· Arrived at bus station in La Serena at 6:30’ish
· Dropped off our suitcases at Hostal El Punto and since we arrived so early signed up for tour
· Walked a couple blocks to grab breakfast (rolls of bread and juice) and made it back to the hostal to get picked up by the tour at 8am
· Tour Name: Punta Choro / Isla Dama
o Rode in a van for two hours to get to the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve
o Took fisherman boats out to Choros Island - the weather was colder than we expected but luckily the waves weren't too rough so we could still take the boats out
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| Our boats before we got on board |
o Saw Humboldt Penguins, many species of birds and sea lions
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| Our tour guide pointing out the birds, Jackie's on the right |
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| Humboldt Penguins |
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| Path the penguins take to get to the top of the ridge to nest |
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| Sea lions |
o Circled around to outer side of island to look for dolphins but no luck
o Landed on Dama Island - walked on Playa La Poza (beach) and did nature walk around island
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| Nature walk |
o Headed back to the mainland – total time on boat 2.5 hrs, on island 1 hr
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| Back on solid ground after the boat tour |
o Lunch in town of Punta Choros
§ Christine had Salmon w/French fries & White wine
§ Jackie had chicken (on the bone!) w/mashed potatoes & Escudo beer
o Napped on the van ride back to La Serena
· Finally got to shower!!! back at the hostel at 7:30 pm. Then headed out to check out the town.
· Walked down Ave Francisco de Aguirre to the El Faro (the lighthouse) and continued down along the beach on the Ave del Mar
· The sun had already set so the ocean wasn’t much to look at yet but the lights from the neighboring town of Coquimbo were pretty
· After walking an hour we realized we weren’t going to find a place for dinner along the beach so we hailed a taxi back into the city center of La Serena
· Ate at Donde El Guaton and ended up ordering waaay too much food on accident
o Christine had Anticuchos (meat shishkabob), side of mushrooms & red wine
o Jackie had stuffed beef w/ham and cheese, side of mashed potatoes & sparkling water
· With full stomachs, headed back to the hostel for much need sleep
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