So i got home to my house around 740, and our bus left at 11:15. That didn't leave much time for packing, showering, and relaxing!
Finally made it to the bus station, and we got right on the bus. Pretty uncomfortable because my feet dont reach the foot stoop at the end of it, so i just kept sliding down. I decided i dont really enjoy those buses, but its the cheapest way to get around!
So, we got into La Serena around 6am or a little before, after about a 6 hour ride. We didn't really have a plan, so we were sitting in the only open cafe there was, and then a man came asking if we needed a hostal. Now, Natalie and I have been screwed over by this people before, so we made sure to ask the right questions before saying yes. He had a handy map of the center of the city where we saw he was located super close, unlike liar cat lady! He also said we could go back to the room right then and sleep, while still only paying one night for the hotel. that sold us!
We hopped in his truck and headed to the hostal where we slept until about 10am. After waking up well rested, we were ready to explore! We started off with breakfast at the hostal and set out to see the town!
We were walking around town and found a dancing show. This was in the middle of the plaza and was free, so obviously we stopped to watch for a while! they were amazing dancing the cueca, the traditional dance of Chile.
they do this dance with little hanker chiefs, or *panuelos*.
After observing the dancers for a while, we headed on and found the Jardin del Corazon, or Garden of the Heart, the largest Japanese inspired garden in Latin America. It was pretty beautiful inside and made you forget that you were actually in a pretty large city. This was one of the times that i was happy to whip out my big camera and take a LOT of pictures!
My two traveling companions, Natalie and Abby H.
Natalie and I on the bridge, and no that swan was unplanned! :)
I loved this park, and i bet it would have been even more stunning in the spring or the summer when all the leaves and flowers would be thriving instead of almost dead. but it was still a great park that only cost about 2 USD to get into. Well worth it :)
After spending the morning walking around La Serena, we decided that we wanted to head to a town south to see a cross that is supposed to be hideous. and its true, it was a complete eye sore! We took a micro or public bus there and then we saw it.
pure concrete. must have been 20/30 stories high, or taller? Unsure, but it was pretty ugly.
The chileans are proud of this cross because they say it was the only religious object built at the turn of the 20th century. It was a beautiful view from the top of the hill, i dont know why they would have ruined it with this concrete mass. We could have gone up, but none of us decided like paying 4 dollars to go up this thing. the view was good enough from the top of the hill :)
view from the top of the hill where the cross was.
After heading back to La Serena we spent the night watching tv that was in our hostal. (a tv! thats the first time I have had a tv in a hostal. I don't watch tv in here mostly, i know hard to believe) We were still pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep, and went to bed pretty early.
So that was day 1. Now for today. 5/20 I plan on headed to the botanical garden here and renting bikes to ride around. Should be a good day! Lets hope we can figure out how to get there! :)
ADAM AND MICHELLE GET HERE ON WEDS. AHHh, so their first task, get from the Santiago Airport to Viña Del Mar, this will be good! I am planning on sending them an email with directions and some key points that they will need to say.
Chao Pascao!
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