All I need is my backpack and hiking boots

(Its so hard to only pick one photo!) This is me holding a sea star in the Penguin Reserve

Yesterday I took off from Viņa del Mar on a bus to La Serena, a coastal town four hours south of Viņa, all by myself at 11 pm. I slept most of the way, but arrived earlier than I expected at five AM. My plan was just to hang out in the bus terminal untill businesses started opening, but by chance I ran into a group of seven girls, all foreign exchange students, traveling through La Serena as well. Instead of just sitting in the station, we took a walk in the moonlight to a beach near a rustic abandoned lighthouse. The sunrise was amazing!

We hung out there on that beach untill the sun came fully into the sky and then we went to make reservations in hostals, where we were able to lock up our heavy backpacks. Next we headed off on a guided tour to the Reservo Nacional Pinguino de Humboldt (The National Humboldt Penguin Reserve), where we toured the oceanic islands by boat. We saw tons of dolphins jumping, penguins, sea lions basking in the sun, and sea otters sneaking up on the penguins. At about two o'clock we stopped for a picnic on the most beautiful beach I~ve ever seen. The water was sparkling saphire and so clear you could see all the rocks, starfish, cructaceans, and seaweed on the bottom. I took a zillion pictures, but unfortunately i dont have any of the technology with me to post them right now.

I slept almost the whole way back on the bus untill we got back to La Serena and the hostal. It felt so good to shower and change my clothes after two days of traveling! After we all had a chance to clean up, we got together in a different hostal with a kitchen. Together the eight of us cooked stir fry, quesadillas, rice, and had fruit with dulce de leche (kind of like carmel). It was exquisite!

I think I~m falling in love with Chile or perhaps just with traveling. Today I learned all I need is my backpack and hiking boots to survive. Money is my only restraint, but for now I~m not worried about that. I worked really hard to save up for this trip and even harder to earn the scholarships.

Where am I going tomorrow? You~ll just have to wait untill my next blog to find out!