Sunday, November 19, 2006

Day 17 - Seeing The Sights





Image hosted by Webshots.com

From La Serena back to Santiago is really only about a 5 hour drive, if you're avoiding scenic vistas and tourist traps, or flat tires on windy mountain roads. Clearly we didn't avoid the latter on the way north, and it was our goal to fully embrace the former on the way south.

Having consulted the Lonely Planet guidebook (though with a bit more caution following the Hurtado near-disaster), and talking with Victor some about other nearby things to do (he, in addition to leading tours of Isla Damas on the weekends is a student majoring in Tourism in La Serena), we had a few of ideas of things to see. After a couple of quick stops to walk around the Plaza de Armas, and to get our flat tire repaired (30 minutes and US$4!), we were on our sight-seeing way.

Image hosted by Webshots.com

Our first stop was in Coquimbo, the city just south of La Serena. But really, it was visible from La Serena. Victor had recommended it with some reservation, but we wanted to check it out for ourselves. It was, as you likely know if you are expert in extraordinarily large religious monuments, the Cruz del Tercero Milenio (Cross of the third millenium). And if you recognize the name, you may also know that it is the largest religious monument in the world.

Image hosted by Webshots.com

It is also very, very creepy. Not because of any qualms with Christianity's goodwill being hijacked for less than noble purposes recently. I'd like to say that it was a marvel of engineering, and a spectacular monument, but there is little that seems majestic about a concrete cross towering 98 meters over some of the most ramshackle slums we'd seen in Chile. There was some kind of strange disconnect there. Maybe I'm just not accustomed to religious monuments with gift shops selling t-shirts, buttons, and ashtrays.

Or maybe it's just the two hours that we spent trying to get out of Coquimbo that spoiled the sight of the cross for me. We'd decided to wait until after getting out of Coquimbo to stop for lunch (Lonely Planet had a recommendation for us), so we were short on energy to deal with the maddening crowds of people rushing across the downtown streets. Somehow, the only ways that we kept attempting to get back to the highway led us past the cross again and again (though we did come across the cool Fuerte Coquimbo).

Image hosted by Webshots.com

Eventually, though, the one way streets, clutch-smoking hills, and detours relented and we did get back on the highway south. Another 40 kilometers or so, and we'd reached Guanaqueros, our destination for lunch. After multiple meals over the last few days involving seafood, we were both looking forward to some land-based entrees. The name was something like El Pequeno Restaurant, and despite its misleading name (it was quite large and spacious), it did not let us down. Julie had the Chilean staple Carne Mechada, and I had the delicous Pollo Asado. Very, very satisfying. We were happy and full, and got back on the road.

Our next stop on the Tour of Small Towns Between La Serena and Santiago was Tongoy, a small town that was supposed to feature a great artisan's market. Trouble is, Lonely Planet neglected to tell us that it was an artisan's market half of the days of the week, and a fruit market on the remaing half. So, we got to see the last few minutes of the fruit market, which was probably more (pardon me) fruitful than more shopping for knick knacks. We did get to sample some unknow fruit which was very tasty.

Our goal for the night was to find a fitting end for our trip in Chile. Ideally, we were thinking beachfront cabaña, but luxurious hotel or unique bed and breakfast were also options. In order to cut down the amount of driving that we'd need to do on the day of our flight out of the country, we chose to cover a bit more ground, and stay somewhere between Los Vilos and Viña Del Mar.

Driving along the coast reminded me a lot of the Pacific Coast Highway. And Zapallar is the more wooded Malibu of the Chilean coast. Gorgeous mansions tucked between trees overlooking magnificently crashing waves on rocky shores. It was stunning, and presumably way out of our price range for the night (though we couldn't find any hotels to say for sure).

A couple of towns farther down, our dreams came true. We pulled into Maitencillo, a town with a myriad of hotel and cabaña options. We stopped to look at a few before seeing one that looked perfect. We pulled the car into the thatch-covered garage and stepped out to take a look. Opening the creaky gate we stepped into the perfect garden facing out to the beach. Not seeing anyone around, and fearing any guard animals, we quietly peeked into the cabins, before spotting a gardener at the corner of the yard.

The gardener turned out to also be the owner, and after a surprisingly short registration process (just write your name in the notebook!) we had an amazing room for the night. Or rather, we had an amazing kitchen, living room, bathroom and two(!) bedrooms.

Shelter arranged, we set out to get some food for the night. Amazingly, we were again able to get exactly what we were looking for. The local supermarket (three short aisles) had everything we needed -- wine, salame, cheese, and crackers. We went back to the cabin to watch the sunset, enjoy our dinner, and savor our last night in Chile.

Image hosted by Webshots.com

During dinner we had the good fortune of meeting a kind and loyal soul. Jorge.

At first, we assumed that Jorge (say 'hor-hay') was like any other stray dog, only interested in our food (and scaring off the owner's cat). But the salame that we tossed him did not interest him nearly as much as the few pets that we gave him after dinner. A walk down the beach solidified the relationship, as he took off chasing birds and barked at other dogs, then returned to loyally stroll with us.

