LA SERENA, CHILE:

There are cities and towns around the world that as soon as you enter, from the beginning you know it just feels right. Something about this city feels warm, friendly and you really want to stay and explore this city. When I came to the end of Atacama Desert I can clearly see how the landscape was changing rapidly. It was getting greener, now, there were trees and bushes more houses, more stores, more traffic and more people. All of a sudden there were no sand, no desert and I was also getting closer to the Pacific Ocean once more. The minute I saw the ocean, the minute I realized the Atacama came to the end.

There was a smile on my face for completing this indispensable Atacama Desert safely. But at the same time, I knew I was going to miss this desert which was full of adventure out in the open middle of nowhere. I knew La Serena was on my way down south, but north of capital city Santiago and later south to Patagonia through the city of Puerto (Port) Montt. I was really excited to look forward to new adventures after the intense coastline and Sechura Desert in Peru, Pacific coastline cities of Chile and Atacama Desert. But seriously, up until that time, as knowledgably as I was about the world geography, I’ve never heard of the city of La Serena.

                 My bicycle made it all the way down to La Serena

                     La Serena, city center area. Shopping district.

  As soon as I got in to this beautiful city, everything just felt right. That was the time; I knew there was something about La Serena is unexplainable. And that is the truth! There are times we know so much is happening at a place, but yet, it’s very hard to pin point accurately what the main reason is. Of course the main reason itself had a good reason. And that has a lot to do with what this city really offered? When you have an answer for this question then you found the reason! But La Serena didn’t just have one answer and instead, it had so many answers why it’s too cute to be left on the side or forgotten.

From the moment I entered into La Serena, I fell in love with the shape and the architecture of the buildings. After all, this city was the second oldest city in Chile after the capital city of Santiago. Whenever a city is that old, it’s bound to have the type of architecture which will capture your attention. It is easy to see the colonial style houses at the city center. Stone churches, old houses and craft markets and neocolonial architecture will play a major role with your mind. Despite the other European country’s influence, it’s mainly Spain we notice who really influenced the architecture in La Serena. La Serena’s historical main section architecture bell towers of Colonial Stone churches show us beautiful Spanish architecture. Just touring this city with my bicycle several times over and over gave me such a pleasure that I never wanted to stop cycle la Serena.

      On a hazy day,  The view from Tololo Beach, La Serena to  city of Coquimbo

              Ocean front condominiums on Avenida  Del Mar and the view from Faro Monumental. Hazy and cloudy day.

   La Serena’s beauty doesn’t just come from its architecture! It has a pleasant weather year around and its white sand beaches everywhere around the city which will connect you to the city of Coquimbo. Its famous university is the main reason that city is full of youngsters. There are so many beaches in this city that you would chose a different one every day. During the months of January and February this city becomes very famous which fills up with tourists from everywhere. I was actually happy that I was there in early December. There are times I do enjoy being around crowd and socialize with other people from different nations. But looking at some of the photos and watching some of the films from recent years of La Serena during the months of January and February, really scared me. It was a type of crowd which was too much. I mean I don’t think you would be able to walk by the beach between those crowds. I said to myself wow! During the summer, La Serena is a famous spot! In recent years, most of the visitors and tourists who come to La Serena usually looking for sun, relaxation and good food. And they made the right decision, because La Serena got them all. This city has that amazing laid-back feel. Hahaha. I was just happy it was still early in December. Many people don’t realize that January and February is part of the summer of countries which are located at Southern Hemisphere. So, La Serena was just about to get into the summer months. The city center was completely away and separated itself from the beach front activities and residential areas. The residential areas of La Serena did not squeeze most of its population in a narrow land like some of the other cities do; instead it was well spread around. This city was planned excellent! In the past I studied political science and history, but I also loved the subject of urban planning. Ever since 1980 s whenever I enter a new city, my eyes closely examines the buildings, streets, houses, business and residential areas like a good detective who is looking for evidence on urban planning. In La Serena, most of the time, at least 6 times a day, I cycled between the beaches and city center. I would usually use and take the Francisco de Aguirre road. Beach front began right after the Lighthouse Monumental La Serena. I stayed in La Serena three days and during those three days, I stopped at this café right behind this lighthouse at least twice a day. It just had the best view to the sea shore towards south to the city of Coquimbo and of course this café had some of the most delicious fresh sea food and some of the best dessert and coffee. I couldn’t help, but get lazy at this outdoor café sitting hours at a time watching this magnificent view, having a conversation with local people and enjoying the long rest after getting through with the long cycling adventure at the endless Atacama Desert. My both leg muscles were talking to me and telling me “thank you Thank you for resting”

                                 Lighthouse Monumental La Serena

           Another shot at a Lighthouse Monumental La Serena from a different angle.

