My hostel, 'El Arbol' was basically hotel, and home to the most comfortable beds I'll sleep in all trip. La Serena is a quiet little city, and one of the oldest in Chile, but there's still plenty to do. At the start of the year The New York Times released a list of the top 50 places to visit in 2015, and the Elqui Valley, Chile, was one of them. My geography is absolutely terrible, so when I discovered that it was only an hour or so away from La Serena, I jumped at the chance to visit. Chile has one of the top four skies to stargaze in the world, and it really didn't disappoint. My hostel offered a Observatory tour which cost CP$16,000 (approx. £17.70) and it was 100% worth the money. We were given a tour by an English speaking astronomer, got to see craters on the moon, Jupiter and clusters of stars that from Earth just look like one. It was SO cool and made me wish I'd had more faith in myself and taken Physics as an A Level.Besides stargazing, La Serena is home to 29 churches (I saw two), a really beautiful Japanese Garden that's cute to walk around for a couple of hours and the beach. Sadly, the weather resembled London in March (although drier) so sun bathing was off my list... I did go for a run though. Exercise is so much better when you have a beach view!
Next up was an 18 hour night bus to San Pedro de Atacama, which, dare I say it, is possibly one of my top three places so far. The town basically exists for people who want to cross the boarder into Bolivia and it's in the middle of the driest desert on the planet, which means it isn't exactly cheap, but there is so much to do here. I stayed at my favourite hostel so far, 'La Rural'. Although it didn't offer breakfast, the staff were friendly and helpful and the hammock area was perfect for lying around in the desert sun.
I'd bumped into a girl I'd met in Valparaiso on the bus, and then bumped into one of the girls from the Santiago walking tour at the hostel. I remember when I was in Cordoba and I never thought I was going to find anyone moving in the same direction as me. I'd been on my own, really on my own, for the first time since my G Tour ended and it felt impossible. Turns out, you just have to give it a couple of weeks; sort of like when I started university and never thought I was going to recognise people to say 'hi' to in nightclubs or the supermarket.
One of the most beautiful things I've done so far was a tour of Valley de la Luna. A small group of us from the hostel paid an extra CP$5000 to do a tour with five people, instead of 15-20, so that we could avoid the crowds (who wants hundreds of tourists in the photos?! Yes, I know I am one) and it meant we got to have a cocktail as the sun set beyond the mountains. It was stunning, once the sun had gone down the mountains opposite went the perfect hombre shade of pink to purple, and I found myself oddly nostalgic for the hair I once had. I'd also 85234% recommend the night sand boarding, as its the most fun thing I've done since the boat ride in Iguazu. The light up a sand dune, there's a DJ, you can bring your own booze AND if I didn't die, then chances are anyone can do it. It was bloody hard work carrying a heavy sand board up a sand dune each time, and my calves ached the next day, but it was also hilarious and now I really want to learn to snowboard because j wasn't even that terrible and could totally be the next Sean White!In San Pedro, I also booked my Salt Flats tour into Bolivia. We went for one of the more expensive options, but it meant we got a tour guide as well as a driver, and went with a company that didn't allow their drivers to drink. Apparently, drink driving on the Salt Flats is a thing and it's a problem.
As always, I'm sad to be leaving. Chile has, for reasons I cant't entirely explain, been my favourite country so far and the idea of living here someday excites me greatly. But for now, it's time to move on and get salty in Bolivia.
-xo
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