La Serena, Region IV: Day 1

On Friday 10-14 we traveled 5 hours north with our friends Clayton, Petra and Margaret to the capital of the IV region, La Serena. The IV region is the center of Chilean Pisco production, and it boasts an extremely arid climate, a number of charming villages, several astrological observatories and tons of beautiful beaches. Our time was limited but we managed to explore many highlights of the area. One of which was undoubtedly our hostel, “Hostal El Punto” which we would highly recommend for anyone staying in La Serena. With its cozy outdoor areas, comfy spacious rooms and friendly staff we wouldn’t dream of paying more to stay in the dis-comfort of a corporate hotel!

Breakfast on the patio!

Relaxin' in the sun on the back patio

After resting up and chowing down on a nice breakfast of bread, papaya jam, cheese, and real coffee (yes, real coffee!!!!) at the hostel we headed east to the famed Elqui Valley, heart of Chilean pisco production, which is also famous for it’s UFO sightings (OVNIS in Spanish) and its “woo-woo” cosmic energies.

As we drove east the scenery became more and more awe-inspiring. Stark semi-desert landscapes surrounded by 5,000 foot cactus-covered peaks contrasted with lush green vineyards along the Rio Elqui. Our first stop was at the Ruta Norte Pisco distillery. Although we were too early for a tour we took some photos of the girls and of the lake and vineyards that surround it. WOW!!

Our next stop was the sleepy village of Vicuña where we visited Nobel Prize winning poet and writer Gabriela Mistral’s museum on the grounds of her birthplace. Vicuña also has some interesting churches, a strange castle-like colonial building that has been converted to a local museum, and a cute arts and crafts market.

downtown Vicuña

After Vicuña we set off again in search of the elusive pisco tour. After a bit of uncertainty at which one to choose, JoAnna made a quick decision and pulled off in to what appeared to be a small vineyard. Here we encountered the owner and learned we had stumbled upon one of the few wine producers in the region, a small family-owned operation called Cavas del Valle that produces tasty organic wines. She explained that organic wine production in Elqui Valley is easy, for one reason. Due to the aridity and the altitude, THERE ARE NO PESTS!

We sampled several varieties on the beautiful back patio and learned about their operation. The owner was friendly and the wine was delicious. We all bought a few bottles at quite reasonable prices for consumption at a later date.

This is where they live and make the wine as well. beautiful!


Sampling some wine on the back patio

Afterward we continued through the valley to the town of Pisco Elqui. Our ultimate goal was to find a good meal as we were all quite hungry and in dire need of a pisco sour after several fruitless stops at closed pisco factories. Sheer luck and perseverance brought us to a restaurant just outside of town called Miraflores, which offered a beautiful patio and a stunning view of the valley. We spent the better part of 2 hours admiring the view, chowing down on a good meal and snapping photos of the surrounding scenery.

The vista from the restaurant


Pisco, the thinking man's drink (Petra & Clayton)


Amongst the vineyards below


What a beautiful setting for lunch!


Jo being cute!

After our extended lunch break we opted to head back the way we had come in search of the elusive “pisco factory tour”. After getting rejected at the Pisco Mistral’s distillery (“no se puede”) we settled on the Artesanos del Cochiguaz which offered a somewhat lackluster “virtual tour” and a few tasters of the product. Honestly, the highlight of the tour was the touristy donkey billboard.

Day 2- La Serena

After our extensive Saturday outing we decided to stick around La Serena and nearby Coquimbo on Sunday, where we strolled around and visited a few of it's 29 beautiful neo-classical churches and also several beaches nearby.

Downtown La Serena Churches

Walking through town


Group photo at the beach


A view from the hills of Coquimbo

Day 3- La Serena "the drive home"

Day 3 – Monday the plan was to drive back towards Viña and stop at some of the sights on the way down. About ½ hour south we stopped to check out this well known surfing beach Totoralillo and snap a few photos.

Crystal Blue Waters!

The highlight of our drive home was undoubtedly our stop at Parque Nacional Fray Jorge, a lush cloud forest set in the mountains between the coast and the desert. In order to get there we took a 27 kilometer rough road through cactus-covered farmlands and isolated villages and up a series of hair-raising switchbacks. But the payoff was worth it. The unique ecosystem materializes as you reach the top and the vistas of the coast to the west and the desert to the east were impressive. The cloud forest thrives on the blanket of fog that cloaks the park daily and burns off as the day goes on. The park offers a half mile walking circuit with wooden paths reminiscent of Star Wars’ Ewok Village. The forest includes some unusual flowers and shrubs as well as full sized trees as seen below.

The Desert


Inside the Forest




The vista overlooking the ocean


Petra next to a strange giant flower

On the way out we stopped in at the visitor center and encountered these little guys, desert foxes who hang around the BBQ area in hopes of grabbing stray scraps of food.

Jak’s 30th Birthday bash in Horcon

For my 30^th birthday we had planned to do something fun with DJs, dancing and friends in the United States, however our move to Chile gave us an opportunity to have a bash of intergalactic proportions half-way around the world.

Saturday afternoon we packed 3 tiny cars with food, friends and a set of speakers, 2 barely functional turntables and a big box of records and headed 30 minutes north of Vina to the coastal town of Horcon where we had rented a vacation home for the night. We spotted this house the first time we visited Horcon and we knew it would be perfect for a special occasion.

The house is set in to the extremely steep hillside right above the main beach. 95% of the house doesn’t even touch the ground! The place has an incredible deck, a great view and enough mattresses to sleep about 12 friends. The porch is laid out in the style of a boat as you can see, and the interior is perfect for a weekend get together. The only down side was having to drag all of the gear up the hill to get it in the house!!!!

The House!!!!


The view of Horcon village from the house and the dream DJ setup!!!


DJ JAK & ALAN THIZNAU ROCKED THE HOUSE ALL NIGHT LONG!!!!!!!

The group of 15 included an array of Spanish speaking gringos, English Speaking Chilenos, and a few (like me) who fall somewhere in between. The combination of English and Spanish was great fun and everyone had a chance to get to know one another better. The combination of the setting, the music, a diverse group, and a few well crafted beverages made it a night to remember.

Jo ordered this delicious custom-made lucuma (a south American fruit that tastes kind of like butterscotch) and manjar (similar to caramel) cake with a headphone design from one of the local bakeries and to top it off, they gave me 30 “trick candles” which literally took 5 minutes to blow out. Here are a few pics of the cake and the birthday scene. It was pretty hilarious.

In the morning a few of us strolled down to the beach front “Roti-Schop” to enjoy some delicious jaiba & queso empanadas (fresh crab & cheese) and Nescafe. I’m not a big fan of Nescafe (instant coffee) and I don’t usually eat seafood for breakfast but I swear it was the most satisfying I’ve ever eaten.

Afterwards we enjoyed some morning grooves courtesy of Alan.

It was probably the most enjoyable birthday party I’ve ever had and as odd as it was to celebrate it so far from home I wouldn’t have had it any other way.