Isla Damas Excursion, Part II

For the second half of our boat tour, we were dropped off on another island, which we spent about an hour exploring. It was really fun to get out and tear around the island, although it would have been nice to pass more time there. Sarah and I would like to go back someday and camp on the island, as we saw some other travelers doing. There were a lot of interesting landscapes to explore, and after climbing to the top of the highest point on the island together, Sarah and I spent the last half of our hour doing our own thing. I, true to form, went climbing around on rocks in the water, looking for sea creatures.

This is what I imagine the Caribbean to look like with the white sand and brightly colored water, but no, we are in Chile. We also so otters in this bay!
This is the giant rock on the island, which Sarah and I climbed to the top of.
Island landscape. This is also where I spied a green and black lizard.
Views from the top of our perch.

The bay where the boats waited for us.
Buddies at the top!
Me encouraging people to learn English from the top of a giant rock.

More pretty views.

I found this bone on the beach. I think it is a fin of a dolphin, but I thought those were made out of cartilage...maybe this is only sharks. Man I need the Discovery Channel again! Nevermind, I was curious so I googled it and it is cartilage, so I have no idea what this is...a South American prize to whoever can help me figure it out!
Sarah and I are boat buddies!
Our tour stopped at this cute place for lunch around 3, by which time we were all famished. We ate seafood empanadas, white fish and rice with salad, and drank strawberry juice. After lunch, we visited a beautiful beach where instead of sand, the entire coastline was blanketed with shells and occasionally rocks. We briefly explored and poked around at the shells.

The beach of shells:
Omg I love shells!

At the end of this tour, it was clear that there would be no way to top such an adventure and it would do no good to try. That night we ate pizza in town and relaxed at the hostel. Sarah left us that night andMegan left me the next morning, so I had one more day to enjoy La Serena and some much needed alone time! I ate the free breakfast at the hostel (which was amazing, by the way: bread, kiwi marmalade, goat cheese, salami, tomato, and tea!), then went back to the Japanese garden and passed about two hours reading and enjoying the sound of running water. I spent the afternoon shopping for gifts for friends and family, then in the late afternoon went back to the mall for more fruity yogurt. I saw The Dark Night by myself, which I loved, by the way (Heath Ledger is amazing, I am so dismayed that he is no longer around to shower the world with more inspired performances). It was really odd, actually, after the movie, listening to a mother explain to her young son that the actor who played the Joker died. Whaaaaaat? the kid yelled, shocked. I feel you, kid. I feel you. I spent the remainder of the evening packing my bags, finishing my book (Middlesex, a reread, and an incredible novel), and chatting with the two Brits I was sharing a dorm room with. (Sometimes I think it would be so nice to be European. I have not met one that speaks less than three languages.) I was sad to see it all end, but it was nice to get back to Chillan, although I spent 13 hours on the road on Sunday.

So, after such an amazing vacay, I am totally addicted to traveling. In four short months, I will be on the road again, and though I cannot imagine saying goodbye to Chillan, I am already getting excited to explore more of this vast, beautiful, interesting continent.