As we snuggled into bed, we reflected on the amazing past few weeks, safe and sound, knowing that Jorge was sleeping on the stoop protecting our door.

La Serena pictures:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555605349LcAlUk

Coquimbo pictures:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555606214pOZVYe

Cabin pictures:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555605626pOVNxB

Day 16 continued - The Islands

Better late than never, we were quite excited to be finally getting on a boat heading out to Isla Choros and Isla Damas. And with regards to the weather, it was better late than early. While the morning had been quite gray and overcast, the sun had since broken through the clouds.

Image hosted by Webshots.com

All in all, there were 15 (safe, lifejacket-wearing) passengers on the 25' wooden boat heading out to the island. Lacking the motor power to really get up on plane, we were splashing through the chop, our island destination growing larger by the minute. Although the air was warm, the breeze and water were fairly cool, and we were glad when they hauled out a sheet of weatherproof plastic to help keep us dry.

During the voyage out, our guides -- now two fisherman operating the boat, plus Victor -- talked a little bit about the islands, a little more about the locos, and brought out a few starfish picked off the bottom of the sound. Unfortunately, between the puttering of the boat motor, and the motorboat pace of their spanish syllables, we didn't catch much of their speech. We were still just thrilled to be on a boat, heading to where we wanted to be.

Pulling up to the first island, Isla Choros, was something like being gradually brought closer and closer, and eventually being stuck right in the middle of the coolest zoo exhibit you've ever seen. One rocky bluffs on either side of the boat were dozens of sea lions! One, el macho (the alpha-male) clearly towered over all the others (mostly hembres -- females), with a head the size of a grand-prize winning pumpkin. This thing was huge.

El Macho:
Image hosted by Webshots.com

Mostly, they behaved fairly similar to their Pier 39-inhabiting brethren that we see in San Francisco, but they were soooo close. No binoculars required here. There were multiple ages and sizes, and when they barked, you could practically smell their fish breath (and you could certainly see bloody fish remnants in a few of their mouths).

On bluffs above the sea lions (or sea wolves, if you take the direct translation from spanish), were hundreds of nesting boobies. Complete with their beady eyes, seemingly overflexible necks, and blue/gray feet, the watched over us as we motored into and then out of the rocky cove.

Backtracking a bit, but much closer to the shoreline, we caught sight of some black and white creatures scrambling along the shoreline. Pinguinos!

We got our first sights of some of Humboldt's Penguins along the low rocks of the island. Humboldt's Penguins are some of the northernmost penguins, found farther north of Magellan's Penguins that we'd seen in Punta Arenas. Despite the human preference for shellfish in the region (or at least the season), Humboldt's Penguins prefer the schools of fish that hang out in the currents that swirl around the islands.

Moving a bit farther down the shoreline, our guides began pointing out penguins high on rocky bluffs and standing along gravelly trails. Penguins can climb! And climb quite well, considering how unadapted they seem for land. At a couple times, we saw them scrambling, hopping, flopping and bouncing up the loose rocks and boulders on the face of the island. Now that is cute.

Jumping back to my previous zoo analogy, Isla Choros looks like the most perfect rocky island replica you've ever seen. Craggy bluffs, archways, outcropping islands. It was fantastic.

Before moving on to Isla Damas, we were treated with a few more documentary-perfect natural moments: A juvenile sea lion jumped in the water to chase the boat (only to receive a harsh barking scolding from its mother), we pulled into a natural archway bound by many hundreds of boobies and containing many hundreds of a local type of rock bass, and we saw a jelly fish cruising alongside a bed of kelp.

Image hosted by Webshots.comImage hosted by Webshots.comImage hosted by Webshots.com

Isla Choros Pictures:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555610380rtRVet


The wildlife of Isla Choros was matched in splendor by starkness of Isla Damas. People are allowed in small numbers onto the island of Isla Damas (to restrict these numbers is the reason that you must register with CONAF -- the park service -- before heading out on a boat). So we pulled up to the pier in perhaps the most beautiful setting that I'd ever seen. The waters , rimmed by a crystalline white beach, were fairly shallow, with remarkable clarity, and in the afternoon sun, reflected a brilliant blue.

We got off the boat, dropped our lifevests, and followed Victor and the group around for a quick tour of the island. Despite its tropical-looking waters around it, the island itself is quite desolate. Even when up in the mountains just east of Vicuna, we didn't see nearly as many different types of cactus (maybe our eyes were too narrowly focused on the rocky road...).

Image hosted by Webshots.comImage hosted by Webshots.comImage hosted by Webshots.com

A hike to the highest point on the island, which is also home to the lighthouse, gave us another spectacular 360 degrees of views.

A few of those degrees:
Image hosted by Webshots.com Image hosted by Webshots.com

Plus a few others:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555610259IgnccC

Fully satisfied after an incredible day of socializing, scenery, and sun, we drove back to La Serena.

Still quite full of delicious seafood from lunch, we opted for a light dinner from a nearby cafe. And still full of amazing sea sights from the afternoon, we decided to skip a trip up to the mountain observatories and instead enjoy a relaxing night.