    There is a beautiful seashore road Avenida Del Mar and a bicycle path from La Serena to the city of Coquimbo. There were many high rise condominiums on this road and sea front. Most of them had an incredible view to the Pacific Ocean and to the local beaches. These condominiums were very well built and designed cleverly to give the residents the best way of watching the entire area from their luxury balconies. I was really impressed the way they built La Serena. I found its people highly educated, talkative and friendly compare to some other cities of Chile. It kind of reminded me of city of Iquique.

  La Serena had so much going for it. It has one of the lowest crime rates at anywhere. I loved walking at the city center area. Streets were built nicely and the people of La Serena really kept these streets very clean. Because my bicycle was loaded with panniers and bags, I was just afraid to lock it up somewhere and walk away from it even just for a few seconds. I just didn’t want anyone stealing my belongings. Whenever, you’re on a bicycle tour of other countries, regions and continents, first thing first comes to your mind is your own safety, but second most important after your safety comes your bicycle and your belongings. Because without them, you just can’t survive for this type of tour and trip. So, I always had to walk the streets with my bicycle on my side. And the locals usually love looking at your bicycle. For them it was something different and nice. They just loved watching foreigners or outsiders traveling their country. This gave them a feeling pride and proud of their country.

                                         Cathedral La Serena

                           My bicycle enjoys resting in the front.

   The entire 3 days and night that I stayed in La Serena, 2 nights I slept at the Totoralillo beach camping with my tent. Totoralillo beach had everything including shower facilities which I used it 2 days in a row. And the last night before I left La Serena I slept at the city center out in the open on my thermarest and sleeping bag right behind a pizza shop next to a café. As I said earlier, La Serena was very safe and you can see many people walking on the streets during the night including teenagers. No one bothered anyone. It was perfect and it was great that there was hardly any crime in this city. Because I was going to leave La Serena very early and getting on the road with my bicycle by 4:30 in the morning to the direction of Santiago, I decided to sleep behind that pizza shop right around 11:00 at night. I locked my bicycle next to me, brushed my teeth and then opened my sleeping bag and began falling asleep. Approximately at 3:00 in the morning I was awakened by three policemen. They were all examining my mountain bicycle. I start smiling and they were smiling. One of them spoke very good English. First they asked my passport and Identification. I handed them my American Passport and a New York State Driver License. They looked they looked and they continue to look. I finally made a joke and told them “do you want me to make a copy of it and give it to you guys” They began laughing. Finally they start to talk. They asked me if I feel comfortable sleeping here and do I feel safe sleeping on the streets. I said, yes, I feel comfortable and I feel safe. They invited me to a café which was open 24 hours. I changed my clothing very quickly and we went to the café. We finally arrived to the café and these 3 policemen still couldn’t take their eyes off from my bicycle. They finally asked me about my mountain bicycle. I said it is Surly Troll mountain bicycle. It is very strong, well built, it can carry too much weight and it is excellent on the hills and on the mountains. Of course these policemen were really interested in my bicycle and my bicycle tour around South America. They loved my bicycle and couple of them rode it up to the end of the street and back. I was kind an upset a bit as I was almost going to ask them” why did you wake me up from my good sleep?” but I decided not to. I figured I will begin cycling early towards to Santiago. We had a long breakfast and long conversations. They were really cool guys. It was most likely, they were bored at night and they wanted to talk to someone and they decided to wake me up, Hahahaha I couldn’t help but laugh about it. And they bought my breakfast and my coffee. How nice of these policemen! 

                        Beach Front condominiums in La Serena 

                       My poor bicycle in La Serena recovering from Atacama Desert trip.

Now it was very early in the morning around 4:45 and still dark outside. I got onto my bicycle pulled out my mobile handheld GPS and looked at the route 5 start point from La Serena. I already knew the direction, but I wanted to double check and confirm it. I was ready to leave this beautiful city La Serena. I was on my way to Santiago and this capital city of Chile was on my mind!