Backing up

Hmmm, now that I´m actually moving, I´m falling behind. Let me back up.

Sunday morning (at least I think it was Sunday morning, I keep losing track of the days) I took a bus from Caldera to La Serena, and I arrived in La Serena mid-afternoon. My first thoughts upon arrival were that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Europe. The architecture, the streets, the fact that absolutely nothing was open on a Sunday afternoon...

I took a walk around town, but nothing was open and there were no people anywhere. Luckily, my hostel, which was a bit over my nightly budget, was well worth it and worthy of hanging out. I had a room with a king-sized bed- or maybe it just seemed king sized since I´ve been sleeping on beds that can barely pass for twins- cable tv, and hot water. I was able to take my first real shower in, er, I probably shouldn´t say, but I did wash my hair for the first time in 2 weeks. And before you tell me how gross that is, let me tell you that you wouldn´t have been able to notice. It really wasn´t that bad. (But still had sand in it from sandboarding.)

On Monday I was pretty disappointed to discover that the two things I had on my agenda- Japanese gardens and a museum- were closed. Sooooo, I walked around a lot, snapping pictures of the architecture. I wandered into a department store (mostly just to use the bathroom. Which I had to pay for. My bladder is not cut out for this continent.) I walked down to the beach and the lighthouse. I ate a long lunch. In the market square, there was a Menudo-like singing trio performing. I couldn´t stop listening to them, mostly because of their exaggerated passion. They made me laugh. (And they weren´t supposed to.) I first spotted them around noon. When I went back through at six, they were just finishing up. That´s dedication. Best of luck to them.