I also thought it was interesting because unlike Neruda's sprawling beach front home, Mistral's house consisted of a grand total of two rooms.
For lunch we ate at a restaurant that exclusively used solar power, so all the cooking was done in solar ovens. There's nothing quite like sun baked empanadas and goat... The food may not have been the best (not sure I'm ready to jump on that band wagon just quite yet), but the experience was pretty darn cool.
After lunch it was off to a Pisquera for a tour and Pisco tasting. Because Pisco is such an important part of Chilean cultura, it was really cool to see how it was made and hear a little more about the history and culture surrounding it.
That was all cool, but the highlights of the day paled in comparison to what we did that night. We went stargazing...in a vineyard...in Chile. It was awesome! Now I've gone stargazing before, but the setting that night made it extra special. Watching the moon rise over the mountains and seeing Jupitor and it's moons was just freaking cool. Our "guide" was a Physics student at one the local universities who had taught himself how to speak English (which is pretty darn impressive if you ask me).
The next day, despite our late night, we were on the road at 6:30am in order to make the 2hr drive, followed by an hour boat ride, to Isla Damas in order to see pingüinos. And let me tell you, it was all TOTALLY worth it.
The place is nothing like I'd ever seen. After driving through miles and miles of desert you finally arrive at the ocean where the water is crystal clear blue. It seriously looked like something out of a fairytale. While we we're there we saw penguins, sea lions, dolphins and all kinds of birds. It was incredible. Definitely one of the coolest things I've ever had or ever will get the chance to do.
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