La Serena

For the first weekend out of Santiago, I traveled with 6 other students to the small city of La Serena in the north of chile. Traveling within chile is very easy so after a 6 hour busride, we arrived on the coast where it was much cooler despite the fact that northern chile is supposed to be hotter since it is located closer to the desert. La Serena is a small city so we were able to see most of the attractions including the center area called Plaza de Armas, the main mercado, some of the 29 cathedrals, and the archeology museum. The highlight was getting to see the only statue that has been taken off easter island! I really want to go to easter island, but it's expensive and there isn't much time. Of course we headed to the beach and spent the day playing soccer on the sand, swimming in the warm water, and watching the beautiful sunset. Since the days are so much longer here, its great to have more time in the day and for example stay out on the beach until 8 pm. La Serena is a much quieter city but it was nice to just get out of the busy and crowded Santiago for a little.