As we arrived into La Serena on the back of a 17 hour bus journey we could immediately see the differences - we weren't in the desert anymore. Just everything felt a lot more European, this was the first time this had happened. There were no indigenous-looking people with traditional dresses walking around and harassing you. After dropping off our things at a hostel we ventured out for lunch and to book ourselves onto a tour. Both of these things immediately became a lot more difficult than they should have been - virtually everything was shut! It wasn't even 2pm and most things didn't seem open. We eventually found a nice Italian restaurant that had great fruit juice. The comparison on service and quality of food to that of Bolivia was vast. Service is now becoming impeccable as the norm (such a luxury but so needed) and food is of the standard of a good restaurant in England (not Wetherspoons). As we reached the main plaza that had tourist agencies around it, we realised that it just seemed a bit dead - no-one was around. The tourist agencies were all shut and the information centre was closed also - it had shut at 2pm. Just as we were walking back to our hostel to give up and try and book something online, we found another hostel that offered excursions. Inside we found helpful Germans who explained that it was siesta time! How could we have overlooked such a natural part of the Spanish way of life - a Saturday afternoon sleep. We managed to book onto the tour without any fuss.
A safe bet we thought, was to head to the Japanese gardens. Surely that would be open on a Saturday afternoon! This turned out to be correct, but only until 5.40 (a bit of a random time to close). The Japanese gardens were a gift from a city in Japan to mark the 450th anniversary of La Serena and a token of appreciate over the trade links. The general colour of green was not something we had experienced in a while, nor the cleanness and exactness of the gardens. Emma found herself at one with the peacefulness of the area. The koi, turtles and geese certainly helped this.
The main plaza had now started to fill up. Some stalls had been set up, most of them were filled with junk but seemed interesting enough to gaze at. These stalls were set up around a band. The band was not to Emma's liking - metal. A Chilean metal band were playing in the main square on a Saturday afternoon. They weren't very good but it was a form of entertainment for five minutes.
I surprised Emma by buying her some multicoloured candy floss. I can't stand the stuff but it made her happy anyway. The blue colouring in the "food" made Emma's mouth and teeth very blue. This was quite amusing as we stepped into the archaeological museum. Unfortunately the majority of the museum was under construction but we saw some parts of the exhibition.
We walked back through the plaza again and this time there was a different form of entertainment for us to watch. It was a local street dance group with music. Once again, they weren't very good but it was some entertainment. Emma said that she felt inspired and could do a better job after only a couple of lessons (I hope she does, it would be hilarious).
As we paid for our excursion we asked for any tips on the local area. They gave us the name of a restaurant and a bar for us to visit. Naturally we went to check these out. The restaurant served only sandwiches, burgers and hot-dogs. This was perfect for our needs. The restaurant was packed with local Chileans tucking into their Saturday evening meals. Emma had the Chilean classic of a hot-dog with guacamole, tomato and about a kilo of mayonnaise spread on top. I had a delicious burger with hot cheese on it. It wasn't burger meat however, it was more like a thin steak. It was very delicious. After having a small fill we decided to visit the watering hole. As we walked in we were shocked to see that they were streaming Glastonbury highlights with the BBC logo in the corner - a long way from Glastonbury. We ordered some ale that they didn't really know how to pour it but it tasted alright anyway. The bar seemed very popular as many people came in and out the entire time we were there. A slightly jolly walk back and thus ended our first day in proper Chile. I'm really looking forward to the tour tomorrow to the wildlife island a few hours North. Hopefully it isn't cancelled by poor conditions.
