C-C-C-Changes .... and a slightly crazy plan B

We have spent the last three days exploring La Serena and it's surrounding countryside. At the moment, the desert is in bloom, a rare event (every few years) that only occurs when there is sufficient winter rainfall ... this year there was, so we've been treated to all kinds of desert flowers on our explorations.

We spent a day at, getting to and getting back from the penguin reserve at Isla Damas and Isla Choros. Saw many penguins!!! as well as dolphins, sealions, pelicans, albatrosses and commorants on our boat trip around the islands. Very nice.

The next day we spent exploring La Serena more and making some big changes to our plans .... more on that in a moment.

Today we went out into the Elqui Valley, and toured little Andean villages, went to a pisco winery, saw Gabriela Mistral's house (nobel prize winner) and drove through the valley - which is renowned for it's magnetic forces and healing energy and suposedly UFO sightings ......

And now for some news. Unfortunately the chinchilla project has not worked out - a disappointment but in the end for the best. The situation got very strange and we had little/no support. It got to sound a bit dangerous actually as it was sort of up to us to get out to this very isolated spot in the middle of no-where .... anyway long story short, it has sort of collapsed. A shame, but time for a plan B. So what should we do with the extra time we now have? Towards the end of our time here we have planned to head to more southern Chile and the coast, so we didn't want to go there yet. Sowhat should we do with these extra days??? ...... well, what else could we do???? but go on a long distance bus across the Andes to Argentina and Buenos Aires for a few days!!!! Bet you didn't expect that!! We leave tonight on the night bus to Santiago, and catch the morning bus to Buenos Aires which crosses the Andes!!! How fab!!! So, hopefully if this slightly crazy scheme works out, our next blog should be from the other side of the continent!!!! Pretty good plan B, eh?

Wish us luck!!!!!