Our first proper stop in Chile (aside from the day we spent in Arica waiting for our bus) was La Serena. I had never heard of this city before we got to Arica, but decided on visiting after our plans for San Pedro de Atacama fell through. We had decided that a beach town would be a nice place to stop and spend a few days and coupled by the fact that there were observatory tours in the nearby valley, we booked a bus and hotel about three hours before leaving Arica. Our last minute decision proved to be a good one and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in La Serena. The city isn’t big on sites, but provides a relaxing and friendly vibe that made us feel comfortable. Despite being a smaller city, we found enough to do to keep us busy and entertained during our four days in town.
La Serena was full of wide, clean walkways through the main square and throughout town.
Japanese Gardens
One of the main attractions in La Serena is a Japanese garden, which we visited on our first day in the city. For a small entrance fee, we wandered around the large space for a couple of hours, frequently stopping to take pictures or watch the wildlife. The garden occupies six acres in the downtown area, making it a calming respite from city life. There are numerous paths throughout the garden, winding past ponds, pagodas, birdhouses, trees, and flowers. We particularly enjoyed the ponds, where ducks and turtles live and play. In addition to the main garden area, there is a small enclosure where bonsai is showcased; the small manicured plants line the shelves are all different and unique in their own way. Despite being there on a busy weekend, we never felt crowded while in the gardens. The area is large enough and there are plenty of secluded places to sit and relax. Visiting the gardens was a different type of activity for us and provided a calming atmosphere for the few hours that we were there.
The view of the pond, bridge, and pergola at the Japanese Gardens.
The pond and sculptures at the Japanese Gardens.
Observatory Tour
Another popular activity to do in La Serena is to take an observatory tour at night. Jon is an astronomy buff and loves to learn about the night sky. We signed up for a tour that would take us into the nearby Elqui Valley to visit the Cerro Mamalluca Observatory. An hour’s drive away lies the small city of Vicuña where we spent a half hour walking around before our tour. Upon arrival at the observatory, we were split into an English-speaking group and Spanish-speaking group. The English-speaking group followed our guide to the dome on the hill, up the stairs to a small room with a large digital telescope. Our guide adjusted the setting to point to a cluster of stars so we could all look (they all looked like tiny twinkling lights) and then to a nebula that he said resembled a spider (although I had a hard time seeing this one). Next, we went outside to a smaller manual telescope sitting on the ground. He pointed this at the moon, which we could see close-up, then to another nebula (this time resembling bat wings, which I could make out!), and finally to two different stars: Bellatrix and Sirius. We ended our time at the observatory with two videos demonstrating the size of the universe and how very small we are on Earth. My favorite part of the evening was seeing the moon up-close and Jon was enthralled by the large telescopes – being able to see the celestial bodies himself, which are invisible to the naked eye. It was definitely worth the late hours that we spent on this tour, arriving back at our hotel close to 3:00am, and we would sign up for another observatory tour in the future if there is one available!
Jon loved the tour of the observatory, especially getting to use the high-tech telescope to view star clusters and a nebula!
We could see the moon through the telescope, craters and all!
The Beach
La Serena is situated directly on the coast of Chile, about a third of the way down the country. Beaches are abundant and being a beach-lover, I wanted to spend a few hours enjoying the sand, surf, and sun. We arrived around 4:00 in the afternoon, while it was still hot but starting to cool slightly. After checking out the lighthouse, built in 1950 but no longer in operation, we walked along the crowded beach to find a spot to sit. The beach was wide so it wasn’t difficult to find a stretch that was less populated where we could put our things. Immediately, I wanted to get into the ocean although Jon was more hesitant – after all, the Pacific is known for being cold! Little by little, we inched our way into the surf, eventually getting out to where the waves were cresting. We spent some time jumping around in the waves before heading back to our blanket to relax. People-watching was the best activity for us; the beach was crowded so there was no shortage of families, couples, and friends out and about. Three hours later, we were ready to leave and head back to our hotel to shower and change for dinner.
Selfie on the beach!
The lighthouse overlooks the beach at La Serena.
Dinner at the Plaza
Our hotel was situated two blocks from the main plaza, so we walked past frequently on our way to other locations. Each time, we noticed stalls set up with vendors selling a variety of items – food, drink, clothes, toys, souvenirs, and other odds-and-ends. One evening, instead of going out to a restaurant for a sit-down meal, we elected to walk around the plaza and snack on the different food available for sale. This method was fun and educational, as we got to taste some local dishes and snacks that we had only read about. Our plan was to walk around the square, taking our time to look at all the stalls, and purchase whatever looked interesting to eat. While some choices were better than others, we were both happy with the amount we got to sample on our strolling dinner. Among the things we ate were: churrascas (a flavored grilled pita – one was made with oregano and served with butter spread on top and the other was a plain pita topped with hummus and avocado), an empanada (stuffed with cheese and chicken), a pastel de choclo (similar to a shepard’s pie, but the primary ingredient is corn), a freshly made juice with mango and papao (a local fruit similar to a kiwi), and finally a sopapilla (fried dough with sugar on top) for dessert. None of these items would have been enough to constitute a full meal on their own, but combined were more than enough to fill us both!
A churrasca with avocado spread – one of the many dishes we tried at the market!
Our dessert for the evening – a sopapilla sprinkled with sugar.
Detroit Lion’s Playoff Game
Although we have been traveling during the entire football season, we had tried to find a Detroit Lion’s football game whenever we could. Sometimes we got lucky and there was a Fox Sports channel carrying the game (like in Caye Caulker or Cusco) but more often than not, we would follow the ESPN app on my phone to get the scores and see the highlights. As anyone from Michigan knows, the Lion’s historically have not been a very good team (although they have improved the past few years!). This year, they won enough games during regular season to make it to the playoffs! As gameday approached, we searched on Google and asked at our hotel to figure out the best possibility of catching the game. We ended up going to Fuente Granate, a pub located across from the city sports arena. As luck would have it, they had a TV in their upstairs dining room (which was deserted) on which we could watch the Lion’s game! We ordered a couple of beers, an appetizer similar to fajitas, and sat back to enjoy the game. Due to the time difference, the game didn’t start until after 10:00pm for us in Chile. When it became clear that the Lions were not going to win, I called a taxi and went back to the hotel to go to bed. Jon stayed and watched until the bitter end, finally getting back to the hotel around 2am. Although we were disappointed in the final result of the game, we were happy to have seen them in a playoff game all the way from Chile!
A couple of beers while we cheered on the Lions!
Despite having never heard of La Serena before our time in Chile, we thoroughly enjoyed the city and what it had to offer. It was a small city, compact enough for us to walk most places, and yet presented a number of activities for us to do during the day and at night. It was a relaxing visit, since we didn’t feel pressured to go out and see a number of large sites. We took our time, rested, and appreciated the time we had in La Serena.
The city of La Serena was filled with interesting architecture, such as this government building on the main square.