With the start of classes pushed back a week, some new friends and I decided to take advantage of the last long weekend we'll have in a while, not to mention to tail end of the summer season, by heading to the beach. Since we had received word that Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, the two closest beaches to Santiago, were still recovering from the earthquake, we thought we'd venture a little farther north, where there hadn't been much impact at all.
We took the six hour busride to beautiful La Serena, the second oldest city in Chile. (As a side note, a six hour bus ride may sound pretty miserable, but I must say, Chileans have the bus system down. The bus we took, which wasn't even the most luxurious, was by far the most comfortable vehicle I've ever traveled in. I got some great snoozes in sitting in my full reclining seat, and enjoyed the view of the countryside, all for around $20 round trip.)
Our hostel in La Serena, Maria's Casa, is an adorable little complex of tiny bright yellow buildings, lovingly run by Maria and her husband Pancho. Maria greeted us each day with fresh fruit for breakfast, straight from her own kitchen, and I was lucky enough to get a bracelet making lesson from Pancho, who specializes in leatherwork.
We had a fun-filled weekend of beach-going (though the weather wasn't exactly cooperative), a visit to the beautiful Elqui Valley, and two celebratory nights (my friend's birthday) at a oceanfront discoteque and our own private beach bonfire.
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