Easter Weekend

Valparaíso and Viña del Mar have charm, but there is definitely something to be said for Valle del Elqui and La Serena, which lie north of Valparaíso about 7 hours by bus. This Easter weekend, I visited the Valley with some friends from ISA, and we had an adventure-filled blast. In this trip, we visited a few beaches, La Serena and Totoralillo. Despite the fact that most of our trip was cloudy, I enjoyed the beaches. Seems I should be soaking in as much of the ocean as I can because I live nowhere near it normally, but sometimes during the week days I catch myself acting like a local, treating the ocean simply as another part of the background noise of life. So this weekend, I did just that. I enjoyed the ocean. 

This photo is from our first day in La Serena. We headed to the beach to take in some of the few rays of sun of the weekend, and some prison guards who were visiting from Santiago wanted to take a picture with us. We were just like an attraction like Mount Rushmore or famous rock stars because they all wanted pictures. These few moments were awkward but extremely hilarious. We didn't know what to think when all of the sudden one man dressed in black appeared in front of us, then three more, then a crowd of maybe 30 appeared. I still can't get over how white girls seem so foreign here. But the craziness of this situation was heightened by flashy swimsuits, without a doubt.

We also visited the Mamalluca observatory in our time in La Serena. I don't know about you, but I didn't know before coming here that Antofagasta, Chile, is home to the world's second largest telescope that studies space. With the Valley's maximum amount of 40 cloudy nights per year, it is the perfect area for many different observatories. This particular night, we were able to see the planets Venus and Saturn. It was really cool because Saturn's ring was visible, and it looks just like it does in textbooks and pictures! There was a full moon this night as well. This makes it harder to see the stars because of the large amount of light that it reflects, but it was so cool to see the moon so big in the telescope. I also wouldn't have been able to get this awesome picture on my camera through the telescope if the moon weren't full.

We stayed in this cute, little hostel called El Arbol in La Serena. 

 



Friday we took a bus to Pisco Elqui, a small town in the Elqui Valley. The countryside was beautiful! The picture here does not do the scene justice, as most photos don't. However, imagine rocky, brown, desert-looking mountains with luscious green patches of vineyards and small towns in the creases. The Elqui valley is known for it's production of Pisco, a traditional Chilean brandy. Despite the fact that both Peru and Chile claim to be Pisco's originators, this valley attracts many people who come to visit the Pisco production plants.

We took the opportunity to visit the Mistral Pisco place, a brand that most Chileans would recommend. 

<-- Here we are taste-testing Pisco.

On Saturday, we took a boat tour to the island Las Damas. This island is a National Humboldt Penguin Reserve. Here is a picture of the cute little fellows (or ladies, who knows?) chilling on some rocks near the ocean. We were not able to go onto the island, but we circled it in the boat. These penguins were clever, for when they knew there were people or a threat, sometimes they would show their black back and blend in with the rocks. Other than penguins, we were able to see some dolphins that always stay in the area of Isla Damas because of the relatively stable climate. We also saw many sea lions loafing on rocks, native birds, some who couple up and mate for life and others who build their nests out of their own guano (disgustingly resourceful), and a sea otter or two. Then we boated to another island where we were able to get off the boat and hang out for a bit. We sifted sand on the beach with our toes, collected shells and rocks, climbed to a lookout point to see a marvelous view of the ocean, and explored some large rocks where tide pools and miniature creatures lived. After the boat ride, we were treated to lunch, where I ate some of the best fish I've ever had and a seafood soup. I must admit that I was very hesitant to eat my entire soup because there were foreign things floating, but alas, with the some inspiration from a friend I manned up and ate it, fishy-taste, squishy bits, slimy parts and all. There was only one thing in it that I would not eat again, but I couldn't tell you what it was to save my life. After some conversation with new Chinese friends on a tired bus ride home, we arrived back at our hostel for the night.

Easter Sunday, we went to a Catholic mass. It felt good to go to church, since I hadn't been for awhile. Instead of a big pot luck and family gathering that I would have had at home after Easter Sunday church, my friends and I ate noodles and visited a museum. Here we found an actual Rapa Nui head from Easter Island. He stood taller than me, but we couldn't get very close or touch him, so I did the best with what I had :) -->